I've been wetting the bed a lot lately.

[webfact]

Industrial confidence hits 28-month low

By The Nation

 

Photo Credit: PxHere

 

The Industrial Confidence Index in March dropped to a 28-month low of 88.0 under the impact of Covid-19, Suphan Mongkolsuthi, Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) chairman, said on Thursday (April 23).

 

The fall of 2.2 points from February’s 90.2 came after the government ordered department stores and venues to close and announced a state of emergency to contain the spread of the virus.

 

“This move hit consumption of both goods and services, and left businesses facing declines in production and distribution, as well as transportation delays,” he said.

 

“Meanwhile, the severe drought has brought a shortage of raw materials in the agricultural product processing industry, causing buying power in agriculture to drop.”

 

The Index is compiled from a survey of 1,026 entrepreneurs covering 45 industrial groups nationwide. This month’s Index showed that 67.3 percent of entrepreneurs were concerned about the global economy as their trading partners may affected by the Covid-19 outbreak, causing orders from overseas to decline.

 

“Meanwhile, 49.3 percent of entrepreneurs were concerned about the political situation in the country after the government issued relief measures to help entrepreneurs affected by the outbreak,” Suphan said.

 

“Factors relieving concern among entrepreneurs are the currency exchange rate [baht/dollar], highlighted by 42.3 percent of entrepreneurs; the oil price, highlighted by 31.7 percent; and the loan interest rate, highlighted by 18.8 per cent.”

 

He forecast the Industrial Confidence Index will drop to a 10-year low over the next three months as entrepreneurs worry about liquidity and business rehabilitation amid the lingering Covid-19 crisis.

 

“Over 200 entrepreneurs declined to answer the questionnaire, saying they needed more time to adjust their businesses to cope with the Covid-19 impact,” he said. “It has been a long time since the index fell in all areas, all regions and all industry sizes.

 

He advised the government to give entrepreneurs tax breaks on their efforts to curb the pandemic, to promote the country's e-commerce platform to support new consumer behaviour after the Covid-19 crisis, and to procure goods from Thai manufacturers.

 

Source: https://www.nationthailand.com/business/30386625

 

-- © Copyright The Nation Thailand 2020-04-24

 

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[Isaan sailor]

Business sentiment reveals the ugly truth:  they cannot compete on the world market with a Baht so high.  And the China-centric regime thinks China will be a great replacement market for goods and services.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  China only wants to own/control Thailand.

[Darkside Gray]

It's a new low every month with this inept bunch.

[Yadon Toploy]

1 hour ago, Isaan sailor said:

they cannot compete on the world market with a Baht so high

This now is more important than ever.

[Yadon Toploy]

6 minutes ago, Darkside Gray said:

It's a new low every month with this inept bunch.

The inevitable consequences of having the wrong people managing at the highest level at the wrong time.

 

Management is not the same as giving orders in the military.

 

Predictable, but many were so blinkered with their obsession with the Shin Clan that they led the country into this.

 

Now we have a loose coalition of mafia types and military strongmen.

Edited April 24, 2020 by Yadon Toploy

[Thailand]

Only 28 months?

[Assurancetourix]

1 hour ago, Isaan sailor said:

Business sentiment reveals the ugly truth:  they cannot compete on the world market with a Baht so high.  And the China-centric regime thinks China will be a great replacement market for goods and services.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  China only wants to own/control Thailand.

Thailand is one of the many countries they want to control in SE Asia;
you can add, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar; and even Malaysia ...
  with Vietnam it may not happen under pain of war ... so they will try to go there slyly.
It is up to the Vietnamese leaders to have the intelligence to prevent China from investing massively in the country, which it has been trying to do for ten/fifteen  years.

[Cake Monster]

I wish that Thailand had a PMI Index ( Purchase Managers Index ) similar to the one in the UK.

This Index would tell the real picture of Industry in Thailand, because if Purchase Managers are not ordering raw materials or parts from Sub Contractors Etc, then product is just not being produced, or if it is it could be held in Stock and not sold.

[petermik]

It will only get worse.........

[Forza2002]

All this doom and gloom in Thailand and the THB has only dropped 7% against the USD. It was the same back in 2011, due to major floods many factories (cars, computer chips, farm equipment) had to close thus effecting exports, everybody expected the Baht to tank and yet it hardly moved.. Thai economics work in mysterious ways.. ????

[trainman34014]

1 hour ago, Yadon Toploy said:

The inevitable consequences of having the wrong people managing at the highest level at the wrong time.

 

Management is not the same as giving orders in the military.

 

Predictable, but many were so blinkered with their obsession with the Shin Clan that they led the country into this.

 

Now we have a loose coalition of mafia types and military strongmen.

'Gangsters' would be a better description of these people !

[trainman34014]

Everything is hitting low....except the Baht !!

[Krataiboy]

Industrial confidence hits 28-month low

 

You mean we've still got some industry?

 

 

 

 

[ncc1701d]

9 hours ago, Thailand said:

Only 28 months?

Exactly. What the hell happened 29 months ago that was worse than this??