Biggest state bond issue to be launched this month – proceeds to be used for 2016 budget deficit. The Finance Ministry will issue government bonds worth Bt50 billion, the highest ever, with three-year maturity and 3-per-cent interest, to apply to the 2016 fiscal budget deficit of Bt390 billion, while the Government Pension Fund is set to pay back Bt54 billion to retired civil servants. (The Nation, 17/10/15)
China to succeed Japan as biggest FDI investor – With changing investment promotion policies, Japan will no longer be Thailand’s largest foreign direct investor this year. China will go on top by bringing in the most money directly from that country and indirectly via Singapore. (The Nation, 20/10/15)
Short-term investment package ready to go – The Permanent Secretary of the Finance Ministry says it has concluded the short-term investment stimulus package and is ready to forward it to the cabinet. It expects the package will speed up investment decisions. The details are similar to what the BoI has been offering. (Thai Rath, 21/10/15)
BoT sounds cautious note on outlook -The country faces the threat of increased downside risks to its economic growth next year, says the Bank of Thailand’s chief. The warning comes despite the central bank’s projection of 3.7% GDP growth next year and its hopes for multiplier effects from large-scale infrastructure projects. (Bangkok Post, 22/10/15)
BOE Likely to Raise Interest Rates ‘Sooner Rather Than Later’ – The Bank of England is likely to raise interest rates sooner rather than later, one of the central bank’s policymakers said Friday, a stance that goes against market expectations that borrowing costs will stay at recordlow levels until late-2016 or even 2017. (WSJ, 16/10/15)
China’s fixed-asset investment continues to slow – China’s fixed-asset investment continued to slow in the first three quarters of 2015 as the country’s GDP growth dropped below 7 percent. Fixed-asset investment grew 10.3 percent year on year to 39.45 trillion yuan (about 6.21 trillion U.S. dollars) from Jan. to Sept., the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) announced on Monday. (Xinhua, 19/10/15)
China retail sales pick up in Sept. – China’s retail sales of consumer goods grew 10.9 percent year on year in September, slightly higher than 10.8 percent for August, official data showed Monday. (Xinhua, 19/10/15)
China’s industrial output up 5.7 pct in September – China’s value-added industrial output was down in September, partly due to a slowdown in the country’s mining and energy sectors, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed on Monday. (Xinhua, 19/10/15)
ECB May Be Pressed Into More Stimulus – The European Central Bank is discovering what the Federal Reserve and Bank of England have long known: Once you start down the path of moneyprinting, it is extremely difficult to get off. (WSJ, 21/10/15)
Spending by foreign tourists in Japan hits record in Jan.-Sept. – Spending by foreign tourists in Japan hit a record 2.60 trillion yen ($21.7 billion) in the January-September period, already surpassing the all-time high of 2.28 trillion yen for the whole of last year, the government said Wednesday. (Kyodo, 22/10/15)
