BOI says no sign of investments being withdrawn from Thailand

Thailand’s Board of Investment (BOI) affirmed there have been no signs of foreign investors withdrawing their investments from Thailand.

BOI Secretary-General Udom Wongviwatchai.

BOI Secretary-General Udom Wongviwatchai said the BOI last year attracted investment promotion applications from foreign investors at over Bt500 billion, down from Bt600 billion in 2012.
He said December 2013 saw investment applications of over Bt200 billion from both Thai and foreign investors.
However, around 380 investment projects with investment capital higher than Bt200 million per project have been suspended, as a committee looking over the matter finished its term in October last year, and a new committee has not yet been appointed, as it is not under the caretaker government’s authority to do so.
Japanese investors counted as the highest proportion at 10 percent of total investment promotion applications.
Udom said investors are awaiting the new committee and projects have not yet been shifted elsewhere, while there has been no clear movement of investments away from Thailand either.
He said the tendency of investment privileges applications this year was originally expected to reach as high as Bt900 billion. However, due to the ongoing political stalemate, BOI will have to readjust the figure after March.
According to BOI’s secretary-general, investment promotion applications in Jan-Feb reached Bt70 billion, of which Bt40 billion belonged to foreign investors, a drop from Bt100 billion year-on-year.
Motor vehicles, metals, chemicals, services, and electricity production were popular industries for investment applications.
The BOI has approved applications for more than 300 projects of which investment capital is no more than Bt200 million each. (MCOT)

Thailand’s Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) in February lowest in 12 years

Thailand’s Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) last month hit the lowest level in the past 12 years, according to the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce (UTCC) Economic and Business Forecast Centre.
Centre director Thanavath Phonvichai said the ongoing political stalemate dragged the CCI in February to its lowest level, at 69.9, from 71.5 in January. Other confidence indices in all categories also dropped, he said.
The confidence index on the overall economy stood at 59.7, down from 61.4 in January, while the index on job opportunities reached 63.6, down from 65.1 in January, the lowest in 27 months. The index on future income stood at 86.3, the lowest in 57 months and down from 88.1 in January.
According to Thanavath, the indices are worrisome, for they have hit the lowest record since the CCI has been monitored by the centre.
The reasons behind such lower figures were, he said, the political confusion, overdue rice payments to farmers from the pledging scheme, lower purchasing power, public concerns on economic direction and future income.
The centre director said the Thai economy is entering a recession, as economic figures have been negative for two quarters. It might also slow down until at least the end of Q2, he said, whilst waiting for political clarity.
Should politics continue unstable, there is a chance the Thai economy would grow less than 3 percent this year.
The Commerce Economic and Business Forecast Centre will readjust the country’s 2014 economic growth on March 20. (MCOT)

Kanchanaburi farmers sue PM over rice subsidy payments

A prosecutor filed a lawsuit against caretaker Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and six others at the Administrative Court on Wednesday, March 5, asking the court to order them to pay Bt2.7 million plus interest in overdue payments to a group of 22 farmers from Kanchanaburi province. Another group of farmers is expected to follow suit.
Secretary to Deputy Attorney General Poramet Intarachumnum in his capacity as a lawyer representing Ladawan Niamprayoon and 21 other farmers in the central province of Kanchanaburi joining the government’s rice pledging scheme filed the lawsuit against caretaker premier Yingluck and six state agencies. The lawsuit asked the court to order all seven defendants to pay the farmers Bt2.7 million for the rice they had pledged under the government scheme plus 7.5 percent annual interest.
The lawsuit named Yingluck as first defendant, and six co-defendants including the National Rice Policy Committee, the state-owned Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC), the Commerce Ministry, the Public Warehouse Organization, the Marketing Organization for Farmers and the Finance Ministry.
The complainants charged the premier, concurrently chairwoman of the National Rice Policy Committee, and the Committee with monopolizing the rice trade or buying an unlimited amount of rice grain at an above the market price. The government’s mismanagement, they alleged, led to heavy losses as the commerce ministry was unable to release rice from stockpiles or exported rice as targeted. That resulted in their failure to pay the complainants the amount of money as stated in the receipts of their pledged rice.
Poramet said the 22 complainants were the first group of farmers to take legal action against the government while another group of 20 farmers from Chai Nat and Singburi provinces would file similar suits. Document verification is under way for about 500-600 farmers seeking legal assistance from the prosecutors to sue the government.
The senior prosecutor explained that the prosecutors acted as lawyers for farmers to ensure that civil rights would be protected and those farmers will eventually receive their overdue payments from state agencies that fail to honor their agreement. (MCOT)