1) Thai stock market overview
Thailand’s SET Index closed at 1,668.63 points, increased 10.94 points or 0.66% with a trading value of 66 billion baht. The analyst stated that the Thai stock market moved positively in the afternoon session after the Thai PM gave a hint for the party to dissolve, which led to speculation for an election in early May.
The analyst expected SET Index to extend its gain tomorrow, but with limited upside within a movement range of 1,655-1,675 points.
2) Thai PM Prayut hints parliament will dissolve in early March
Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha said on Tuesday that he is considering dissolving parliament as soon as next month in order to allow the election commission enough time to get prepared for the upcoming general elections on May 7.
He has not mentioned the date in his interviews with the press. The term of the government ends on March 23.
3) India and China to contribute over half of worldwide growth in 2023
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Monday that India and China would contribute more than half of worldwide growth this year, and other Asian countries would contribute about 25 percent.
This year, the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region is expected to be the bright spot in the global economy, according to the 4.7% growth forecast for 2023, compared with 3.8% last year. The IMF also said that Indonesia, Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, and the Philippines are back to their pre-pandemic growth.
For China, the economic activities have been attributed to the rollback of the zero Covid policy and its reopening. The IMF expected China’s economy to recover, which would have a positive impact on Asia’s economies.
4) Russian oil exports to China hit record level in bid to avoid sanctions
In an effort to avoid Western sanctions on Moscow, Vladimir Putin this month ramped up Russian crude and fuel oil supplies to China to an all-time high by offering discounted prices.
After a year of steady decline, oil exports from Russia reached their highest level since the invasion of Ukraine. According to Kpler, a provider of data information, it broke a previous record set in April of 2020.
As a result of a dwindling customer base, Moscow has driven to price cuts—a strategy that has been met with favor by Asian purchasers looking to curb inflation.
According to Kpler data as of February 20th, the total volume of Russian crude and fuel oil exports to China has topped 1.66 million barrels per day.
