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Registered firms increase sharply in first quarter
The number of newly-registered companies in the first
quarter of this year increased by 13.45% from that of the same period the
previous year since the overall economy began to recover.
Orajit Singkalvanich, from the Commercial Registration
Department said the statistics on the registration of corporate entities
in the first quarter of this year showed the number of newly-registered
firms rose by 1,128 or 13.45% to 9,515, from that of the corresponding
period the year before. Of this, 4,648 firms are situated in Bangkok
metropolitan and the remaining 4,867 in provincial areas with the total
capital of 213.72 billion baht. The number of companies seeking capital
increase totaled 1,735. Of this, 890 firms are in the city and the
remaining 845 in the provincial areas.
There are three top businesses in which new companies
sought to operate. These include wholesale, retail and restaurant with
3,440 firms and combined capital of 7.32 billion baht, financial service,
insurance, and property with 1,463 and total capital of 4.26 billion, and
construction with 1,162 and combined capital of 7.95 billion.
Orajit said the number of corporate entities shut down
or declared bankrupt in the first half totaled 2,824. Of this 1,571 are in
the city and the remaining 1,253 in the provincial area. The statistics
showed the number of newly-registered companies was 6,658 higher than that
of closed and bankrupt firms, indicating that the need for business
expansion had increased in line with the country’s economic recovery. (TNA)
Thailand and Bahrain agree to set up Matching Fund
Bahrain has agreed to cooperate with Thailand in
setting up a US$500-million matching fund, and has expressed readiness to
give technical support for the Islam Bank of Thailand. Both countries
signed a memorandum of understanding on the joint investment in the
establishment of the fund and the bank.
The matching fund has a policy to invest in listed
companies on the Stock Exchange of Thailand and non-listed firms as well
as large projects. Both countries will set up separate working committees
tasked with coordinating efforts to put cooperation in investment stated
in the MOU into practice. The committees will consider the investment
proportion each party can make in the fund.
State agencies of both countries will be selected to
see whether their qualifications are appropriate to join the fund. The
bodies will also coordinate with each other to accelerate putting the
investment in place. The agencies to be selected must have suitable
qualifications and readiness. (TNA)
VN-Thailand cooperation in rice trade leads to higher world rice price
Cooperation between Vietnam and Thailand in rice trade
has boosted rice prices in the world market. World rice prices are on the
upward trend; 25% of rice was sold at US$183 a ton this month, compared to
US$155 ton in the same period of last year. Five percent of rice was sold
at US$193 a ton, compared to US$163 a ton in April last year.
The higher rice prices in the world market partly
resulted from a deal agreed upon by the Vietnamese and Thai governments in
September last year. Under the agreement, Vietnam and Thailand will not
pursue the cut-price policy, but will, instead, cooperate in rice trade,
aimed to boost both prices and sales of rice in the world market.
The two countries also agree to exchange information on
rice trade, including prospects in the world market, and records on sale
volumes and harvests.
Volumes of rice exports of the two countries have also
risen. Vietnam exported over 400,000 tons of rice in the first quarter of
this year, a 30% increase from the same period of last year; while
Thailand could sell over 1.9 million tons of rice overseas in the first
four months of this year, worth Bt16.76 billion or US$383 million. (TNA)
UK to invest more in Thailand
Britain eyes Thailand as a favorable investment hub in
Asia, and is keen to invest more in the economy in various areas,
according to Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Somkid
Jatusripitak. Somkid spoke about his meeting with visiting London mayor,
Alderman James Michel Oliver. He said that Britain was interested in
investing in several areas in Thailand, as it considers Thailand one of
three most favorable investment centers in Asia.
“Mr. Oliver told me that British investors are keen
to invest more in the Thai economy, given its friendly foreign investment
environment,” Somkid said. Somkid learned that British investors are
particularly interested in investing in the Thai stock market, local
mutual and matching funds, and even in Thai Assets and Management
Corporation (TAMC). “Mr. Oliver told me he will meet with British
investors and discuss with them updated investment prospects in Thailand
in view of the information he has gathered on his trip here,” Somkid
added.
The visiting London mayor also expressed interested in
privatization plans in Thailand and provided useful suggestions, as
Britain has been successful in privatizing its state firms. (TNA)
BOT says it won’t let interest & exchange rates impede recovery
Bank of Thailand’s governor M.R. Pridiyathorn
Devakula has reiterated he will closely monitor local interest rates and
currency exchange rates to ensure they do not impede the country’s
economic recovery.
Speaking on progress made under the central bank’s
interest policy to stimulate the economy, he said the BOT’s next move
will be to try to prevent local interest and exchange rates from deterring
the government’s ongoing efforts to stimulate the economy. The BOT chief
said he viewed the current interest rates were low enough to help jump
start the economy and the baht stayed at an appropriate level that could
contribute to the export growth.
He conceded the monetary policy adopted by the bank was
just an indirect way to stimulate the economy. The government was
duty-bound to take a direct measure to turn around the economy. The
government’s full support for housing loans had proven successful as it
could help the property business pick up. The recovery had caused other
sectors to improve as well.
Pridiyathorn suggested the government come up with
additional measures to help sustain the economic recovery. “Currently,
we have tried both in a direct and indirect path to help stimulate the
economy. We have closely overseen the baht movement to ensure it won’t
stay at the level that hinders exports,” he said.
Asked whether the BOT needed to further cut interest
rates to jump start the economy, Pridiyathorn said he will not intervene
in any decision of the Monetary Policy Committee. Still, he said he wanted
to see the committee take into consideration interest trends overseas and
local economic conditions before making a decision on local interest rate
direction. (TNA)
Upward revision of growth won’t boost lending, says economist
Although the National Economic and Social Development
Board revised projected economic growth upwards to 2-3%, commercial banks
remain reluctant to lend, according to a leading economist. Nimitr
Nonthapantawat said he believed the banks will not be willing to lend more
until the country’s economy gets back to a grow rate of 5-7% of gross
domestic product. He said the capital base of many banks had significantly
dropped during the economic crisis. If they want to lend, they need to
raise capital.
Current circumstances make it difficult for banks,
particularly those in the private sector, to increase their capital. State
banks are in a better position to increase capital because the government
is ready to help.
Nimitr said local financial institutions still
experience many problems. The liquidity in the banking system remains in
excess. The quality loan applicants are inferior and the prices of assets
pledged as collateral are volatile. Also, many institutions need to be
reorganized. “Banks have centralized their operations during the
economic crisis. When the economy improves, they need time to
decentralize. Bank officers are reluctant to exercise their given
power,” he said.
He believes the spread between lending and deposit
rates will narrow only when the risk banks have to take from customers of
inferior quality has eased. (TNA)
TFRC urges cut in 14-day repurchase rate
The Bank of Thailand’s Monetary Policy Committee
should further reduce the 14-day repurchase rate as it could benefit the
country’s economic recovery, according to Thai Farmers Research Center.
The leading think tank said the latest move by
commercial banks to cut deposit rates to 1.25% had not significantly
affected the actual interest income given the current inflation rate
staying at 0.6%. It said total deposits in the banking system still
expanded around 4.7% last month, reflecting that the liquidity remained
high while the ratio of loans to deposits continued to decline from the
end of last year.
According to the Commerce Ministry’s projection, the
inflation rate for this year would stay around 1-1.5%, which is lower than
fixed saving rates offered by commercial banks. TFRC said the country’s
economy had now begun to recover mainly because of an increase in local
spending and the capital inflow in the stock market in the first two
months of this year.
To maintain the momentum of the economic recovery, it
suggested the Monetary Policy Committee consider cutting the 14-day
repurchase rate at its meeting on April 22 since it could help stimulate
the economy. The move might lead to the outflow of capital to a certain
extent, but its effect would not be adverse because the country still has
enough international reserve. TFRC said the repo cut would help sustain
growth in local spending and investment while the country’s economic
recovery remained uncertain. The reduction would also ease the burden of
debt repayment in the private and public sectors, resulting in people
having more money to spend. (TNA)
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