Briefs

Joblessness falls to 0.8% in May; worst in Central, South

The ranks of the jobless in May fell by 56,000 from the same period last year to 303,000, or 0.8 per cent of the workforce, according to the National Statistical Office, with 233,000 workers being under-employed, meaning they could accommodate more work hours. A total of 54.96 million Thais are aged 15 or higher. Thailand’s workforce covers 39.49 million; of the total, 38.85 million are employed and 345,000 are seasonally jobless. The remaining 15.47 million include housewives, students and the elderly.

Of the 38.85 million workers, 14.88 million are working in the agricultural sector, up by 490,000 on year. The rest are in the non-agricultural sector, up by 90,000 on year. 

Among the jobless, 123,000 hold bachelor’s degrees, while the rest hold lower educational degrees. The unemployment ratio for workers aged 15-24 was 3.6 per cent, while the ratio for older workers was 0.4 per cent. 

The unemployment rate is highest in the Central region and the South, at 0.9 per cent, against 0.7 per cent in Bangkok, the North and the Northeast, the office said.

 

Coin shortage grips Khon Kaen

Operators of credit top-up machines for mobile-phone and other utility services in Khon Kaen have staged a protest outside the Treasury Department’s Khon Kaen office, urging officials to solve a coin shortage in the area.

Isaras Jansri and Atharit Singlor, the leaders of the protest, said the problem was not limited to top-up machine operators, but affected the country overall. The problem would result in a lack of cashflow in the economic system, they warned. 

Kurit Sombatsiri, inspector general of the Finance Ministry, said a coin-banknote exchange problem had developed due to a lack of counting machinery and personnel. He said he would raise the problem with the Treasury Department and ask it to install new machinery and increase staff at its office in the area.

 

Betagro eyes Asean plants

Betagro plans to open feed-mill plants in Asean countries after launching joint-venture operations to distribute and market its animal feed and animal breeds in Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia.

Rutjawate Taharnklaew, assistant vice president, said the company is interested in expanding its marketing activities into Indonesia due to its huge population base.

Betagro has previously exported its frozen and ready-to-eat foods and fresh pork to many markets in Europe including France, England, and Germany, as well as to Japan, Canada and Hong Kong.

The company will also focus on research and development, which is one of its five key strategies aimed at building sustainable growth for the company. The company has budgeted Bt100 million for research and development each year, accounting for between 0.4 per cent and 0.5 per cent of sales. 

 

Payment link with HK

The Bank of Thailand (BOT) and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) jointly announced yesterday the establishment of a cross border Payment versus Payment (PvP) link between the baht real-time gross settlement system (BAHTNET) and the US Dollar Real Time Gross Settlement system (USD RTGS system) in Hong Kong, to be launched in the second half of 2014. This will be the third cross-border PvP link between two real time gross settlement systems for two different currencies in the Asian region.

The establishment of this PvP link between the BOT and the HKMA will increase the efficiency and safety of FX settlements between US dollars in Hong Kong and baht in Thailand.

As dollar versus baht transactions accounted for about 85 per cent of Thailand’s FX transaction in 2012, banks in Thailand can benefit from the reduction in settlement risk and the increase in efficiency in executing the settlement of FX transactions. 

The new linkage between the two payment systems will strengthen the role of Hong Kong as a payment hub in the region and will offer business opportunities to Hong Kong banks in recruiting Thai banks for providing payment and cash management services.