1) Thai stock market overview
Thailand’s SET Index closed at 1,528.81 points, increased 9.25 points or 0.61% with a trading value of 53 billion baht. The analyst stated that the Thai stock market settled higher in response to the progress in PM voting next week, boosted by an increase in BH and foreign investment. The analyst expected mild movement tomorrow after today’s hike and advised investors to keep an eye on the PM voting.
2) CGS-CIMB expects Thailand to welcome 28 million foreign arrivals by year-end
CGS-CIMB Securities has a bullish outlook on Thailand’s tourism industry, projecting that 28 million international visitors will arrive in the country this year.
As for August, the brokerage anticipates that Thailand will receive approximately 2.4 million tourists, which would be roughly two-thirds of August 2019’s inflow.
The Ministry of Tourism reported earlier this month that the number of tourists visiting Thailand in the first seven months of this year reached 15 million, generating more than one trillion baht.
From January to July, Thailand’s tourist industry brought in roughly 1.085 trillion baht, with 638 billion baht of that coming from the spending of international visitors, the official data showed.
The ministry expects the number of incoming tourists to reach the target of not less than 25 million by the end of the year, thanks to the robust recovery momentum.
CGS-CIMB suggested “BUY” on Minor International Pcl. (SET: MINT) and Airports of Thailand Pcl. (SET: AOT) as the global travel recovery continued with stronger demand in the second half of the year ahead of the long holiday season.
3) Thailand sees nearly THB60 billion in foreign investment in first seven months
Thailand’s Ministry of Commerce on Thursday announced that the country had granted 51 new foreign investments in July, totaling THB10,023 million. The largest investor during the month was Japan, followed by Singapore and the United States.
For the first seven months (January-July), Thailand approved 377 new foreign investments, an increase of 17% compared to the same period last year, with a total investment of THB58,950 million, a decrease of 20% compared to the total investment of THB73,624 million for the same period last year.
Japan was the largest investor during this period, contributing THB19,893 million, followed by Singapore (THB12,925 million), China (THB11,663 million), the United States (THB3,044 million), and Germany (THB1,293 million).
