A new Excise Tax Act will come into effect this September, the top Excise Department figure said. Somchai Poolsavasdi, director-general of the Excise Department, said the newly drafted Excise Tax Act will come into effect 180 days, or September 16, after the bill was publicised by the Royal Gazette on March 20, according to a report on Thai National News Bureau. (The Nation, 25/3/17)
New setback looms for Thai-Sino rail project — The multi-billion-baht Thai-Chinese rail development scheme is poised to suffer another setback if China fails to submit the project’s design document needed to estimate the rail’s costs by the end of this month. China has submitted the project design of the 252.5-km high-speed train linking Bangkok and Nakhon Ratchasima; but the document involving construction materials and components is written in Chinese. (Bangkok Post, 27/3/17)
SRT’s board to ask Cabinet to approve amended double-track railway TOR Tuesday. The board of directors of the State Railway of Thailand will Tuesday ask the Cabinet to approve its amended term of reference for double-track railway projects, said Prasarn Trairatvorakul, chairman of the super board in charge of government’s procurement. Prasarn said the amended TOR would allow medium-sized contractors to participate in bidding for the projects because the value of contracts would be reduced from Bt10 billion to be Bt5 billion to Bt10 billion each. He said the amended TORs would be for five double-track railway projects. (The nation, 28/3/17
PP puts six more projects on fast track. The Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Committee has agreed to put six additional big infrastructure projects worth more than 600 billion baht under the fast-track PPP scheme. (Bangkok Post, 30/3/17)
2017 Thai GDP growth at 4% is possible, said FPO. The growth can be driven by expected 2.5% exports growth. However, the office expects the economy to grow at 3.6%. (ThaiRath, 31/3/17)
‘No turning back’ on Brexit as Article 50 triggered. Britain’s departure from the EU is “an historic moment from which there can be no turning back”, Theresa May has said. She was speaking after Britain’s EU ambassador formally triggered the two year exit process by handing a letter to EU Council President Donald Tusk. (BBC, 30/3/17)
US final Q4 GDP grew at 2.1% pace vs. 2.0% estimate. U.S. economic growth slowed less than previously reported in the fourth quarter amid robust consumer spending that was partially met with a rise in imports. Gross domestic product increased at a 2.1 percent annualized rate instead of the previously reported 1.9 percent pace, the Commerce Department said on Thursday in its third GDP estimate for the period. There are indications that activity moderated further at the start of 2017. (CNBC, 31/3/17
Euro zone businesses growing at fastest rate in nearly six years –PMI. Businesses across the euro zone marked the end of the first quarter by ramping up activity at the fastest pace in almost six years to meet burgeoning demand that came despite sharper price rises, a survey found. IHS Markit’s Flash Composite Purchasing Managers’ Index – seen as a good guide to growth – climbed to 56.7 from February’s 56.0, its highest reading since April 2011. Anything above 50 indicates growth. It was above all forecasts in a Reuters poll and confounded median expectations for a fall to 55.8. (Reuters, 24/3/17)
US March PMI Composite Index Slows To 6-Month Low of 53.2. The Markit US flash PMI manufacturing index declined to 53.4 from the final 54.2 for February. This was below consensus expectations of 54.9 and the lowest reading for five months. The services-sector index declined to 52.9 for the month from 53.8 which was also below expectations of 53.9 and the lowest reading for six months. (Economic Calendar, 25/3/17)
Oil producers’ compliance with deal at 94 percent: Russia. Compliance with a deal to cut oil output is at 94 percent among OPEC and non-OPEC oil producers combined, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak told reporters on Sunday. Russia is committed to cuts of 300,000 barrels per day by the end of April, he added. Novak said he expects global oil stockpiles to decrease in the second quarter of this year. (Reuters, 27/3/17
