BoT satisfied with Thailand’s improved competitiveness

The Bank of Thailand (BoT) has expressed satisfaction with the country’s rising competitiveness ranking, which it considers as reflecting Thailand’s strong economic fundamentals.
As the World Economic Forum moved Thailand from the 37th position last year to the 31st position this year in its competitiveness ranking of 144 countries, BoT spokesman Chirathep Senivongs Na Ayudhya said that the improvement was significant and resulted from many economic indicators including the macroeconomic condition, inflation, government budgets, health conditions and primary education.
The spokesman said that the improved competitiveness confirmed the country’s economic fundamentals. Chirathep said the evaluation by the World Economic Forum was satisfactory and was in accordance with previous evaluation by credit rating agencies.
Chirathep said that national reform in many areas should enable Thailand to further enhance its competitiveness. (MCOT)

New high for Thai Consumer Confidence Index

Thailand’s Consumer Confidence Index arrived at a new high for 13 months in August as the index rose for the fourth month in a row thanks to stabilized politics, but with a proviso - the Thai economy has yet to recover significantly, according the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce (UTCC).
Thanavath Phonvichai, UTCC Economic and Business Forecasting Centre director, told the press that the index rose to 80.1 in August and was at its highest level in 13 months, since August last year.
All other consumer confidence indexes rose as well, as the public believes in stable Thai politics, he said.
However, he noted that the Thai economy remained unpromising as farm product prices and Thai export growth remained low.
The University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce predicts that the Thai export growth rate should be 1-1.5 percent this year instead of 1.2-2 percent as earlier anticipated. Delayed government disbursements continue to limit consumer confidence, Thanavath said.
“Therefore, the government must clearly stimulate the economy to create an atmosphere of confidence and speed up allocating budgets to local areas,” Dr Thanavath said.
He also advised the government to end martial law in provinces that are tourist destinations to boost the national economy in the fourth quarter this year. (MCOT)

Japan to help Thai SMEs

The agreement was signed by Industry Permanent Secretary Witoon Simachokedee and Hirochi Takada, president of Japan’s Organization for Small and Medium Enterprises and Regional Innovation.

Japan and Thailand on Friday, Sept. 5, signed an agreement in Bangkok for Japan to help develop Thai small- and medium-sized enterprises and boost revenue between 5-10 percent beginning next year.
The agreement was signed by Industry Permanent Secretary Witoon Simachokedee and Hirochi Takada, president of Japan’s Organization for Small and Medium Enterprises and Regional Innovation.
Under the agreement, both sides will exchange vital information for developing their SME businesses, so that Thai SMEs would become stronger and have higher revenue of 5-10 percent next year.
Thailand now has about 2.7 million SMEs, some 98.5 percent of total enterprises, with total revenue at Bt1.76 trillion annually.
Japan’s SMEs represent more than 99.7 percent of all enterprises while their revenues are more than 484 billion yen annually.
Takada said some 700,000 Japanese SMEs of a total 3.7 million are making profits and there are plans to further support the service sector in future.
Japan attaches great importance to Thailand in this region. It’s policy encourages about 10,000 Japanese SMEs to invest overseas, with Thailand considered the foremost country for investment followed by Indonesia, Malaysia and Myanmar - all members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
Takada said Japanese investors are keen to invest in auto parts, followed by electrical appliances and electronics, food processing and the service sector.
He said 20 Thai firms would be invited to visit Japan next January and, if possible, to agree on “business matching” with 400 Japanese investors.
Thai investors have visited Japan three times since the beginning of this year, with 40 able to conduct businesses with more than 200 Japanese investors involving a combined business value of over two billion baht.
Asked whether Japanese investors are confident in investing in Thailand with its new government, Takada replied, “Japanese investors have always considered Thailand as the centre of ASEAN, regardless which government administers the country.” (MCOT)