Retail faces mass layoffs: Thailand’s retail market is expected to contract by 12% this year, with a million workers likely to lose their jobs if the government fails to accelerate the provision of financial aid measures to operators as well as offer domestic consumption stimulus, warns an industry body. Bangkok Post
B53bn allotted for EEC water supply: Mr Kanit says the government needs to expedite water development projects scheduled for 2023 to 2030. The government is committed to investing 52.9 billion baht from now to 2037 to ensure sufficient water supply for its flagship Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC). According to Kanit Sangsubhan, secretary-general of the EEC Office, such spending covers 38 projects that are capable of supplying an additional 872 million cubic metres of water a year. As of the end of June, nine projects worth 4.14 billion baht have already completed development, supplying an additional 174 million cu m of water. Bangkok Post
Egat vows to import an additional 1,200 megawatts of electricity from hydropower plants in Laos.: Additional 1,200MW under long-term deal. State-run Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat) plans to import an additional 1,200 megawatts of electricity from hydroelectric power plants in Laos under a long-term purchase contract. Egat earlier signed a memorandum of understanding with the Lao Ministry of Energy and Mines (MEM) to buy a total of 9,000MW. Bangkok Post
PTT raises debenture allocation: National oil and gas conglomerate PTT Plc has announced it is increasing its debenture issuance to 47 billion baht following huge interest from investors as part of a plan to help boost the domestic economy and create more jobs. The company successfully issued senior unsecured debentures under a medium-term note programme. Bangkok Post
Savings rates soar amid pandemic: Majority paid in by large depositors. Savings rates by locals at Thai and foreign commercial banks have more than doubled over the course of the pandemic, new data has revealed, with large depositors contributing the overwhelming majority of additional money. Bangkok Post
Insurance companies have been ordered to use Covid RT-PCR tests instead of medical certificates as proof of a claim for a lump-sum payment, in order to ease the burden on buyers.
The lowering of deposit protection to a max of Bt1m this month is unlikely to impact the confidence of the depositors on the financial institutions, said Krisada Chinavicharana, the Finance Ministry’s permanent secretary.
The weakening THB vs USD has propped up the export sector, which could register higher growth this year if Thailand can overcome challenges ranging from the ongoing pandemic to shortages of containers and labour.
BoT suggests long-term debt rejig: Pandemic to have lasting effects. The prolonged nature and longlasting effects of the Covid-19 pandemic mean commercial banks and clients should focus on long-term debt restructuring, says the Bank of Thailand. Bangkok Post
Hotels braced for even tougher times ahead: The hotel industry is preparing for the downturn to continue in the second half of this year after seeing revenue drop to below 10% of pre-pandemic levels, according to a report by the Tourism and Sports Ministry. The second quarter, which marked the start of the third wave of Covid-19 infections, saw a quarter-on-quarter decline in domestic tourism of 56.8% to 7.43 million trips, down 13.2% year-on-year. Bangkok Post
