Mega-projects to be underway by midyear — The government will make an effort to get going on its mega-projects this first quarter, or by no later than midyear, said Somkid Jatusripitak, the deputy prime minister in charge of economic affairs. “We expect to disburse a total of Bt66.8 billion from the investment budget this year,” he said. (The Nation, 26/1/16)
Hotel occupancy shows good recovery in 2015 – Thailand’s hospitality industry reached new highs in 2015, enjoying its best year in more than two decades, according to research by STR Global. Average occupancy for hotels in Thailand last year was 73.4 per cent, an increase of 13.6 percentage points over 2014 thanks to arrivals soaring to nearly 30 million, driven by the China market. December alone was a particularly strong month as occupancy levels reached 77.4 per cent, the highest since 1995. (The Nation, 26/1/16)
Thai December exports shrink at fastest pace in years, outlook weak — Exports, worth about two-thirds of GDP, fell 8.73 per cent in December from a year earlier, the Commerce Ministry said on Tuesday (Jan 26). A Reuters poll projected a 7.2 per cent drop. (Reuters, 26/1/16)
Bt35bn OK’d for community development — THE CABINET yesterday approved a Bt35-billion budget for the national village and urban community development fund as part of the Pracha Rath policy to boost the grass-roots economy. Each of the country’s 79,000 villages will be allocated Bt500,000. The budget will be disbursed within six months. The money is to be used to finance construction of barns, drying houses, community mills, community fertiliser plants, water reservoirs and agricultural machinery, and other activities that could improve the local economy. (The Nation, 27/1/16)
Slow start of the government’s rubber purchase programme — Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha admitted today (Tuesday) that government’s purchase of rubber directly from rubber growers fell short of expectation as many growers chose to sell their produce to traders to avoid the trouble of having to travel long distance to sell their produce to the government at purchasing points. (Thai PBS, 26/1/16)
Thailand outranked as world’s largest rice exporter — Thailand has been outranked by India as the world’s largest rice exporter, said Thai Rice Exporters Association head Charoen Laothammathat on Wednesday. Last year, Thai rice export earned an estimated 4.6 billion U.S. dollars, compared to 5.4 billion U.S. dollars the previous year, Charoen said. This year, Thailand is forecast to export about 9 million tons of rice to the world market, earning some 4.3 billion U.S. dollars. (Xinhua, 27/1/16)
Japanese trade growth weaker than expected – Japanese imports and exports contracted more than expected in the final month of 2015, but led to the overall trade surplus rising to its highest level since March. (FT, 25/1/16)
Fed’s Nod to Global Risks Lowers Chance of March Rate Increase — Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen and her colleagues have opened the door to a change in their outlook for the economy this year, and possibly a slower pace of interest-rate hikes that would make a move in March less likely. (Bloomberg, 28/1/16)
UK GDP growth rises 0.5% as annual rate slows to three-year low — Official figures published on Thursday showed GDP expanded 0.5% in final three months of 2015, up from 0.4% growth in the previous quarter and in line with the consensus forecast in a Reuters poll of economists. On a year earlier, GDP was up 1.9%, after growing an annual 2.1% in the third quarter. This latest quarter marks the slowest annual expansion rate since early 2013. (The Guardian, 29/1/16)
Market reacts to sharp decline in durable goods orders — New orders for long-lasting U.S. manufactured goods tumbled in December as lower oil prices and softer global demand put more pressure on factories, the latest sign that economic growth weakened significantly at the end of 2015. The Commerce Department said that durable goods orders slid 5.1% last month, likely also weighed down by a strong dollar, after slipping 0.5% in November. (CNBC, 29/1/16)
