Thailand Financial News

Indian solar panel manufacturers are grappling with the influx of cheaper Chinese imports funnelled through intermediary countries such as Vietnam, Malaysia, and Singapore as Chinese companies exploit Free Trade Agreement (FTA) loopholes to export to India. Despite New Delhi's imposition of a 40% customs duty on solar modules and 25% on solar cells in April 2022 to boost domestic production and reduce Chinese imports, companies in China are finding ways to bypass these high tariffs and continue supplies to Indian solar farm developers. The Chinese companies have effectively utilised this strategy in the past to evade local tariffs, as demonstrated by a year-long investigation in August 2023 by US federal authorities, which revealed that five Chinese solar panel firms had circumvented tariff regulations by channelling their operations through countries such as Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam. Following the imposition of tariffs, direct Chinese exports to India have declined, but from April to August 2023, imports of solar panel modules from Vietnam and Malaysia have surged, accounting for 60% of all such imports into India, with majority of these products originating from Chinese companies. Indian manufacturers say the imports are hurting domestic industry as the Chinese firms are resorting to dumping their products by misusing the FTA route.

Travel was expensive and busy in 2023, leading jetsetters to seek out cheaper, less-trodden alternatives to popular hot spots. It's a great way to save money on trips heading into 2024, according to experts.

Central banks have a responsibility to keep pace with the digital age and lead innovation, Agustín Carstens, general manager of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), believes.

By Gaurav Dogra

Vietnamese Web3 coalition Ninety Eight, creator of the Coin98 decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem, has launched a $25 million ecosystem fund dedicated to accelerating Web3 startups in Asia.

In  a stunning overnight pump, Baby Meme Coin has erupted +1,000% overnight in a skyrocket move on DEX markets, yet, despite the pump a new Bitcoin project is stealing interest in a multi-million dollar presale.

Denso Wave Inc. engineer who invented the two-dimensional barcode known as quick response, or QR, had never imagined that his system of labelling automotive parts would one day become a crucial pillar of monetary exchange.

Investing.com-- Most Asian currencies strengthened on Monday, while the dollar hovered near six-week lows as softer-than-expected U.S. payrolls data and less hawkish signals from the Federal Reserve drove up bets that the bank was done raising interest rates.

By Jamie McGeever

The White Lotus" were eagerly awaiting the release of its third season, but they now face disappointment. The popular show, known for its ever-changing cast and settings, won't be returning until 2025. HBO's CEO Casey Bloys confirmed this during a press conference in New York on November 2, ruling out any chance of a 2024 release. This delay isn't exclusive to «The White Lotus.» HBO also pushed back the release of «Euphoria» season 3 and the Pennywise prequel series «Welcome to Derry» to 2025. However, viewers can still look forward to «House of the Dragon» season 2 in the summer of 2024, along with other exciting releases like «The Sex Lives of College Girls» season 3, «Curb Your Enthusiasm» season 12, «Hacks» season 3, and «Industry» season 3 in 2024.

general elections while preparing for the increment cycle. “The coming financial year will have large macro factors in India (polls, etc.), and it always has an impact on the business fundamentals such as overall spending," said Anandorup Ghose, a partner at Deloitte India. “Some of that will have a rub-on effect on firms focused on India as their core market." WTW estimates India Inc.

Sheffield Wednesday owner Dejphon Chansiri has asked fans of the troubled club to collect in £2 million to pay players' and staff wages and a tax bill. Citing cash-flow issues, the Thai business tycoon, who last month threatened to stop putting money into the club for unfair treatment by supporters, urged fans to raise funds “If 20,000 people gave £100 then it’s £2m, and it’d be clear — so we can finish it," he said. Chansiri said that failure to pay dues could result in a ban for three windows. “That would cover everything, HMRC and the wages. That would need to be done before November 10 if they don’t want to pass the 30 days, but that means that there can be no next time — if we were to hit 30 days then we’ll get a ban for three windows.

The report cited tighter labour markets and rising inflation as some of the major concerns influencing salary increase budget changes in companies for next year. However, compared to 2022, more than half of companies have increased their salary budgets this year, while a quarter have raised their budgets above the projections they made in December 2022, the survey showed. Technology, media and gaming, financial services and retail sectors are expected to see the highest salary increase of 10% in 2024. Companies in the banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) sector (10% vs 9.8%), retail (10% vs 9.9%) and captives (9.9% vs 9.8%) have projected marginally higher increases for 2024 as compared to the actual salary increase in 2023 due to the continued demand for talent. “Companies across industries are still closely monitoring their cost structures,” said Rajul Mathur, consulting leader, work and rewards, WTW India. The Salary Budget Planning Report was conducted in April and May 2023 with around 32,512 sets of responses from companies across 150 countries. The survey had 708 participants from India.

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) released a colorful and fact-filled Project mBridge update on Oct. 31. The publication combines technical and promotional discussions in a shift of tone as the project prepares to become a minimum viable project for commercial launch next year.

Thailand has announced the temporary removal of visa requirements for travellers from India and Taiwan starting next month and continuing until May 2024. As reported by Reuters, this decision follows a previous move in September to eliminate visa requirements for Chinese tourists, who were a significant source of visitors before the pandemic, accounting for 11 million out of the record 39 million arrivals in 2019. "Arrivals from India and Taiwan can enter Thailand for 30 days," spokesperson Chai Wacharonke said.

Thailand’s second-largest bank, signaling bullish fervor for blockchain after buying out one of the region’s local crypto exchanges through one of its subsidiaries.

Kasikorn Bank, also known as K-Bank, spent $102m to acquite its stake in the Satang crypto exchange, which will now be rebranded as Orbix.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the country’s central bank and financial regulator, is planning to start crypto-related cooperation with some European countries and Japan.

Thailand’s Kasikornbank, one of the largest banks in the country, is moving into the cryptocurrency industry by acquiring a majority stake in the local crypto business Satang.

Thailand’s second-largest bank, Kasikorn Bank, widely known as K-Bank, has acquired a 97% stake in the parent company of the established Satang crypto exchange.

According to Datasembly, a retail price tracking company, the prices of candy and gum have surged by an average of 13% this month compared to last October, which is more than double the 6% increase in all grocery prices. This increase comes on top of a 14% jump in candy and gum prices in October 2022. Weather Impact The driving force behind these higher prices is adverse weather conditions.