72% of Thai firms plan more jobs amid optimism

The proportion for the Kingdom increased from 68 per cent in the company’s previous “International Busi-ness Report” (IBR), a quarterly survey of more than 3,000 business leaders.
Throughout the Asia-Pacific region, those intending to increase hiring rose to 43 per cent from 38 per cent. Asia-Pacific businesses planning to increase their employees’ wages at or above the rate of inflation increased from 60 per cent to 76 per cent, with the number in Thailand rising from 36 per cent to 52 per cent.
With regard to inflation – in this survey, the number of businesses planning on increasing product prices – 42 per cent of businesses in the region plan to do so, up from 37 per cent, but in Thailand the number fell from 54 per cent to 44 per cent.
“These figures reflect the energy and dynamism that all businesses here in the Thailand and Asean markets are currently experiencing,” said Ian Pascoe, managing partner at Grant Thornton.
“However, they also emphasise a few important key considerations, too. Productivity has to improve in almost all areas, as businesses will have to do more with less. Related to this, finding key people will get progressively harder and will require careful succession planning.
“Meanwhile, growth opportunities are fuelling an appetite for both domestic and cross-border mergers and acquisitions, which require careful strategic consideration before and integration work after, in order to be successful,” he added.
The survey showed that over the past three months, Asia-Pacific business optimism had increased strongly, from 35 per cent to 48 per cent. Optimism in Thailand also increased, from 40 per cent to 42 per cent.
The five most optimistic countries in the survey are Peru, at 98 per cent, the Philippines and the United Arab Emirates (both 92 per cent), Mexico (84 per cent) and India (83 per cent).

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Globally, the IBR indicates that businesses in mature economies are betting on future growth, finally releasing their cash reserves and beginning to invest again. This comes as global business optimism, spurred on by improving order books, is up to its highest level since early 2011.
The change in investment mood is welcome evidence of businesses deciding that now is the time to lay the foundations for growth, the professional-services company said. IBR data reveal that business leaders’ investment plans, particularly in mature econ-omies, have leapt sharply over the past three months. In the European Union, 44 per cent of businesses now plan to increase investment in plants and machinery in the coming year, up from 26 per cent three months ago.
Businesses in Group of Seven nations (34 per cent, up 7 percentage points), North America (33 per cent, up 5) and the “PIGS” economies of Portugal, Italy, Greece and Spain (42 per cent, up 27) all report strong rises in investment expectations.
“The survey results reflect optimism that the world’s largest economies and those which have suffered the most in the last few years are unified by an outlook brighter than we’ve seen for some time,” Poscoe said.
“Fears around the ‘fiscal cliff’ dampened US business confidence in Q4, and avoiding it gave a boost to businesses – although the sequester of automatic spending cuts has since come into effect.
“In Japan, there is clearly a feeling that the new prime minister and governor of the central bank can return the economy to growth. China, meanwhile, looks set to outstrip its growth targets in 2013. So while that optimism is encouraging, it is tentative, and we would still advise caution as these events mature.”