Minister of Transportation to propose Purple Line to cabinet this week. The contract for the Thai-Chinese railways will not be finished this month. (Thai Post, 24/7/17)
Finance seeks cabinet nod for B40bn in handouts. The Finance Ministry will seek cabinet approval in the next week or two for a 40-billion-baht budget to assist people who qualify for the government’s welfare and subsidy scheme, says finance permanent secretary Somchai Sujjapongse. (Bangkok Post, 25/7/2017)
Thai listed companies invest Bt180bn in M&A deals. According to the SET, listed companies in Thailand invested Bt180bn in M&A deals abroad. For the past 10 years (2007-2017), revenue generated from activities abroad has been higher than that from Thailand. (Thai Post, 25/7/2017)
ADVANC, ITEL, TRUE, TOT, and CAT passed requirements to bid for internet projects in 3920 villages. The auction will be held on August 1-2. (Khao Hoon, 25/7/2017)
KTC and AEONTS are affected by BOT’s credit card control. The interest rates for credit cards have been reduced to 18% from 20%. This will be effective September 1. The whole revenue of banking system are expected to affect by Bt4bn. (Khao Hoon, 27/7/17)
Cabinet gives green light for MRTA’s South Purple Line. The Cabinet on Tuesday gave the go-ahead for the Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand’s (MRTA) planned civil works for the Purple Line mass-transit rail extension from Tao Poon to Rat Burana – known as the South Purple Line. The civil works account for Bt77.385 billion of the overall project cost of Bt101.112 billion. The MRTA plans to call for bidding in October, with the results due to be announced next August and construction scheduled to commence late next year. The route is expected to be operational in 2023 or 2024. (The Nation, 26/7/2017)
Greece Approved for $1.8 Billion Conditional Loan From IMF. The International Monetary Fund agreed to a new conditional bailout for Greece, ending two years of speculation on whether it would join in another rescue and giving the seal of approval demanded by many of the country’s euro-area creditors. The Washington-based fund said Thursday its executive board approved “in principle” a new loan worth as much as $1.8 billion. The disbursement of funds is contingent on euro-zone countries providing debt relief to Greece. (Bloomberg, 24/7/17)
U.S. home sales stumble as prices hit record high. The National Association of Realtors said on Monday existing home sales dropped 1.8 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.52 million units last month. Economists had forecast sales falling 1.0 percent to a 5.58 million-unit rate. Sales were up 0.7 percent from June 2016. The shortage of properties has led to bidding wars, culminating in house price increases outpacing wage gains. (Reuters, 25/7/2017)
UK economic growth rate edges slightly higher. UK economic growth edged slightly higher in the three months to June, as a stronger service sector offset weaker manufacturing and construction. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the economy expanded by 0.3% in the quarter, up from 0.2% in the previous three months. But the ONS added there had been a “notable slowdown” from last year. Within the service sector, the retail and the film industries helped underpin growth, the ONS said. (BBC, 27/7/2017)
Fed says stimulus wind down to begin ‘relatively soon,’ leaves rates unchanged. The Federal Reserve laid the groundwork Wednesday to begin winding down shortly the massive stimulus program it embarked on to rescue the economy from the financial crisis. As expected, the Fed also unanimously declined to raise interest rates this month. After its two-day policy meeting, the Federal Open Market Committee released a statement containing key language that points to starting the move in September. At that time, the central bank will begin rolling off the $4.5 trillion portfolio of bonds it has accrued on its balance sheet, mostly in the years following the crisis and the Great Recession it generated. (CNBC, 27/7/2017)
