POLITICAL STANDOFF
The country's lucrative tourism industry is looking for ways to revive Thailand's image among foreign visitors and to stem losses caused by the current political conflict. Also, as of yesterday, 14 countries had issued advisories warning their citizens to avoid non-essential travel to Thailand or to exercise caution if they do go.
POLITICAL STANDOFF
State enterprise labour unions have failed so far to present a united front in their response to the standoff between Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej and anti-government protesters allied with the People's Alliance for Democracy.
EXECUTIVE Q&A
Singer Thailand is a distributor of sewing machines under the ''Singer'' trademark, electrical appliances under the Singer and other brand names such as DVD players, television and home-theatre sets, air-conditioners, wine chillers, gas stoves, microwave ovens, refrigerators, electric irons, water pumps, computers and multi-purpose oil. Daniel Michel Philiponet was the managing director of Singer (Thailand) PLC from 1995-97 and in 1999 before his retirement. He was recently appointed as the managing director in February 2007 to the present.
POLITICAL STANDOFF
A World Bank economist views the current political upheaval as only a short-run concern for investors, saying they should take a longer view of the country's prospects.
ECO Cafe'
The Olympic Games in Beijing are finally over. For me, it was one of the most spectacular Olympic events for as long as I can remember. And for a while, the world seemed to be filled with friendship, happiness and love.
The Bank of Thailand will switch the target of its monetary policy to headline inflation to make it more appropriate for use in the private sector, according to central bank governor Tarisa Watanagase. Since 2000, monetary policy has been set with the goal of keeping core inflation, which excludes energy and fresh food from the consumer price index, between a range of zero and 3.5% over the next eight quarters.
INVESTING
BBL Asset Management next week will launch its Bualuang Target Return Fund (TARGET), a mixed-asset fund targeting returns of 25% over three years.
STOCKS
The Stock Exchange of Thailand index could fall to 580 to 600 points next month due to political risk, but will gradually rebound through the first quarter of 2009, according to Tisco Securities.
STOCKS
Eastern Water Resources Development and Management Plc is considering buying back its own shares to lure back investors after a persistent drop in its share price, an executive said yesterday.
The number of sows in Thailand will decline by about 13% this year as pig farmers scale back operations to try and drive up prices and offset high feed costs, according to Kiddivong Sombuntham, secretary-general of the Swine Raisers Association of Thailand. Feed costs have soared this year on record prices for corn, wheat and soybeans. BLOOMBERG
The Industry Ministry slammed plans yesterday for the speedy introduction of E85 gasohol, warning it would cost the government too much to persuade vehicle users to switch to the new fuel. E85, a mixture of 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline, made its debut last week at a single PTT service station in Bangkok at a price of 20.19 baht per litre.
TELECOMMUNICATIONS
DTAC, the second-ranked mobile operator, has earmarked an additional investment of five billion baht for its third-generation (3G) mobile broadband plan early next year to further strengthen its competitive edge. The company had already slated five billion baht to increase network capacity and develop 3G content.
POLITICAL SHOWDOWN
Both Thai and foreign chambers of commerce are calling on the government to lift the state of emergency decree as soon as possible. The Thai business group also urged the resignation of the prime minister and the scrapping of a planned referendum to end the political standoff.
INVESTMENT
Two investors have announced investment in Thailand of 248 million baht, despite political tensions following the state of emergency declaration, said Board of Investment (BoI) secretary-general Sathit Chanjavanakul. Mr Sathit said the two investors were the Indian auto-parts manufacturer Engine Tech and the Thailand-based developer IGS Ltd.
AGRICULTURE
Regardless of the outcome of the current political strife, the government yesterday approved the expansion of its rice-pledging scheme to cover 3.5 million tonnes of paddy for the second crop from 2.5 million planned earlier. The decision is expected to raise spending by the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Co-operatives (BAAC) by another 10 billion baht from 30 billion baht budgeted earlier.
IN Brief
OBITUARY :Kraisri Chatikavanij, the chairman of Thai Central Chemical Plc, passed away late Wednesday. He was 78.
The law firm Rene Philippe & Partners Ltd suggests property buyers check developers' credibility before signing deals that cause losses and legal troubles. Managing partner Rene-Philippe Dubout said the developer test compiled by the company [see chart] was 90% accurate when tested on developers ranging from strong, listed firms to small, financially weak companies.
The current political turmoil will have little impact on sales of industrial estates due to the long-term nature of investments in the industrial sector, according to David Nardone, president and chief executive of the SET-listed developer Hemaraj Land and Development Plc. ''The current political problem will be for a short period and will have less impact on industrial investors, especially petrochemicals and automobiles, which have long-term investments,'' he said.
TRADING & DISTRIBUTION
SCT Co Ltd, an international trading arm of Thailand's Siam Cement Group, expects to increase its turnover in Cambodia by 25% from last year to $50 million this year despite border tensions between the two countries. SCT managing director Kalin Sarasin said the potential for the trading business with Cambodia was tremendous as few products were manufactured locally.
