Government prepares to accept 100K refugees fleeing fighting in Myanmar after rebel forces seized control of Myawaddy, a border town opposite Tak’s Mae Sot district.
PM’s instructed Chiang Mai and every province in the upper North to prepare their operation centres to handle the haze situation in order to ease air pollution during the upcoming Songkran festival when a rise in the number of tourists is expected.
The cabinet approved fresh property measures, including new cuts of the transfer fee from 2% to 0.01%, slashing mortgage registration fee from 1% to 0.01% and raising the limit for home and condo price eligible for the transfer and mortgage registration fee benefits to Bt7m, up from the current level of <Bt3mn revenue per year, or 1% of GDP, with the 1st complex projected to operate by fiscal 2029.
BoT maintains policy rate at 2.5%: Bank encouraged by positive trends. The Bank of Thailand has resisted government pleas for a reduction of the policy rate, deciding yesterday to keep the rate unchanged at 2.5% for a third straight meeting, noting the Thai economy is sustaining its growth trajectory and surpassing the level of 2023.
Bourse sees foreign outflows of B68.9bn in first quarter: Foreign investors sold Thai stocks worth 68.9 billion baht in the first quarter, including 41.2 billion in March alone, attributed to the delay in expected US interest rate cuts, economic conditions and weaker operating results of listed Thai companies than firms listed on other exchanges, according to the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET). Senior executive vice-president Soraphol Tulayasathien said yesterday foreign investors returned to net selling in March, following their net buy of US$82 million in February, as the weakening baht caused them to delay investing in Thai stocks.
AIA posts new record of B24.9bn in new business: AIA Thailand, a subsidiary of the Hong Kongbased multinational insurer, has devised a new strategy and a healthcare product to offer protection to Thais aged up to 99 years, aiming to maintain its leading position in Thailand’s life insurance industry and ensure strong future growth. The value of the company’s new business increased 21% last year, beating growth in the life insurance market and reaching a record high of 24.9 billion baht, said chief executive Nikhil Advani, citing data from the Thai Life Assurance Association.
Good to have friends: Firm expects banks to provide support. A construction project of Italian-Thai Development being carried out in Bangkok. The firm said in the middle of last month that revenue from construction projects would be insufficient to cover its overall expenses. Cash-strapped Italian-Thai Development says it is confident banks will offer it more funds to continue construction work. Cashstrapped Italian-Thai Development (ITD) is confident it will be granted additional financial support from banks to complete more than 100 ongoing construction projects, in addition to bidding for more projects from the now-active fiscal 2024 budget.
Pheu Thai sees Paetongtarn reviving party’s fortunes: The Pheu Thai Party aims to restore its popularity at the next general election under the leadership of Paetongtarn Shinawatra, whose leadership skills were yesterday endorsed and warmly applauded by both her father, Thaksin Shinawatra, the party’s de facto leader, and Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin.
Ministry calls for monetary stimulus: Secretary says capital outflows not a major concern. Thailand’s economy is tilting towards deflation, necessitating monetary stimulus to spur it, says finance permanent secretary Lavaron Sangsnit.
The finance permanent secretary said the SET needs to build trust if it wants to attract investment.: Bourse eager to lure investment. The stock exchange contracted 15.5% last year, the worst outcome globally among bourses, with foreign investors net sellers of 192 billion baht worth of Thai shares. The Finance Ministry is suggesting the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) accelerate efforts to build trust and confidence in a bid to attract investment on the Thai bourse.
