STOCK TRADING
Local brokers argue that plans to liberalise the securities sector should be shelved in light of the global financial crisis. The Association of Securities Companies (ASCO), which represents local brokers, wants the Securities and Exchange Commission to delay current plans to liberalise the securities industry.
AGRICULTURE
Relative quiet is expected to prevail in the thai rice market over the rest of this year as buyers will opt for only small amounts, in contrast to the big lots acquired during the food crisis in the middle of the year, rice traders say.
TRANSPORT
Shipping rates have plunged to a two-year low as the world teeters on the verge of an economic recession, with shipping firms predicting the gloomy outlook will persist as financial turmoil spreads from the US and Europe. The Baltic Dry Index (BDI), a measure of commodity-shipping rates, fell 9.4% or 261 points last Thursday to 2,503, the lowest point since June 2006 when the index was 2,478.
The credit-rating agency Tris Corporation Limited (Tris) has moved from quarterly customer reviews to a monthly basis in light of the huge increase in market volatility and credit risks in the global economy.
STOCKS
The Stock Exchange of Thailand should ease its regulations on treasury stock issues to give listed companies greater flexibility in initiating share buyback programmes, according to the Securities Analysts Association (SAA).
BANKING
Malaysia's CIMB Group has welcomed the Finance Ministry's approval for its purchase of a 42.13% stake in BankThai.
BANKING
The Finance Ministry will ensure adequate liquidity in specialised financial institutions amid the global credit crisis, according to Kanit Saengsubhan, the director of the ministry's Fiscal Policy Research Institute.
TRAVEL MONITOR
Non-governmental organisations in the travel and tourism industry took advantage of World Tourism Day recently to stress that current financial crises may be a short-term phenomenon, and that the industry would still have to deal with long-term issues.
The oil market last week slid under the weight of falls in global equity markets despite attempts by governments and central banks worldwide to curb the deepening financial crisis. The Dow Jones industrial average tumbled below 9,000 points for the first time since 2003 last Thursday, while West Texas Intermediate fell as much as $16 a barrel from a week earlier, to settle at a 13-month low of $77.70 on Friday.
PATTAYA : Tourism-related operators in Pattaya are suffering a double blow from local political problems and the world economic slowdown.
AGRIBUSINESS
Betagro Group, one of Thailand's leading integrated agribusiness companies, has opened a new pedigree pig farm at a cost of 190 million baht to support the growth of its hygienic pork business.
E-BUSINESS
If you're selling your car or looking for a new second-hand car, searching an online car matchmaker might be a quick and easy option for you.
HOME APPLIANCES
The Chinese home-appliance maker Midea Group has spent US$150 million to expand its production bases to Thailand, Vietnam and Russia, aiming to drive its manufacturing value to $700 million.
NET WORTH
Last week we discussed ways in which you can successful manage your existing portfolio in stormy market conditions. The use of an Offshore Personal Portfolio Bond (OPPB) can assist in many ways. But supposing you actually don't have all that much wealth to manage and protect? Maybe you are one of the expats here who has bought a property or diverted what you have in other directions delaying the accumulation of liquid wealth until sometime later. You may now be faced with the possibility that you have a decent income and want to save but you are nervous about where to safely house your savings and make them grow successfully.
STOCK ANALYSIS
The Dow has already lost 39.70%, since its peak at 14,198 in October 2007, but the long-term global meltdown may be only just beginning, because the long-term double-top warning in the S&P has only started to become clear.
The SET50 Index closed last week at 311.16 points, a decrease by 101.82 index points or 24.65% from the previous week. For SET50 Index Futures, the nearest contract month S50Z08 (expiring in December 2008), was settled at 304.4 points, a decreased of 109 index points from the previous week. Last week was the worst week in decades for global stock markets, which sank sharply as the financial crisis quickly spread. European banks are among the latest victims. For instance, the government of Iceland had to intervene by taking over the country's three largest banks. Central banks in Europe and the US Federal Reserve jointly cut their policy rates but even this unprecedented action did almost nothing to restore confidence in the financial markets.
BRIDGING THE GAP
Suvit is a newly appointed CEO. He has hired me to coach him on how to motivate his team. I propose that he gather feedback from his six vice-presidents prior to the coaching.
Few things unnerve consumers more than threats to their health or their life savings. The Chinese tainted-milk scandal and the US financial meltdown in recent weeks underscore how difficult it can be for a business to regain public trust when a crisis occurs. In the former case, the local dairy producer Dutch Mill has been in the headlines; in the latter, Thailand's biggest insurer, AIA, has had to face nervous customers. The responses of each company _ and those of others that have had to manage crises _ offer valuable lessons.
Tan Passakornnatee, the president of Oishi Group, rushed to visit two people who had ended up in hospital after they drank Oishi green tea contaminated with hydrochloric acid. Mr Tan apologised to them and offered to pay all expenses even though he strongly believed that the contamination was not due to any error in his company's production process.
American International Assurance (AIA) Thailand has had to deal with alarm among its policyholders over the past three weeks since its US parent American Insurance Group (AIG) obtained emergency loans of up to US$70 billion to cover potential losses.
Thailand's oldest local bank, Siam Commercial Bank, has enjoyed a remarkable turnaround over the past decade. SCB now ranks as a sector leader in market capitalisation, profitability and return on assets, the results of years of streamlining and efficiency gains.
Without help from organisations with crisis communication skill, the damage caused by One-Two-Go Airlines' fatal MD-82 crash in Phuket on Sept 16 last year would have been be far greater.
Shin Corporation has experienced several crises and is unconcerned by the prospect of struggling through another, says executive chairman Somprasong Boonyachai. He said Shin had responded to intense social and political pressure when the founding Shinawatra family sold out to Temasek Holdings of Singapore in January 2006.The approach at the time was to adhere to principles and facts.
