1 Oct 2020
Industry
จากการที่เหล็กไทยสูญเสียความสามารถในการแข่งขันด้านราคาต่อเหล็กนำเข้าจากจีน ทำให้ผู้ผลิตเหล็กในไทยยื่นหนังสือถึงหน่วยงานรัฐเพื่อขอมาตรการช่วยเหลือ และเมื่อวันที่ 1 กันยายน 2563 ที่ผ่านมา คณะรัฐมนตรีจึงได้มีมติเห็นชอบอนุมัติหลักการร่างกฎกระทรวงกำหนดพัสดุและวิธีการจัดซื้อจัดจ้างพัสดุที่รัฐต้องการส่งเสร... Read more
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24 Sep 2020
KResearch expects the mooncake market for 2020 to be valued at an estimated THB800 million, or a contraction of 15.8 percent YoY, as the market has suffered a severe setback from deteriorating purchasing power as a result of COVID-19. This projected fall in market value is attributed to fewer partic... Read more
Trading
Thailand’s outward trade contracted 7.9 percent YoY in August 2020. As a result, 8M20 exports shrank 7.8 percent YoY. Excluding oil, gold and arms exports, Thai shipments, however, contracted 14.1 percent YoY in August 2020, accelerating over the 13.0 percent YoY shrinkage reported for July 2020. Au... Read more
22 Sep 2020
Thailand is facing hurdles in transporting goods across the border to Myanmar again after a recent announcement by Myanmar to tighten its cross-border controls as part of its COVID-19 prevention and control measures. Such controls include a requirement for truck drivers from Thailand via Chiang Rai’... Read more
18 Sep 2020
The packaging waste crisis is worsening in line with an increase in consumption, the growth of convenience food and the massive expansion of food delivery services during the period of semi-lockdown measures to counter the spread of COVID-19. More than half of all packaging waste comes from food and... Read more
17 Sep 2020
Services
Presently, cross-border data flows are imperative for business growth and global trade in the digital economy era. Business organizations now view that they have to rely on cross-border data flows in order to better understand market conditions and customers, as well as for international trade and s... Read more
16 Sep 2020
The Ministry of Commerce has issued a Notification on the ban of electronic waste (e-waste) imports per HS Codes 84 and 85, specifically for Commodity Code 899, or the ban of e-waste imports under the Basel Convention, effective September 15, 2020. Currently, Thailand’s imports of electronics classi... Read more
2 Sep 2020
Agriculture
We, at KResearch, are of the view that ongoing flooding in many of the northern and northeastern provinces of Thailand may not significantly affect the overall agricultural output, especially rice grown during the rainy season, because the rice harvesting season has yet to arrive. This coupled with ... Read more
27 Aug 2020
Presently, automobile and auto parts manufacturers, especially Japanese brands, are progressively moving away from production processes that emphasize keeping costs low, like lean production, to production that leans more towards agile supply chains in order to quickly respond to potentially volatil... Read more
24 Aug 2020
Thailand’s outward trade was USD18,819 million, shrinking 11.4 percent YoY in July 2020. Excluding oil, gold and arms shipments, Thai exports, however, contracted 13.0 percent YoY. Gold exports reverted to growth of 37.2 percent YoY in July in line with global gold prices, while industrial product a... Read more
5 Aug 2020
The COVID-19 pandemic and resulting stringent countermeasures issued by the Thai government have resulted in temporary closures and limited business operations. Restaurant business, in particular, was for a time left with two options: takeaway and food delivery via mobile application, which has now ... Read more
24 Jul 2020
Based on the Environmental Performance Index (EPI) for 2020, Thailand is ranked at no. 78 in the world, moving up from no. 121 in 2018 – which is better in comparison to countries of similar ranking in 2018, such as China and the Philippines. In consideration of the various indicators, Thailand has... Read more
Gluten-free flour can be promoted as a product campaign via cassava processing, based on a new knowledge like bioeconomy. Bioeconomy is a new model for the economy, with the aim of adding value to agricultural products. As Thailand has a plentiful supply of cassava, processing cassava into various ... Read more
8 Jul 2020
The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has adversely affected both the business sector and households, with SMEs being the major casualty. For this reason, financial assistance measures are geared towards SMEs during 1H20. Since a debt moratorium, which is one of those important measures, is due to exp... Read more
24 Jun 2020
The value of Thailand’s outward trade stood at USD16,278 million, shrinking 22.5 percent YoY in May 2020 due primarily to lockdown measures abroad. As a result, Thai exports contracted 3.7 percent YoY during 5M20.... Read more
18 Jun 2020
Real Estate and Construction
In 1H20, indicators for the housing market in Greater Bangkok have declined in line with the business environment. New home purchases fell by approximately 75 percent YoY on average during 5M20 while the number of home ownership transfers dropped 3.4 percent YoY, ... Read more
Tourism
The COVID-19 situation in Thailand has improved to the extent that the government has eased lockdown measures on interprovincial travel, public transport systems, airports and tourist destinations, allowing services in these sectors to return to normal. On June 16, 2020, the Thai cabinet approved th... Read more
11 Jun 2020
The packaging business has had to contend with challenges from COVID-19 and economic conditions that have caused a decline in consumers’ purchasing power. Demand for packaging in downstream industries is likely to drop, in line with a slowdown in the manufacturing sector. The overall packaging busi... Read more
5 Jun 2020
The spread of COVID-19 and a labor shortage have pushed the food processing industry, which is extremely labor intensive, to consider increased usage of automation. Apart from lowering production risks that are associated with manual labor, the system plays a part in raising safety standards in food... Read more
28 May 2020
KResearch expects that prices of Thai agricultural products in 1H20 will continue to sustain themselves as they contend with negative factors like a severe seasonal drought (between January and April) which caused extensive damage to farm output – particularly rice, cassava and sugarcane, and the on... Read more
26 May 2020
KResearch views that, while the ‘New Normal’ has helped to stimulate growth for online retail stores, retailers still face ever more fierce competition, especially foreign E-Market place operators, which are expected to be the most affected group and subjected to heightened competition. Since the on... Read more
22 May 2020
The value of Thai exports for April 2020 stood at USD 18,948.2 million, with continuous expansion for the second consecutive month at a rate of 2.12 percent YoY – contrary to analysts’ earlier projection of a 4.6 percent contraction. The fact that many of Thailand’s trade partners have enforced lock... Read more
19 May 2020
The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has not only resulted in the growing popularity of gaming, but also opened business opportunities for game cloud computing (GCC) entrepreneurs in Thailand. Given this, we at KResearch have assessed that turnover in the GCC market may grow from THB7.3 billion repor... Read more
15 May 2020
Oversupply is the key factor in the falling price of shrimp since early 2020, as output has far exceeded demand. Related government agencies have prepared for the approval of assistance measures for related parties within the production chain through the 2020 Shrimp Price Stabilization Program. KRes... Read more
7 May 2020
The ongoing COVID-19 global crisis has affected the Thai automobile industry in many different aspects, as the economic recession which is playing out in Thailand and at the international level remains the key factor impacting purchase orders for cars, both domestically and in export markets. As a c... Read more
5 May 2020
KResearch assesses that the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in 2020 will be a short-term factor causing the rubber price structure to change over the long term. This represents an important turning point that will result in a new normal of rubber prices, i.e., rubber prices will likely move within a... Read more
30 Apr 2020
The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 is likely putting pressure on the value of Thailand’s exports of Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs), with an expected contraction of 20.9 to 23.6 percent, for an estimated export value of USD 927.4 - 960.8 million, in line with reduced global demand for electronic products. ... Read more
KResearch views that the government’s plans to gradually ease lockdown measures, including allowing small retail stores to reopen on May 3, 2020 and large retail stores on June 1, 2020 represent positive signs and offer an opportunity for retail businesses to generate earnings again via their premis... Read more
An improvement in the COVID-19 situation is being seen in Thailand as the number of new infections nationwide has declined steadily while no new cases were found in many provinces for many days. This represents a positive sign for the country and if no new infections are found, people and businesses... Read more
24 Apr 2020
Thai exports to the US contracted 2.7 percent YoY in 1Q20. Excluding products related to arms and tanks for military drills, which caused our export base to become volatile, our shipments to the US grew 15.8 percent YoY. The increase was supported by the US-China trade war, which helped bolster our ... Read more
21 Apr 2020
The value of Thailand’s outward trade reverted to growth for the first time in five quarters of 0.9 percent YoY in 1Q20, boosted by favorable gold and electronics shipments. However, oil-related exports were dampened by plummeting crude oil prices. ... Read more
16 Apr 2020
Continuous technological development and the increasingly prominent role of smart phones in consumers’ daily lives have impelled businesses across the service industry to elevate their services to meet consumers’ demands in a prompt, anytime-anywhere manner, through multiple platforms whether they a... Read more
10 Apr 2020
At present, China has established a rising trend in car exports and increasingly invested in automobile production across multiple countries around the world, especially in the category of electric vehicles (EV), which have been considerably well-received, even in the automobile markets of developed... Read more
Plummeting oil prices and measures aimed at combating the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in some of Thailand’s neighboring countries caused our border-trade and cross-border exports to contract 8.6 percent YoY during 2M20. The spread of the COVID-10 respiratory disease in all member ASEAN states a... Read more
9 Apr 2020
Energy
Community power plant project is considered one of the important strategic policies to not only build sustainability in energy consumption across communities, but also generate extra income for local residents via sales of agricultural-based materials as fuel. Biomass community power plants may help... Read more
3 Apr 2020
Chicken eggs are low-cost source of protein. However, as demand for eggs has soared amid fears over the COVID-19 pandemic, they have been in short supply in several areas. As a result, egg prices skyrocketed during March 2020, triggering concern among consumers. To help alleviate such as an impact o... Read more
1 Apr 2020
Thai rice exports for 2020 may face the same negative conditions that continue to plague all aspects of trade from the previous year, whether it is a highly competitive global market, world economic problems, depreciation of the Baht, drought, the change in China’s role from importer to exporter, or... Read more
30 Mar 2020
Retail and restaurant businesses will continue to face challenges ahead as steady increases in the number of COVID-19 infections in Thailand have prompted the government to introduce a number of measures, including a temporary closure of certain venues and declaration of a state of emergency, to cur... Read more
27 Mar 2020
Fresh, chilled and frozen chicken are commodities that Thailand can still make good profit from in China, even though closures of key Chinese trade ports to control the spread of COVID-19 from post-Chinese New Year to mid-February 2020 led to some delays and suspension of shipments of fresh, chilled... Read more
23 Mar 2020
Thai Exports in February 2020 remained a hodgepodge of temporary factors, being supported by consistent growth in gold exports but inhibited by a high base effect as a result of munitions rexports and crude oil prices in the preceding year. Meanwhile, the COVID-19 outbreak continued to affect Thai e... Read more
9 Mar 2020
The coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic has had a broad impact on many industries. One of the major casualties is the restaurant business because the slowdown in the number of international tourist arrivals to Thailand has adversely affected food and beverage spending, which accounts for roughly 15 perc... Read more
5 Mar 2020
We at KResearch view that turnover in the Thai retail market may report a sharp contraction during 1H20 due to a number of factors. These include risk stemming from the COVID-19 outbreak, which is expected to persist during 1H20, and continuing weakness seen in domestic purchasing power resulting fr... Read more
26 Feb 2020
Demand for biofuel blended with diesel and gasoline fuels has increased steadily in recent years, supported by pricing mechanism and the increase in the number of biofuel-powered vehicles. Although prices of biofuel blends are attractive, thanks to state subsidies, such blends with lower proportion ... Read more
24 Feb 2020
The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic has forced China to close its key border checkpoints and extend the Lunar New Year holidays to February. In addition, cross-border land transportation routes from Vietnam to China have contemporarily been suspended to monitor the COVID-19 outbreak, prompting... Read more
14 Feb 2020
The outbreak of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) with the epicenter in China has become unpredictable as it is spreading, adversely affecting the economy worldwide, including China’s automotive sector and the global auto industry, including Thailand’s. All automotive sectors are suffering contraction. C... Read more
12 Feb 2020
In 2020, Thailand’s wireless communication technology is about to experience another turning point. The National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) will auction the 5G spectrum in the 700 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2600 MHz and 26 GHz frequency bands on February 16, 2020, aiming to roll out t... Read more
6 Feb 2020
The World Health Organization, January 30, 2020, declared that the novel coronavirus (2019 n-CoV) outbreak is a public health emergency of international concern as the virus has spread internationally. In China, the 2019 n-CoV epidemic, which originated in Wuhan, Hubei province, has also spread to o... Read more
5 Feb 2020
The airline businesses have faced tough challenges due to pricing competition, which has steadily reduced the average airfares. Moreover, the demand for air travel began to slow, resulting in a drop in airline business value for the first time in 2019 to 314 billion Baht.... Read more
4 Feb 2020
2020 may be another difficult year for Thai car exports. Despite a positive factor, i.e., a likelihood that the Baht may not be as strong as that seen in 2019, there are a number of factors that may inevitably cause Thai car shipments to shrink in 2020. These include economic problems continuing fro... Read more
31 Jan 2020
From January 1, 2020, Thailand has begun a campaign to ban single-use plastic bags under the Plastic Waste Management Road Map 2018-2030 of the Pollution Control Department. KResearch views that the ban will significantly reduce the amount of single-use plastic bags. It will affect supply chains of ... Read more
24 Jan 2020
The outbreak of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (n-CoV) that originated in Wuhan, Hubei province, in late 2019 has caused more patients to sicken and the death toll has risen. Meanwhile, more confirmed cases have been found in other Asian countries, including Thailand, and the US. The Chinese authoritie... Read more
22 Jan 2020
The total value of Thai exports came in at USD246,244.5 million, shrinking 2.65 percent YoY in 2019 while the total import value reached USD236,639.9 million, contracting 4.66 percent YoY. As a result, Thailand enjoyed a trade surplus for the fifth consecutive year of USD9,604.6 million.... Read more
17 Jan 2020
Drought has arrived earlier than the previous year in 2020 and it is expected to be prolonged because water levels at dams across the country have declined 33.1 percent YoY. Such water levels are more critical than those seen during the severe drought reported in 2015.... Read more
7 Jan 2020
Thailand is one of the aviation hubs in the Asia Pacific region, which is expected to experience a rising demand for aviation maintenance and repair services in the future. The future outlook has become clearer after a cooperative agreement for a Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) facility at U... Read more
3 Jan 2020
Inbound tourism in 2020 faces a daunting prospect, which affects the number of international tourists and their spending. The market lacks new factors while risks remain and have even worsened. For example, the gloomy global economic sentiment could discourage the international travelers’ activities... Read more
2 Jan 2020
The restaurant business is one of the most important to the country’s service sector and economy with small and big operators involved and the turnover exceeding 400 billion Baht, representing 4.7 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) of the service sector.... Read more
27 Dec 2019
We at KResearch expect that net profit of Thai private hospitals (listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand) will grow 3-6 percent in 2020, declining from the 6-9 percent pace projected for 2019. Private hospitals targeting high- to medium-income patients, in particular, will likely see their profit ... Read more
26 Dec 2019
The outlook of Thai agricultural products in 2020 will continue to be under pressure from drought and the global economic slowdown. Thailand may face severe drought conditions, which will continue from 2019. As of December 25, 2019, the amount of usable water in the dams nationwide stood at 21,197 ... Read more
23 Dec 2019
Thai exports in November 2019 totaled USD19.657 billion, dropping below USD20 billion for the first time in seven months and plunging for four consecutive months by 7.4 percent YoY, which marks the worst contraction in 43 months. Consequently, Thai exports in the first 11 months (Jan-Nov) of 2019 sh... Read more
12 Dec 2019
We at KResearch view that turnover in the ready-to-eat food market may reach THB20.2-20.5 billion, increasing 3.0-5.0 percent YoY in 2020, thanks to the diversity of new products developed by related entrepreneurs as a result of heightened competition. Meanwhile, the domestic food and beverage marke... Read more
4 Dec 2019
KResearch views that the overall auto sales throughout 2019 will contract 2.5 percent from 2018, or totaling 1,015,000 units. The Bank of Thailand’s control measure for auto loan approval, launched in the middle of this year, has become a key factor pressuring auto loan sales.... Read more
28 Nov 2019
In the past 2 to 3 years, the automobile industry has awakened to the realization that the era of electric vehicles (EV) is coming, resulting in a massive restructuring of the automotive part supply chain worldwide, including Thailand, in 2 aspects; the internal combustion engine (ICE) supply chain ... Read more
Currently, e-marketplace has begun to increase investment in e- fulfillment centers because e-fulfillment is the key to their business; i.e., it can help create the most satisfying service experience to customers, leading to repeat purchases and bolster sales other than just a product delivery servi... Read more
27 Nov 2019
The Cabinet, November 26, 2019, approved new economic stimuli for 4Q19. These include a 50,000-Baht subsidy on a home purchase down payment to ease financial burden of new home buyers, being the government’s third property stimulus measure so far this year. ... Read more
25 Nov 2019
The value of Thai exports reached USD20,757.78 million in October 2019, shrinking 4.54 percent YoY. As a result, 10M19 shipments contracted at a faster pace than that seen during 9M19 of 2.35 percent YoY. The shrinkage in October exports was due to a number of factors, including persistent sluggishn... Read more
15 Nov 2019
The latest development at the Thailand-Myanmar border this year is very interesting with the opening of the second Thai-Myanmar Friendship Bridge at the Mae Sot checkpoint in Tak on October 31, 2019. The new bridge was built to ease traffic congestion at the first friendship bridge. Moreover, the au... Read more
11 Nov 2019
The rapid aging of population is being seen in many developing countries, while most advanced nations have become full-fledged aging societies. Thailand has been an aging society since 2005 and is expected to become an aged society in 2022 or three years at the earliest. Currently, about 6-8 provinc... Read more
8 Nov 2019
Over the past five years, Thai companies offering road transport services have faced fiercer competition due to an expansion of international logistics giants in Thailand. In the past, these international logistics giants used to focus on serving export oriented industrial manufacturers. Recently... Read more
As subdued consumer purchasing power continues to pressure the retail business, we at KResearch expect that retail sales will grow approximately 2.7-3.0 percent YoY in 2020, against the 3.1 percent pace projected for 2019. Traditional retail stores and hypermarkets, focusing on grassroots and low-to... Read more
7 Nov 2019
The multi-sport 30th SEA Games to be held from November 30 – December 11, 2019 in the Philippines will include E-Sports for the first time with the presence of Thai contestants, who are now gearing up to get ready for the competition.... Read more
5 Nov 2019
Europe is another important market for Thailand’s pickup exports. However, because of more stringent environmental measures for commercial vehicles in Europe, we at KResearch view that most of Thai pickups shipped to Europe will inevitably have to be upgraded to hybrid pickups over the near future. ... Read more
30 Oct 2019
The US, October 25, 2019, announced the suspension of trade preferences for Thailand under the Generalized System of Preference (GSP), covering 573 items and costing approximately USD1.3 billion, effective over the next six months or April 25, 2020. Items that will no longer be eligible for GSP bene... Read more
28 Oct 2019
Thailand has so far relied on the imported materials for medical equipment production such as high-quality catheters, even though the Thai plastic industry is regarded as having a solid base throughout the supply chain. However, Thailand’s upstream and midstream manufacturers have focused on product... Read more
24 Oct 2019
The agricultural traceability system serves as an important tool to link production data in each supply chain. The increasing role of modern agricultural technologies will support the adoption of traceability in the entire production process. ... Read more
22 Oct 2019
During October-December 2019, 76.9 percent of people living in Bangkok have planned to travel, up slightly from the survey in the same period last year; 22.2 percent of the sampled group said the government’s tourism stimulus measures (in October-November 2019) affect their decisions to travel.... Read more
Since the beginning of 2019, the residential property market has faced several challenges due to a slowing economy, which affects the confidence of buyers. Moreover, the purchasing power of consumers has not fully recovered. The loan-to-value (LTV) ratio requirement, designed to control the mortgage... Read more
21 Oct 2019
Thai exports in September fell from the previous month, lower than the consensus of the analysts. The lackluster performance is in line with exports of other countries in the region which were affected by the worse-than-expected global economy and the prolonged trade war between the US and China. Ou... Read more
18 Oct 2019
KResearch predicts that Thailand’s food and beverage exports in 2019 will increase 3.5 percent YoY, or equivalent to USD26.6 billion, driven by key export items, namely, fresh and frozen and chilled fruit, poultry products (chicken), wheat products, other ready meals and non-alcoholic beverages whic... Read more
10 Oct 2019
Europe is Thailand’s important foreign tourist market because a large number of European tourists tends to visit Thailand during the final quarter of every year. In addition, they typically take long vocations here and help generate substantial income for travel-related businesses.... Read more
3 Oct 2019
Thailand’s electronic industry is about to reach a saturation point, and its stance in the global supply chains has gradually become weaker. Thailand, therefore, needs to speed up reforming its electronic industry in line with the evolving technology products in the world market, instead of trying t... Read more
26 Sep 2019
The number of Chinese tourist arrivals to Thailand is recovering gradually, with growth seen for the first time in July through to August 2019 at 1 million visitors. The rebound was attributable to a number of factors, including a visa on arrival (VOA) fee reduction scheme, proactive marketing campa... Read more
24 Sep 2019
We at KResearch expect that the last-mile delivery business will grow steadily at 11.0 percent p.a. over the next 2-3 years. Its turnover is projected to reach approximately THB36-37 billion in 2020, supported chiefly by steady growth in the e-commerce business in terms of the number of online shopp... Read more
23 Sep 2019
Thailand may lose its comparative advantage and soon be surpassed by emerging countries such as Vietnam mainly because Thailand is no longer competitive in terms of labor cost. This is particularly evident in the electronics and textile and apparel industries. Although Thai industry still has a comp... Read more
20 Sep 2019
The slowing global economy, persistent trade war and strong Baht caused Thailand’s outward trade to shrink 2.2 percent p.a. during 8M19. The value of August exports reverted to a contraction of 4.0 percent p.a. However, our industrial exports overall to the US continued to grow, including computers,... Read more
13 Sep 2019
As part of the efforts to lift farm income, the government has a policy of guaranteeing income for farmers growing important crops: i.e., rice, rubber, oil palm, sugarcane, cassava and maize, during 4Q19. The Cabinet, August 27, 2019, approved the income guarantee program for rice farmers for the fi... Read more
9 Sep 2019
KResearch has surveyed consumer behavior during the Mid-Autumn Festival this year and found that most Thais are still interested in buying mooncakes with the proportion of mooncake purchases rising to 61.4 percent in 2019 from 59.6 percent registered in 2018. Most consumers buy Chinese delicacies fo... Read more
28 Aug 2019
Amid a new round of the US-China trade dispute, China has announced a 25 percent tariff hike on US car imports, effective December 15, 2019. This is expected to adversely affect US car shipments to China later on. However, it may benefit Thailand because luxury carmakers, namely BMW and Mercedes Ben... Read more
Domestic prices of glutinous rice rose sharply due to a supply shortage of glutinous paddy during the main crop season 2018/2019 as farmers shifted to grow more Hom Mali fragrant rice. Therefore, the main-crop glutinous rice output fell 1.18 percent YoY. Moreover, the widespread drought, resulting i... Read more
23 Aug 2019
KResearch projects that Thai car exports overall may contract 2.7 percent to 1,110,000 units in 2019, dampened by a number of factors. These include the protracted trade war, stronger Baht and substantial declines in our automobile shipments to major markets, namely Australia, as they are experienc... Read more
21 Aug 2019
Surging gold exports for the second consecutive month helped Thai shipments overall to resume growth for the first time in five months in July 2019. The value of July shipments came in at USD21,205 million, increasing 4.28 percent YoY, driven partly by skyrocketing gold exports for the second conse... Read more
20 Aug 2019
On August 20, 2019, aside from the extension of visa-on-arrival fee waiver for Chinese and Indian citizens, which is scheduled to expire at the end of October 2019, to the end of April 2020, the Cabinet also approved a number of measures, aimed at stimulating domestic tourism. These include: 1) A 1,... Read more
14 Aug 2019
Hong Kong’s protests have escalated to the shutdown of Hong Kong international airport, shaking the reputation of one of the Asian financial hubs. Air transportation for passenger and cargo is disrupted. KResearch views that since the volume of Thailand’s outbound shipments to Hong Kong is small; H... Read more
13 Aug 2019
The standoff between the authorities and protesters in Hong Kong since June 2019 has escalated to the airport shutdown last weekend from August 9-12, 2019. Flights were cancelled with chaotic effects spreading out across the island. Although the airport reopened on August 13, 2019, uncertainty still... Read more
9 Aug 2019
The State Oil Fund Act 2019, effective on September 24, 2019, will terminate price subsidies for biofuels within three years. Nonetheless, the government has not announced criteria or regulations in the aftermath of price subsidy abrogation. KResearch views that the termination of the price subsidy ... Read more
8 Aug 2019
For the vehicle market in 2019, KResearch views that although the auto market registered decent growth in 1H19, there are negative factors dragging on the market in 2H19, especially the Bank of Thailand’s measures to control auto loans approved by commercial banks. Consequently, auto sales in 2H19 ... Read more
5 Aug 2019
The residential property market in Bangkok Metropolitan Region in the remainder of 2019 still faces several challenges, prompting developers to adopt a cautious approach in launching new projects and adjust their business plans in response to the market conditions in 2H19. Some have shifted to pro... Read more
23 Jul 2019
The off-season drought situation in 2019 (May-July 2019) has caused extensive damage. The influence of a mild El Nino condition has resulted in lower than normal rainfall. The amount of water in the dams remains low, adversely affecting main agricultural products such as in-season rice that farmer... Read more
22 Jul 2019
Regarding the ongoing cassava mosaic virus epidemic, KResearch views that in 2019 the cassava mosaic virus epidemic may not damage the overall cassava output for this year because normally a small amount of cassava will enter the market in the second half of the year. The cassava price in 2H19 is li... Read more
Skyrocketing gold exports supported Thai shipments to shrink at a slower pace in June 2019. Thailand’s June outward trade reached USD21,409.3 million, representing a contraction for the fourth consecutive month at 2.15 percent YoY. The shrinkage, however, was slower than those reported during the pr... Read more
18 Jul 2019
Growth in the global electric vehicle (EV) market currently has prompted Japanese car makers to restructure their supply chains by adopting horizontal specialization. Under this strategy, they have joined forces with their partners to develop a single platform. This has benefited Thai auto parts mak... Read more
9 Jul 2019
Due to China’s African swine fever (ASF) outbreak, China may experience the shortage of pork meat for domestic consumption and need to import other protein sources from other countries. We at KResearch view that the incident will likely benefit Thai livestock products, especially chicken products ex... Read more
28 Jun 2019
The “Green business trend” has prompted many countries to introduce campaigns to reduce the use of plastics which are not easily degradable, especially single-use plastics for food and beverage packaging. Therefore, renewable materials, namely bioplastics have seen a rapid growth with an average com... Read more
In 1H19, inbound tourism slowed due to various factors; whereas, the overall number of tourists and slowing growth rate were as expected (party due to high base effect in 2018), in spite of some differences in details in each market. For example, the number of Chinese tourists is lower than expec... Read more
25 Jun 2019
KResearch views that the wood pellet market in Japan is expanding significantly to serve the local power sector. The demand for wood pellets in Japan is expected to increase to 5 million tons in 2022 from 1.2 million tons in 2019. However, Japan has the capacity to produce only 126,000 tons of wood ... Read more