Investors sure of renewed Thai growth: BoA exec

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INTERVIEW
Investors sure of renewed Thai growth: BoA exec
Erich Parpart
The Nation


Cox

BANGKOK: -- Investors have confidence in Thailand's economic recovery and its growth is currently on an upward trend after it hit bottom in the second quarter, Jason Cox, co-head of Asia-Pacific global capital markets at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, said in an exclusive interview to The Nation.

Cox said the country remained an attractive place for investment among emerging markets, explaining that the market appreciated economic and political clarity regardless of political viewpoints.

He said the absence of uncertainty was a major reason for the improved investor confidence and from an investment-banking point of view, the Kingdom was always the first stop for investors who sought to do business and investment in the Asean region.

"Right now from an investor perspective there is quite a lot of confidence in everything that is happening in the Thai economy in terms of its recovery in the second quarter and hopefully a bottoming of the economy, and I think investors believe that and sees an upside from here," he said.

Cox said the clarity over who was controlling the country and the plans that had been put in motion such as the infrastructure investment plans, which had been Thailand's investment thesis over the last few years, were appreciated by investors.

Currently there is greater confidence that these expected investments and changes would happen now that there was no political deadlock and the commitment that was shown by the National Council for Peace and Order.

He said that based on a Bank of America survey of 250 investors, the Kingdom was ranked on top in terms of where they planned to put their money in emerging markets in the next quarter because of the country's resilience and the strength of Thai companies.

"Even in the midst of all the volatility, the view that Thai corporates are some of the most transparent, most well-run regional companies has never changed, and the investor community internationally has a huge respect for Thai companies," he said.

Cox said Thai companies were increasingly becoming regional champions and investors were drawn to that across all sectors. While liquidity had reached an all-time high, Thailand as an emerging market was still a very attractive market for that liquidity and the ability to trade and participate in these companies was a big help in terms of putting investment here.

Foreign investors were looking to get into telecom infrastructure and services, but investment in the consumer businesses of all sub-sectors was the main focus for them since they were proxies for growth in this part of the world and had a significant premium.

In terms of risk, Cox said the private and the public sectors had to deliver some of their promises to investors in terms of renewing growth and corporate profits, and as in any market, the government and corporates would be held accountable by investors. But this is a very manageable risk given the strengths of the country's corporates, its hospitality and its favourable geographical location.

He warned that the reoccurrence of political volatility could cause investors to re-evaluate their view of the country. An ageing working population was also something that needed to be addressed because it could turn into a headwind for economic growth. As for the impact of US monetary policy on the region, Cox said the Thai market had done very well through the volatility of the fund flows.

The prospect of Americans selling their assets once quantitative easing had been reduced was something that would eventually happen in the longer term, but currently the US was under no pressure to act hastily or in an uncoordinated way.

"Aside from some weakness posed in the summer in the US equity market, the US is on the right track for recovery, and that is a good thing for export markets and global stability," he said.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/business/Investors-sure-of-renewed-Thai-growth-BoA-exec-30242390.html


-- The Nation 2014-09-03

[shirtless]

My question is which sectors will experience this so called growth,

[impulse]

Dollars to donuts they're shorting Thailand for their in-house accounts...

And wrapping up Thai based derivatives to unload on their customers- made up of senior citizens who live off their pensions and municipalities who depend on their advice.

[Asiantravel]

"Aside from some weakness posed in the summer in the US equity market, the US is on the right track for recovery, and that is a good thing for export markets and global stability, " he said.

after 6 years of trying

[Baerboxer]

"Aside from some weakness posed in the summer in the US equity market, the US is on the right track for recovery, and that is a good thing for export markets and global stability, " he said.

after 6 years of trying

If at first you don't succeed.........................

One thing about the Americans, they don't quit, give up and bury their heads in the sand. They bounce back.

Like it or not, the American economy is what drives the rest of the world.

[Cuchulainn]

Love the "Cox" under the pic.

There's only 1 guy, so shouldn't it be simply "cock"?

[Time Traveller]

"Aside from some weakness posed in the summer in the US equity market, the US is on the right track for recovery, and that is a good thing for export markets and global stability, " he said.

after 6 years of trying

they still have another 18 years of trying before they even come close to matching the Japanese efforts.

[spidermike007]

Dollars to donuts they're shorting Thailand for their in-house accounts...

And wrapping up Thai based derivatives to unload on their customers- made up of senior citizens who live off their pensions and municipalities who depend on their advice.

Well, one can be sure they are not being straight with their customers. Bankers are some of the biggest thieves of our time in history. They are todays version of the robber barons of the 19th century. And the governments of both the UK, and the US made a deal with them in the early 90's, to avoid prosecuting them whenever possible. How many high level bankers have gone to prison lately? Why aren't Dimon, Blankfein, Thain, Mack and Kelly behind bars? An argument can be made that they are all criminals.

[midas]

I am not confident i could rely on what these people say is going to happen or not happen

The New York Times’s Gretchen Morgenson has a big story today on how Bank of America fooled shareholders into approving its ill-fated merger with Merrill Lynch.

Former CEO Ken Lewis, the business genius who drove his bank into quasi-nationalization with two of the worst acquisitions of all time in Countrywide and Merrill Lynch, has testified in a civil suit that he and his executives misled shareholders on the Merrill deal, Morgenson reports. Lewis says that before shareholders voted to approve the deal, he and other executives knew Merrill’s losses had intensified dramatically and intentionally failed to inform them. He didn’t even tell his board of directors until after the vote.

http://www.cjr.org/the_audit/bank_of_americas_merrill_scand.php

Edited September 3, 2014 by midas

[spidermike007]

I am not confident i could rely on what these people say is going to happen or not happen

The New York Times’s Gretchen Morgenson has a big story today on how Bank of America fooled shareholders into approving its ill-fated merger with Merrill Lynch.

Former CEO Ken Lewis, the business genius who drove his bank into quasi-nationalization with two of the worst acquisitions of all time in Countrywide and Merrill Lynch, has testified in a civil suit that he and his executives misled shareholders on the Merrill deal, Morgenson reports. Lewis says that before shareholders voted to approve the deal, he and other executives knew Merrill’s losses had intensified dramatically and intentionally failed to inform them. He didn’t even tell his board of directors until after the vote.

http://www.cjr.org/the_audit/bank_of_americas_merrill_scand.php

The very definition of a criminal. A hoodlum. A gangster. Only Lewis did not need any guns. Just cash. And US government support and a promise not to pursue, charge and convict. Crime lords operating with US govt. complicity.