1. All eyes on China: New lockdowns in key industrial cities are causing a rethink about global supply chains. China’s zero-Covid policy has lasted for nearly two years and faced a tough challenge last week as a flare-up triggered fresh lockdowns in several industrial cities in hard-hit northeastern Jilin province and southern technology hub Shenzhen. Bangkok Post
  2. Digital spending to grow 9%: Digital advertising spending is expected to continue to grow in 2022, though by a smaller margin than the 18% surge recorded last year amid concerns about the weak economy, according to the Thailand Digital Advertising Spend Report. The report was jointly commissioned by the Digital Advertising Association of Thailand (DAAT) and market research and consulting firm Kantar Thailand. Bangkok Post
  3. Water wish running dry: Anutin says splashing’s out for Songkran week. Deputy Prime Minister and Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul has urged business operators on Khao San Road to forget plans to hold water-splashing activities during this year’s Songkran holiday period, saying their patience and cooperation are needed to avoid the risk of another disruptive coronavirus outbreak. Bangkok Post
  4. Local fertiliser traders and suppliers have confirmed there will be sufficient fertiliser supply during the peak plantation season starting in May, while pledging to step up imports from Saudi Arabia to meet domestic demand.
  5. Ministry to postpone tax on stock transactions: The Finance Ministry expects to postpone the plan to slap a financial transaction tax on individual stock investors for a certain period because of unfavourable economic conditions, says permanent secretary Krisada Chinavicharana. Bangkok Post
  6. The BOT skyrocketed its 2022 inflation rate forecast to 4.9% from 1.7% because of energy and food price surges attributed to supply shock from the Russia-Ukraine war
  7. BMA expects 600-700k first-time voters for governor poll: There will be 600,000-700,00 first-time voters accounting for 16% of all eligible voters in the May 22 Bangkok governor election, according to the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA). Bangkok Post
  8. Demand for major fuels on the increase: Fuel consumption in Thailand is on the rise again after a decline last year caused by the pandemic. Demand for fuel increased by 13.9% to 153 million litres per day in the first two months of 2022, according to the Department of Energy Business. The uptick was attributed mainly to the easing of lockdown measures, which led to an increase in travelling and economic activities, said department chief Nantika Thangsuphanich. The use of leading fuels increased, except for kerosene because of a shift towards cleaner fuels. Bangkok Post
  9. Foreigners sell B123bn of Thai bonds since start of Ukraine war: More than 123 billion baht of foreign capital has exited the Thai bond market since Russia attacked Ukraine, part of a flight to the US dollar market, according to the Thai Bond Market Association (TBMA). Bangkok Post
  10. MOF ordered state-owned finance institution to hold mortgage rate until end of year to aid home buyers & residential developers.
  1. peter satrapa-binder

    Regarding China lockdowns/global supply chains: China has been doing this since Covid started. So, only NOW a a rethink started? In any case, if China continues to do this, they only shoot themselves in the foot – there is no reliability in trade schedules with china-based companies any more. on the other hand, this might be a good opportunity for ASEAN countries to snatch some business away from china.

    • the shift started pre covid.
      vietnam grabbing mkt share away from china.
      difficult for asean countries to do much without a cluster of the entire industry setup.

      reshoring will take a decade, positive for the US over time.

        • FTA’s better with VN, costs lower, samsung has everything there, thailand’s shining light is the auto sector, rest is gone. Could any manufacturing come back? Nothing low cost, value added ones? Why bother, EEC is a bust imo.
          Indo has all the raw materials for any new economy (EV, batteries etc), don’t see the value add of thailand in the region except for logistics – which could be massive.

          • peter satrapa-binder

            yes, i totally agree, EEC has been a bust and i don’t know whether it might be rescued/reanimated still. i believe that thailand has been missing a lot of possibly opportunities here in the recent few years and others in ASEAN will move in.

          • Not sure how others other than VN have moved it. Malaysia electronics and commodities but nothing really, singapore – capital center, philippines – labour force for the world, indo – fdi so so, though omnibus may help, protects its commodity strength, but other than VN may be the darling of the region given the world’s desire to become green.

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