Somchai spins 5% growth view. Somchai Sujjapongse, the finance permanent secretary, said the government’s plan to issue 100 billion baht worth of government bonds to finance provincial development and stimulate the economy is expected to spur private investment worth 200-300 billion baht next year. Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak said on Wednesday that the government would issue 100 billion baht worth of government savings bonds by January to raise cash to finance development in provinces nationwide. (Bangkok Post, Manager, 2/12/16)
Thailand’s economy is expected to grow no less than 3.4% next year. The MOF is considering many stimulus projects to lead to growth of 4.0-4.5% which do not include lower taxes but focus on investment expenditure. Mr. Somchai Sujjapongse, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Finance expects the private sector to return to invest. (Post Today, 30/11/16)
New domestic tourism tax breaks okayed. The cabinet yesterday gave the nod to the reinstatement of tourism stimulus measures including a 15,000-baht tax break on domestic tour packages and hotel accommodation for individual taxpayers. The scheme, which expired last December, runs until the end of this year and became effective retroactive from Jan 1. As a result, those yet to travel this year are eligible to enjoy up to 30,000 baht in deductions from taxable income spent on tour packages and hotel accommodations in 2016, Mr Nathaporn said. (Bangkok Post, 30/11/16)
Thai Nov consumer prices rise. Thailand’s November headline consumer prices rose on an annual basis at their fastest pace in almost two years, driven by higher food and oil prices, commerce ministry data showed on Thursday. The headline CPI index increased 0.60 per cent in November from a year earlier after October’s 0.34 per cent rise. (Business TImes, Thairath, 2/12/16)
OPEC countries agree on first oil output cut in eight years. Mohammed Bin Saleh Al-Sada, Opec’s president, said a cut of 1.2 million barrels a day would start from January. It comes after more than two years of depressed oil prices, which have more than halved since 2014, due to a supply glut on the market. (BBC, 30/11/16)
S. Korea’s retail sales gain 8.4 pct in Oct. South Korea’s major retailers including department stores and online shopping malls saw their sales rise in October from a year earlier on the back of a government-led discount event, government data showed Tuesday. (Yonhap News, 29/11/16)
BOJ posts 1st net loss in 4 years in April-Sept. period. The Bank of Japan incurred a net loss for the first time in four years during the April-September period, as the value of its foreign currency denominated assets fell against the backdrop of a stronger yen, the central bank said Monday. In the six-month period, the BOJ posted a net loss of 200.24 billion yen ($1.8 billion), a reversal from a profit of 628.89 billion yen a year earlier, after booking an exchange loss of 697.62 billion yen. (Kyodo, 28/11/16)
OECD upgrades global economic outlook in 2017. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development on Monday upgraded its global economic outlook for 2017, as growth will be supported by fiscal stimulus despite weak trade and investment. The OECD now expects the global economy to expand 3.3% next year, up from a 3.2% growth forecast in September. In 2018, the world’s economy is projected to grow 3.6% in 2018, the body said in its report. (Bangkok Post, 28/11/16)
Euro-Area Inflation Accelerates Before Key ECB Decision on QE. Consumer prices rose 0.6 percent from a year earlier, following a 0.5 percent increase in October, the European Union’s statistics office in Luxembourg said on Wednesday. (Bloomberg, 30/11/16)
ISM manufacturing index hits 53.2 in Nov.; Construction spending up 0.5% in Oct. Economic activity in the manufacturing sector expanded in November, according to The Institute for Supply Management on Thursday, and the overall economy grew for the 90th consecutive month. U.S. manufacturing index hit 53.2 in November, up from 51.9 in October, according to The Institute for Supply Management. (CNBC, IQ Biz, 1/12/16)
