BANGKOK, July 26 – A survey on the business sentiments of Japanese joint venture companies in Thailand found business outlook will dramatically pick up in the second half of this year.
Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) Vice President and senior economist for the Asian region Seiya Sukegawa said those surveyed expected that the Thai economy will return to normal during July to September after shrinking in the first half of 2011 due to Japan’s earthquake and tsunami.
Overall the economy has gradually improved from the first half of 2010 to the second half of the year, according to the survey.
The survey on the Thai economy in the first half of 2011 queried 373 Japanese joint venture companies, members of the Japanese Chamber of Commerce (JCC) in Bangkok but only 28.3 per cent of them completed the survey.
Over two-thirds — 69 per cent of the respondents — predicted business conditions will rapidly improve, while only ten per cent believed that business conditions will worsen.
As a top priority, most of the respondents wanted the Thai government to maintain political stability and security, followed by improvements and the revision of customs taxation, human resources training and relaxation of Thailand’s foreign business law.
The Japanese joint venture companies’ total sales in 2010 rose to 82 per cent. Nearly three out of four respondents — 72 per cent — predicted total sales in 2011 will increase. And 90 per cent of the respondents expect pre-tax profits this year, while 32 per cent see their net profit before tax declining.
Investment in factories and machinery in the production industries in 2011 has increased 93.6 per cent year-on-year.
Regarding the outlook for exports, they predicted exports in 2011 would be higher than in 2010 with a 36 per cent increase in the first half this year and a 46 per cent rise in the second half of this year. The most lucrative export market is India, followed by Indonesia, China, respectively.
