1) Thai stock market overview
Thailand’s SET Index closed at 1,617.55 points, increased 0.88 points or 0.05% with a trading value of 39 billion baht. The analyst stated that the Thai stock market moved narrowly and closed slightly higher despite regional markets that closed lower. Trading volume is decreasing as Christmas approaches, but the buyback in tourism and consumer stocks buoyed that Thai market today. In addition, the analyst expected SET Index to continue moving in a sideways trend next week.
2) Elon Musk says he will not sell anymore of Tesla stocks
Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, on Thursday said that he will not sell any more stocks of his EV business for about two years.
“I won’t sell stock until I don’t know, probably two years from now. Definitely not next year under any circumstances and probably not the year thereafter,” Musk said.
The share price of Tesla rose $129.23 or 3% in after-hours trading, which came after a 8.9% drop in the previous trading hours.
He previously said the same thing about not selling Tesla stocks just to sell it later.
3) Thailand’s Prayut declared PM candidacy for next year’s general election
Gen. Prayut, 68, told local media on Friday that the newly formed United Thai Nation Party (Ruam Thai Sang Chart) “has promised to support me in becoming the next PM candidate in the next election.”
“I’ll make it clear today that I’ve decided to take on the role,” he told reporters outside the Government House.
Prayut had been widely expected to depart his Palang Pracharath Party (PPRP), which heads the ruling coalition, after the party has confirmed that its leader and acting deputy PM Prawit Wongsuwan will be the party’s candidate in the election.
The election date has not yet been set, but if Parliament is not dissolved early, its term will conclude in March, setting the ground for a vote in May.
4) Thailand welcomes 10.9 million tourists so far, exceeding expectations
Thailand welcomed 10.9 million visitors between January and December 20 of this year, according to Yuthasak Supasor, governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand, in an online briefing on Friday.
“The top markets were Malaysia, India, and Laos,” he stated, adding that total arrivals for the year could reach 11.5 million.
Finance Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith said in October that a weaker baht would help the country’s post-pandemic tourism recovery, which is the key to boosting economic growth.
The recovery of the tourism sector, which accounted for around 12% of GDP prior to the pandemic, is key for South-east Asia’s second-largest economy.
Thailand’s Tourism Authority has set a target of 10 million overseas tourists for this year, with the country expecting at least 1.5 overseas visitors per month in the fourth quarter.
In 2022, the tourism industry is projected to bring in about 1.5 trillion baht for Thailand, or roughly 50% of the country’s pre-Covid revenue.
The government expects 22 million arrivals next year.
