Rise in interest rate no effect on public debt. The Director of Public Debt Management Office said he is not concerned about public debt management if interest rates rise because 90% of public debt is longterm debt at a fixed rate. Only 10% of public debt is short-term and affected by the rise of interest rate. (Khao Sod, 25/07/18)

Border trade recovers with growth of 6.78% in value in 1H18. Trade with Laos, Malaysia and Myanmar is growing steadily. The Deputy Director-General of the Department of Foreign Trade said 1H18 border trade amounted to Bt678.6bn, +6.78% YoY. Exports amounted to Bt385.6bn, -0.79% YoY. Imports amounted to Bt293bn, +18.7% YoY. Therefore, surplus amounted to Bt92.5bn. (Siam Rath, 25/07/18)

Mr. Somkid Jatusripitak, Deputy Prime Minister said budget disbursement of state enterprises is important in driving the economy. He ordered the state enterprises to accelerate disbursement within the last quarter of the fiscal year, including State Railway of Thailand and AOT, where disbursement was still below target. Disbursement should be better next year from additional investment in four airports. PTT has already achieved its disbursement target. (IQ Biz, 25/07/18)

E-commerce on track to reach Bt3.06trn. The value of Thailand’s e-commerce market is expected to reach Bt3.06trn this year, up 8.5% from last year, driven by the continuous growth of social commerce. According to the latest report of the Electronic Transactions Development Agency (ETDA), the market value of business-to-consumer (B2C) e-commerce in Thailand ranked the highest in Southeast Asia at US$23.33bn (Bt778.3bn) in 2017. (Bangkok Post, 25/07/18)

Four creditor banks, KTB, BAY, TCAP and EXIM, have been affected by the collapse of the saddle dam of Xe-Pian Xe-Namnoy Hydroelectric Power Project with lending totaling Bt22bn. KTB is most affected with lending of Bt7-8bn. Hundreds of people are missing. (Kao Hoon, 26/7/18)

UK to refuse Brexit bill without trade deal. Britain will only pay its EU divorce bill if the bloc agrees the framework for a future trade deal, the new Brexit Secretary warned in an interview published Sunday. Britain is set to leave the EU on March 30, 2019 but the two sides want to strike a divorce agreement by late October 2018 in order to give parliament enough time to endorse a deal (Bangkok Post, 22/07/18)

Risks are rising that oil prices will cause next recession. The last five economic recessions all were preceded by a spike in crude oil prices. The recent rise in the price of oil has raised the likelihood of a recession, according to market forecasts. As Warren Buffett said back in July 2008, as the price of gas went above $4, “exploding” inflation was the biggest risk to the economy. But the boom in hydraulic fracturing means that the U.S. oil market has increasing ability to rebalance supply and demand. CNBC, 23/07/18)

Japanese government bond yields up sharply on speculation about policy change. Japan’s 10year yield rose as much as six basis points to 0.090 percent, a level last seen in early February and within sight of 0.110 percent, the level at which the Bank of Japan has conducted unlimited buying in the past to stem rise in JGB yields. Sources said the BOJ is holding preliminary discussions on making changes to interest-rate targets and stock-buying techniques, with a focus on ways to make the massive stimulus program more sustainable. (Bangkok Post, 23/07/18)

EU prepares retaliatory tariffs on US$20bn of U.S. goods has grew.  The European Commission is drawing up a list of US$20bn of U.S. goods to hit with duties if Washington imposes tariffs on imported cars, European Union trade commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom said on the eve of her boss’s meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump. (Reuters, 25/07/18)

Trump says China is targeting U.S. farmers, being ‘vicious’ U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday accused China of targeting American farmers in a “vicious” way and using them as leverage to get concessions on trade. The United States exported US$138bn in agriculture products in 2017, including US$21.5bn of soybeans, the most valuable export. China alone imported US$12.3bn of U.S. soybeans last year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. (Reuters, 25/07/18)