29 Nov 2022
International Economy
Regarding the 33rd Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit hosted by Thailand, the French leader was officially invited as a special guest of the Thai government to attend the forum. During his visit to Thailand, marking the first such visit in 16 years, French President Emmanuel Macron and the Prime Minister of Thailand held discussions and reaffirmed their support for bilateral relations, economic partnership and efforts to advance the EU-Thailand Free Trade Agreement (FTA). The roadmap for Thai-French relations is considered a key step for further development of relations between the European Union (EU) and ASEAN, accordingly. KResearch holds views on fostering cooperation with France in the following issues:... Read more
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3 Feb 2021
More dynamic relationships between Myanmar and Western powers were imperative in the development of Myanmar’s economy over the past decade. As a result, it has reported relatively impressive economic growth on the back of increased foreign investment, thus helping bolster its exports and allowing Myanmar to make a transition from an agricultural society to an industrial one. Additionally, there has been massive employment generation and a significant increase in consumer purchasing power in Myanmar. ... Read more
17 Jul 2020
Over the course of the past two years that have been dominated by the US-China trade war, the US has been unable to reduce its trade deficit with China to the targeted level. Shifting the focus to Thailand, Thai export businesses incurred a net loss of USD 1.1 billion in related products. ... Read more
16 Jan 2020
The US-China phase 1 trade pact was officially inked on January 15, 2020, lifting hopes that their 2-year tensions could ease. However, the US and China will continue to experience higher tariffs, in particular China, as some of its exports to US are still subject to additional tariffs at the rate of 7.5 percent despite the US decision to reduce tariffs on Chinese imports worth USD120 billion while other Chinese imports worth USD250 billion are still subject to tariffs at the rate of 25 percent in 2020. ... Read more
5 Sep 2019
The intensifying US-China trade dispute in terms of the value of goods subject to their import tariffs and magnitude of their import tariff hikes may shave Thai exports by approximately USD3 billion in 2019, against the USD2.4 billion projected before. ... Read more
26 Jun 2019
The ASEAN Summit 2019 ended with members agreeing to conclude the talks for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) framework by 2019. Thailand should take this opportunity as the ASEAN Chair to act as the facilitator to bridge the differences among members to push for the success of the RCEP trade liberalization. RCEP members include ten ASEAN countries and the other six negotiating partners (Plus 6) including China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand). ... Read more
16 Jan 2019
Thailand experienced the first time of its KR CLMV Economic Presence (CLMV-EPI) Index not being among the top three ranking since the fourth quarter of 2017, replaced by Japan at the third position as affirmed by its increasing role as a large investor in CLMV. Change in Japan’s direct investment in CLMV is remarkable, with more focus on the non-manufacturing sector especially in Cambodia and Myanmar,... Read more
3 Dec 2018
On the sidelines of the G20 meetings in Buenos Aires, Argentina on December 1, 2018, US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping struck a temporary truce, agreeing not to increase punitive tariffs for 90 days after the G20 meetings to pave the way for negotiations to end the trade war. President Trump agrees to postpone increasing tariffs on USD200 billion of Chinese goods from 10 to 25 percent from the original schedule of January 1, 2019 for another 60 days to March 1, 2019. China, meanwhile, pledges to buy a larger amount of agricultural produce, energy and industrial goods from the US to address trade imbalances between the two countries. Moreover, both leaders agree to begin negotiations on structural changes with respect to forced technology transfer, intellectual property protection, non-tariff barriers, cyber intrusions and cyber theft.... Read more
19 Nov 2018
Uncertainties associated with the trade war between Washington and Beijing may prompt investors to manage their business risks by diversifying their investments from China to countries not directly affected by the trade battle. Nonetheless, direct benefits for Thailand will be limited because Thailand is not a major recipient of investments in labor intensive industries. And as products require increasingly sophisticated technologies, many Chinese products have still maintained a price competitive edge, dimming possibilities of diversion of investments. ... Read more
7 Nov 2018
At present, the fast-paced business world is fuelled largely by digital disruption. The tourism and hospitality business is one of the industries that has experienced a rapid evolution in the past decade, with Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) emerging to become a force to be reckoned with. The OTA business is driven by key global players which are poised to increase their presence and attach greater importance to the Asian region. The evidence is the value of merger and acquisition deals by the two OTA juggernauts in the Asian region; it represents 41 percent of their global M&As worth THB440 billion. ... Read more
17 Jul 2018
While China’s government policies have constrained growth in some economic sectors, its GDP report for 2Q18 indicated ongoing growth overall, reaching 6.7 percent YoY compared to the 6.8-percent pace reported for 1Q18. Considering growth components, the factors pressuring economic growth include the government’s measures to supervise risks associated with the property sector and local governments’ investments. As a result of such measures, growth of investments in durable assets dropped from 7.5 percent YoY in 3M18 to 6.0 percent YoY in 6M18.... Read more
25 May 2018
Finally, China and the US have reached a compromise to ease trade tensions. Recently, Beijing announced that it will cut tariffs on imported passenger cars from 25 to 15 percent and auto parts from 10 to 6 percent, effective July 1, 2018. Looking forward, China is set to announce a string of measures, starting from the latest tariff cuts on American goods to other areas as follows... Read more
14 Mar 2018
The US is pressing ahead with trade measures against trade partners globally. In addition to their new ‘safeguard tariffs’ on imported solar panels and large washing machines imposed early in 2018, and more recently on imported steel and aluminum, the US is now preparing to implement protectionist measures against Chinese products valued at around USD60 billion. This direction will likely add significant pressure to global trade, thus, KResearch views that all eyes should be closely kept on negotiations between the US and EU, both being among the largest economies in the world. Details on those negotiations are expected to be released before the relevant ‘safeguard tariffs’ on steel and aluminum become effective at the end of next week. If the EU and China are exempted from these new tariffs, prevailing anxiety will ease. But to the contrary, without such exemptions, China and the EU may opt to implement their own trade protectionist measures against the US, as well. This situation would likely escalate into further actions and reactions, incurring significant damage to trade that could spill over to other regions of the world.... Read more
2 Mar 2018
Throughout 2018, the US administration’s continual pursuit of protectionist trade measures has tended to increase volatility in global trade. Most recently, President Donald Trump announced that new “safeguard” tariffs would be imposed on steel and aluminum imports at 25 percent and 10 percent, respectively. Although no details have been released yet, it seems undeniable that trade with the US will become difficult, going forward.... Read more
18 Sep 2017
Key real economy indicators released September 14th indicated a slowdown on both the supply and demand sides. Industrial... Read more
Key real economy indicators released September 14th indicated a slowdown on both the supply and demand sides. Industrial output for August expanded 6.0% YoY, down considerably from 6.4% during July, while fixed-asset investment grew 7.8% YTD YoY, slumping substantially from 8.3% during January-July. Retail sales increased 10.1% YoY in August, down from 10.4% over July. ... Read more