The Thai Industries Sentiment Index (TISI) for November rose for the first time in five months, from 93.0 in October, to stand at 95.2, Payungsak Chartsuthipol, chairman of the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI), said on Thursday.
The FTI’s industry confidence survey was conducted in November but the FTI chief did not provide details on how many manufacturers were involved.
Mr Payungsak attributed the improvement in industry confidence to rising orders, overall sales outlook, output and business performance over the month.
However, the industry confidence figure remained below the 100 level, showing low confidence in the industry sector, he said.
The FTI chief said the substantial increase in orders and sales volumes of manufacturers reflected the fact that the demand for Thai products continues to rise, particularly in the automobile, construction, food, electronics, electrical appliances and energy industries.
Negative factors that could erode the manufacturers’ confidence included the global economic crisis, persistent internal political conflict, rising prices of raw materials and energy, and the government’s 300 baht daily minimum wage which will take effect on Jan 1, he added.
These factors had lowered the next three months' industry confidence to 99.6, from 101.8 reported in October, Mr Payungsak said.
Industrial manufacturers wanted the government to strengthen ties with neighbouring countries to widen trade opportunities for Thai goods and services.
The state should also support the development of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to get them ready for the debut of the Asean Economic Community in 2016, he said.
Moreover, the government must come up with measures to help the SMEs affected by its wage hike policy.