News

Modern living consists of forward- thinking technology incorporated into our everyday living and developers have caught onto this trend. Thailand’s renowned Sansiri and Tokyu Corporation’s collaborated project, XT Ekkamai, is the first project of the XT Series. This uniquely designed residence is nestled in the heart of a Japanese community in the city, equipped with top-notch smart technology systems to create a modern living space. Over the past weekend, Golden Emperor Properties hosted the exclusive launch in Hong Kong, which attracted over 1,000 investors and was a success with all foreign quota available sold out.

Image Above: Golden Emperor Properties Product Director, Mrs. Cubie Chan, discusses the insights and outlook of Bangkok’s property market.

Photo Above: Golden Emperor’s seminar the past weekend, attracted over 1,000 investors to attend.

Photo Above: XT Ekkamai launched with wide support from investors in Hong Kong, selling out all of Hong Kong’s foreign quota available.

Thailand’s tourism industry is expected to expand through next year, with at least 10% growth in revenue from this year, fetching 3.4 trillion baht.

Yuthasak Supasorn, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) governor, said strong growth is anticipated from both the international and domestic markets.

Next year, the international market should generate income of 2.28 trillion baht, while the domestic market should contribute 1.12 trillion, he said.

The authority also predicted international arrivals would increase from a predicted 37.5 million this year to 40 million next year, with domestic tourists making 169 million trips for 2019, up from 160 million this year.

Revenue from domestic tourism will climb to 1.12 trillion baht from an estimated 1 trillion baht for 2018.

“Tourism contributes 11% to GDP. The industry will continue to grow and that is very challenging for TAT,” said Mr Yuthasak.

Weerasak Kowsurat, the tourism and sports minister, said the government would continue using tourism as a key tool to drive the economy, reduce poverty and lower income inequality.

The government will also focus on sustainability by promoting responsible tourism.

The ministry is randomly inspecting some resorts on Phi Phi Island to verify their quality, check their licences and ensure they are legally employing staff. The move is aimed at increasing tourism quality and standards.

“Apart from that, the move is intended to eliminate nominees working in the industry for foreign investors. We don’t want them to put Thailand on sale and take the money back home,” said Mr Weerasak.

The minister said in the future tourists entering the country must buy insurance as part of new tourism standards.

The government has additional travel safety initiatives on the cards, he said.

TAT has called a meeting with directors from its global offices worldwide to map out strategies for next year.

Pichaya Saisaengchan, director for the Dubai and Middle East office, said TAT would encourage more visitors from this region, particularly female tourists, families and those seeking preventive medical service.

Last year 610,000 visitors came from the Middle East, mainly from the United Arab Emirates, Iran and Oman. The region accounted for 2% of total international arrivals, but average spending from the segment is 7,200 baht per head per day, higher than the 5,200 average from other markets.

“The high season for the Middle East falls between July and August, which is good [as it's] Thailand’s low season. TAT expects tourist numbers from this region to increase by 3% next year,” said Mr Pichaya.

Jittima Sukpalin, executive director for the Americas Region, said three offices located in Los Angeles, New York and Toronto will seek out new markets such as first-time visitors and millennial tourists looking to travel independently and enjoy outdoor activities.

“We will promote secondary provinces such as Chumphon, Ranong and Trat provinces in this market,” she said.

Last year, more than 1.5 million tourists came from the Americas, including 1 million from the US and 250,000 from Canada.

TAT hopes total arrivals and revenue from the region rise by 10%.

Anchalee Kumwong, the TAT Beijing office director, said it would encourage new segments, including families, females, weddings, sports, and wellness visitors from major cities, promoting travel to secondary Thai cities in order to lure first-time travellers.

“China will remain the top market for Thailand. Only 10% of China’s population, 140 million people, have a passport. That number will increase, boosting overseas travel,” said Ms Anchalee.

source: Bangkok Post

Thailand is one of the history-reigning countries in the world for its jewelry and gem production. It has one of the largest natural pool of minerals and gems and is an international trade center for its renowned rubies and sapphires. A realm of craftsmanship molded with modern technology, places Thailand as one of the top jewelry exporters and manufacturers in the global market.

Today, Thailand is an established exporter of precious gems in the trade industry. In 2017, its exports of jewelry and gems combined was the highest in 3 years, which increased by 2.25%. Although the global economy lags behind, its exports last year brought the country a total of USD 13 billion worth of revenue, consuming 5.4% of the total amount of exports in Thailand.

In just the first quarter of 2018, Hong Kong imported a total of USD 1.47 million dollars worth of jewelry, including 22.87% of gold, 18.83% of rubies, sapphires and jades, 15.52% of diamonds, 12.5% of silver jewelry and 8.04% of semiprecious gemstones.

The 61st Bangkok Gems and Jewelry Fair, which took place in February 2018, was one of the most successful fair ran by the Thai government and the Department of International Trade Promotion. In just 5 days, the fair attracted buyers from 113 countries, with those from India, Myanmar, China, United States and Russia being the most active on the market. More than 853 sellers, with more than 2,000 display booths participated in the fair. Besides local vendors, international vendors from Hong Kong, Poland, Turkey, Japan, Singapore, India, Korea, Pakistan, Indonesia and Canada additionally took part in this exciting fair.

The 61st Bangkok Gems and Jewelry fair brought a total trade value of USD 63 million, including USD 19 million of sells within the year, 44 million USD of pre- orders. The total amount has increased from last year by at least 2.5%.

The 62nd Bangkok Gems and Jewelry Fair will take place in September this year, deeming Thailand as the “World Trade Hub of Gems and Jewelry.”

Source: ETNet

The Bank of Thailand’s rate-setting panel left the policy rate unchanged Wednesday as expected, giving more weight to domestic factors and declaring that the country’s external stability remains strong enough to cushion against persistent capital outflows.

The central bank also upgraded its economic growth outlook to 4.4% for 2018 and 4.2% for 2019, up from 4.1% for both years, after stronger-than-expected GDP growth in the first quarter of 4.8% — the fastest pace in five years.

The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted 5 to 1 to maintain the policy rate at 1.5%, where it has stood since a 25-basis-point cut in April 2015. The current level is lower than the US Federal Reserve’s key rate of 1.75-2%.

One MPC member voted to raise the policy rate by a quarter percentage point to 1.75%, arguing that the economic expansion was sufficiently robust and the implementation of monetary accommodation for an extended period might induce households and businesses to underestimate potential changes in financial conditions.

“The committee viewed that the current accommodative monetary policy stance remained conducive to the continuation of economic growth and should support the rise of headline inflation towards the target in a sustainable manner,” said Jaturong Jantarangs, secretary of the MPC.

He said the MPC’s members considered Thailand’s foreign reserves to be at a high level, while foreign-currency-denominated debt and foreign holdings in Thai bonds and stocks remain low, thus providing safeguards at a time when foreign investors are fleeing emerging markets.

The committee will continue to monitor capital outflows, Mr Jaturong said.Thailand is among the few countries still shrugging off normalisation of monetary policy, though some Asean central banks have already synchronised their monetary policies with the Fed’s.

Malaysia’s central bank emerged as the first in Southeast Asia to begin raising policy rates in January, while the Monetary Authority of Singapore started tightening in April. The Philippines and Indonesia hiked their policy rates in May.

The combination of a trade spat between the US and China, the slightly hawkish view of the Fed and the European Central Bank’s decision to end its asset purchases by year-end has triggered foreigners’ sell-off in Thailand and other emerging markets.

“The Thai economy as a whole continued to gain further traction, driven by merchandise exports and tourism, which continued to improve in tandem with global economic growth, and by stronger momentum from domestic demand,” the MPC said. “In particular, private consumption continued to expand, although elevated household debt and the economic expansion had yet to benefit household income and employment in a broad-based manner, resulting in a gradual improvement in purchasing power.”

Overall financial conditions remained accommodative and conducive to economic growth with ample liquidity in the financial system, Mr Jaturong said, noting that overall government bond yields increased somewhat compared with their position during the previous meeting, while real interest rates remained low.

Such conditions allowed financing by the private sector to continue expanding, with improvements seen in the amount of credit extended to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and consumer loans, he said.

Mr Jaturong said capital outflows have been limited to Thai bonds and equities and have not spilled over into the economic sector.As of April, US$2.6 billion had been cashed out from Thailand.Mr Jaturong said the MPC has focused on the mounting trade row between the world’s two biggest economies.

Risk to the country’s economic growth is skewed to the downside, he said, as the trade dispute between the US and its partners could take a toll on Thailand’s own exports.At Wednesday’s meeting, the MPC raised its growth forecast for export value in 2018 to 9% from 7% seen three months ago and to 5% from 3.6% next year.

Kulaya Tantitemit, a spokeswoman for the Finance Ministry, rushed to soothe the market’s jitters after the recent sharp slide in the Thai stock market, saying it would be a short-lived situation and would not affect the country’s economy.Thailand’s economic fundamentals remain solid and the Finance Ministry’s GDP growth forecast of 4.5% this year is within reach, she said.

Soraphol Tulayasathien, director of the bureau of macroeconomic policy under the Fiscal Policy Office, said the US-China disagreement is no cause for worry, given that Thailand has strong immunity with its diversified economy.Thailand has not felt any pinch from the higher tariffs imposed by China, as those products are produced by the supply chain in the US, he said.

Moreover, tourism, which contributes a great deal of income to Thailand, is resilient amid the brewing trade war, which Mr Soraphol expects to recede after the US mid-term election in November.He also ruled out that Thailand will fall into crisis, given its strong economic fundamentals with high foreign reserves of $212 billion, representing 3.6 times the country’s short-term foreign debt.

In the meantime, Standard Chartered Bank Thai economist Tim Leelahaphan said the bank is maintaining its non-consensus call of one 25-basis-point hike in the third quarter and another in the fourth quarter.

Source: Bangkok Post

CBRE Research has just released the 2018 Occupancy Costs report which surveys the rents of the most prime office building in 120 cities around the world.

Based on the survey, Bangkok was the 92nd most expensive city with the most prime offices, as of Q1 2018, achieving average rent at THB 1,186 per square metre per month. Hong Kong (Central) had the most expensive prime office rents at THB 8,673 per square metre per month. This is followed by London’s West End and Beijing’s Finance Street at THB 6,649 and THB 5,684 per square metre per month, respectively.

Palma de Mallorca, Spain, had the cheapest prime office rent out of total 120 cities in the survey achieving rents of only THB 505 per square metre per month. Cape Town, South Africa and Montreal (Suburban), Canada, were the second and third cheapest office rents at THB 587 and THB 632 per square metre per month.

On the bright side, Bangkok was the city with the second largest annual increases in prime rents with the best buildings like Gaysorn Tower at Ratchaprasong intersection, seeing a 16.9% annual increases in US dollar terms. Durban in South Africa had the biggest increase with a 21.4% rise compared to last year. At the other end of the scale, Dubai, Shanghai (Puxi) and Midtown Manhattan, New York, saw the biggest drops in rental with falls of between 9.4% – 15.4%.

CBRE Research expects that Bangkok’s office rents will continued to rise for the next three years and that the best buildings will command a premium over average grade A office rents.

Source : Thailand press release