Showing 1-10 of 16 results
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Who’s afraid of peer-to-peer lending?
News, Sutapa Amornvivat, Published on 29/11/2018
» The recent announcement by the Bank of Thailand on peer-to-peer (P2P) lending rules represents a significant paradigm shift. If all goes to plan, by early next year Thailand will be among the few Asian countries, most notably China and Indonesia, to legalise this match-making platform between lenders and borrowers.
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Minimum wage hike's unintended outcome
News, Sutapa Amornvivat, Published on 20/09/2017
» A few weeks ago, a coalition of labour unions demanded more than a doubling of Thailand's minimum wage from 300 baht a day now to 700 by 2018. The proposed number aims to meet living costs, high enough to support two family members, assuming an inflation rate of 3% a year.
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Another crack in China's financial stability
News, Sutapa Amornvivat, Published on 22/02/2017
» Last month, China's foreign exchange reserves just fell below the psychological threshold of $3 trillion. The event got people talking about yet another worldwide financial firestorm. For Thailand, things could get even rockier than in 2008 as the epicentre of the earthquake would be much closer to home this time around.
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Who's afraid of automation and robots?
News, Sutapa Amornvivat, Published on 20/07/2016
» The recent Toyota Motor Thailand's layoff of 800 employees has caused quite a stir. Luckily, this incident turned out to be an isolated case, and not a prelude to mass unemployment. Yet, a real threat is imminent as the world's economies, advanced and emerging alike, are entering a brave new world of automation.
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Thailand must prepare for challenges ahead
News, Sutapa Amornvivat, Published on 18/05/2016
» In February, I discussed, with cautious optimism, the reality of our transport megaprojects and the sizeable impact on businesses. In particular, the service sector would subsequently flourish. As urbanisation accelerates from better connectivity, property and retail developments will quickly follow. Tourism businesses will expand to these new urban cities. Relatively new service businesses, such as transport maintenance, would be established in key junctions and pit-stops, as trains, planes and ships multiply.
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Mega-investment is no longer a choice
News, Sutapa Amornvivat, Published on 27/01/2016
» As the year of the monkey kicks off, anxiety abounds. For the first time in nearly half a century, no single economic power enjoys bullish prospects. In the 1980s, Japan was at the height of its "miracle" with record salaries and employment. In the 1990s, the United States rode the success of rapid technological change that created waves of new jobs as well as the dot com bubble. At the turn of the millennium, the European Union was exuberant with the promise of growth driven by a streamlined internal market and single currency. Then China's accession to the World Trade Organisation helped it re-emerge as one of the world's great economic powers, marching briskly forward even during the global financial crisis of 2008. Today, there is no comparable big winner.
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Megaprojects provide stimulus and long-term gains
News, Sutapa Amornvivat, Published on 17/02/2016
» The volatility in global financial markets has recently picked up again on the back of a series of mediocre economic data across the globe. Poor results for Thai exports in 2015 could very well extend further, putting a spotlight on the need for public investment more than ever. Without a doubt, the cabinet will be called upon to churn out the public infrastructure projects as promised.
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AEC puts Thai public healthcare at risk
News, Sutapa Amornvivat, Published on 20/05/2015
» Amid all the handwringing that Thailand has lost its export mojo, let's keep some good news in mind. In "exports" of services, a few Thai industries are thriving. Healthcare is especially successful, thanks in part to inbound medical tourism, which has helped Thai private healthcare providers enjoy solid growth for five years. During this time, the industry's listed companies have consistently outperformed the rest of the Thai stock market.
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Cheap oil alone cannot grease the economy
News, Sutapa Amornvivat, Published on 21/01/2015
» Crude oil prices have more than halved since July, with a dramatic drop towards the end of 2014 as the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) refused to curb output. The Thai equity market tumbled because energy stocks contribute as much as 20% to the SET Index market capitalisation. But most other sectors remained flat and there are a few sectors like consumer and transportation stocks that actually emerged as winners.
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Slow growth is a small price for reform
News, Sutapa Amornvivat, Published on 18/02/2015
» The Thai economy has gained little traction in recent months. Despite the restoration of confidence and the clearing of many legislative bottlenecks since the middle of last year, GDP growth still came in at just 0.7% in 2014. Nor have we seen any big return of momentum in domestic consumption or investment. Even during the recent New Year festivities, consumer spending was weak, despite the long holiday period. There isn't much to celebrate on the economic front.
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