MACROECONOMICS WEEKLY UPDATE

The Thai stock market will remain volatile in the second quarter of the year due to the rising interest rate environment, US and Europe’s previous liquidity crunches which could potentially trigger a recession.

The Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) released the survey results of the Industrial Confidence Index in March 2023 at 97.8, up from 96.2 in February 2023 due to increased demand for industrial products and improvement in the construction sector.

The Number of newly registered Thai companies had risen 28% year-on year in March, with the combined capital rising by 1055%. However, for the first quarter of the yar a total of 26,182 new businesses were registered, an increase of 17% year-on-year, with a combined registered capital of 340 billion baht mostly comprised of building construction, real estate, and restaurants.

INDUSTRY

COMMERCIAL AND RETAIL 

BIG C (BIGC)

‘Big C’ submits a filing to the SEC for an of IPO 3,730 million shares. to raise funds for business expansion in Thailand and abroad including repaying the loan aiming to transition to growth as a leader in retail and wholesale business of the ASEAN region and to be used as working capital in business operations.

BANKING 

KTC

For the first quarter of 2023, KTC’s performance is in line with the plan and goals set. The net profit according to the separate and consolidated financial statements was 1,843 million baht (an increase of 5.2%) and 1,872 million baht (an increase of 7.1%) respectively. And the amount of spending via card has continued to increase.

Mr. Rathian Srimongkol Chief Executive Officer Krungthai Card Plc. (KTC) said that the Thai economy is likely to continue expanding due to the improvement in tourism and export sectors. resulting in employment, income generation.

TISCO

Mr. Sakchai Phichaphat, Chief Executive Officer of TISCO Group, revealed that in the first quarter of 2023, TISCO Group recorded a net profit of 1,793 million baht, which was stable compared to the same period last year. The loan business continued to grow at 0.5%

Krung Thai Bank (KTB)

Krung Thai Bank Announcing financial results for the first quarter of this year, a profit of 10,067 million baht, an increase of 24% from the previous quarter, mainly from the improvement in total revenue. Both loan portfolios and fees.

Energy

Mr. Wiwat Hemmondharop, vice chairman of the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI), said that in the event that the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) prepares to announce variable electricity prices (Ft) in the month of May-Aug. 2023 at 98.27 satang/unit, resulting in all types of electricity bills having the same rate of 4.77 baht/unit. FTI has proposed to the government a solution to reduce electricity prices to below 4.40 baht/unit. due to fear that it will affect investment.

BGRIM

B.Grimm has launched the first electric vehicle charging station business at The River City Bangkok with 3 chargers and plans to expand the business to 100 chargers by 2023 to meet the increasing demand for electric cars as can be seen from the number of 100% electric vehicle (BEV) registrations in Thailand in the first quarter of 2023 that increased by 1,081%, representing 14,777 units, while in the first quarter of 2022 there were only 1,251 registrations.

PROPERTY

SC Asset Plc,

SC Asset Plc, a company, has gotten shareholder’s approval to purchase a piece of land to build its new condominium near Icon Siam area for a price tag of 1.24 billion from the company Rende Development, which is 100% owned by the Shinawatra clan. SC’s subsidiary – SC FOUR, would be the one that would purchase the land from RENDE.

TEKA

TEKA construction has received a new project in the Q2 of 2023 for the ARLO LASALLE 17. From Real Lasalle 17 Co., Ltd., which is an 8-storey condominium with 4 buildings, totaling 328 million baht. The construction period is 9 months, starting in May 2023. This will increase the company’s backlog to 3,456 million baht, gradually recognizing revenue from this year until 2025. 

The country projects that there will be more hiring opportunities as the construction business is on its way to recovery and business is returning to normal since the beginning of the year.

SIRI

“Sansiri” shows sales in the first quarter of 12 billion, growing almost 70% and will continue to launch 8 new projects worth 13 billion which consist of low-rise segments.

TOURISM

The tourism and sports minister has confirmed that the collection of the 300-baht tourism fee will not be delayed beyond September with the ministry outsourcing to give external organizations responsibility for fee collection for all three methods of entry by air, land, and sea. Arrivals by air will be charged by 300 baht’s while travelers via land and sea must pay, 150 baht.

SHR and MINT

Faced heavy selling pressure as concerns rose following the announcement by the World Health Organization (WHO) that the Marburg Virus, which is related to the Ebola virus, is spreading in some countries in Africa. 

This led to the closure of hotels in Mauritius, including 1 hotel owned by SHR and 2 hotels owned by MINT. 

Currently, MINT has 9 hotels in Tanzania and 7 hotels in Mauritius that are affected by the spread of the Marburg virus, with a total of about 3,040 rooms. 

Meanwhile, SHR has 1 hotel in Mauritius with 180 rooms. SHR initially clarified that the closure of the Outrigger Mauritius hotel was not due to the spread of the Marburg virus, but for system upgrades for the entire water management system. The hotel is expected to reopen in the third quarter of 2023.

TELECOMMUNICATION

Interlink Telecom (ITEL)

Interlink Telecom” has signed a memorandum of understanding with Edge Centers, a global data center alliance from Australia. The first official data backup center or data center in Thailand was launched in Chiang Mai, named “EC61”, using advanced 5G technology to meet the needs of every business. Mr. Nattanai Anantarumporn, Chief Executive Officer of Interlink

AGRICULTURE

The first Thailand-Laos-China cargo train left Map Ta Phut in Rayong bound for Guangzhou on Wednesday morning, carrying durians.

 The cargo train is part of the “Opening of Thailand-Laos-China International Freight Train”. Global Multimodal Logistics (GML) aims to export at least 5,000 refrigerated containers of Thai fruits, primarily durian and mangosteen, worth more than 10 billion baht this year.

SECTORAL UPDATE

The SET closed the week at 1,558.36 points, down 6.74 points (-0.43%), trading value 57,649.47 million baht.

Foreign Selling has persisted through the month along with local institutions.