1) Thai stock market overview
Thailand’s SET Index closed at 1,643.52 points, increased 11.97 points or 0.73% with a trading value of 72 billion baht. The analyst stated that the Thai stock market moved in the same direction as regional markets despite choppy opening in European trading sessions as buying pressure went through big-cap stocks, specifically SCB and AOT that moved the market by more than one point. Meanwhile, growth in car exports also sent positive sentiment to the market as well.
In addition, the analyst still recommended investors to monitor the Fed’s statement at the Jackson Hole Symposium to see the direction of US monetary policy.
2) Honda to slash production by 40% at Japan plants due to supply shortages
Japanese automotive giant Honda stated on Thursday that its assembly factory in Saitama prefecture will slash production by around 40% early next month, while two lines at its Suzuka factory in western Japan will lower output by roughly 30% in early September.
The Japanese automaker also announced that its plant in the Chinese city of Chongqing will stay closed this week due to the local government’s extension of an order to reduce power use and suspend manufacturing activities.
Earlier this year, Honda revealed that as part of a radical restructure leading to an all-electric future, the Sayama plant, considered the company’s “mother factory,” will be closed permanently within the next two to three years.
3) World’s 19th largest refinery to shut down temporarily after fire incident
BP Plc (BP.L) said on Wednesday that some of its units affected by an electrical fire at its 430,000 barrel-per-day Whiting refinery in Indiana had been temporarily shut down.
According to the statement from BP, the fire has been extinguished and it is determining when the affected units will be restarted. No one was injured and there were no known impacts outside its refinery.
4) SCB terminates Bitkub deal over uncertain timeframe for solving ongoing issues
SCB has announced a termination of a 51% shareholding acquisition in Bitkub Online Co., Ltd. worth Baht 17,850 million through its subsidiary SCB Securities Co., Ltd.
The bank stated that whilst the results of the due diligence exercise did not reveal any significant abnormal issues which are irremediable, Bitkub is currently in the process of resolving various issues as per the recommendations and orders of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Thailand, which are uncertain in terms of timeframe in resolving those issues. As a result, the Buyer and the Seller have agreed to terminate the Transaction.
5) Thai car exports pick up 18% in July, official says
Thailand’s car exports expanded 17.70 percent to 83,086 units in July, official data showed on Tuesday.
A spokesman for Thailand’s Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) reported that the country’s exports of cars increased by 17.70 percent year over year in July, bringing the total for the first seven months of the year (Jan-July) to 532,730 units, a decrease of 2.09 percent from the same period last year.
The overall value of exports rose 2.23 percent to THB479,981 million.
