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Thailand sees no risk to the country’s export trade with France from the victory of pro-European centrist Emmanuel Macron in the French presidential election.
Malee Choklumlerd, director-general of the Commerce Ministry’s Department of International Trade Promotion, said Macron’s win at the weekend poll was unlikely to affect exports.
She said Macron’s policies focused on economic stimulus, such as spending on infrastructure and a cut in corporate income tax, while the signs were that the country’s international trade policy would remain unchanged. 
However, Malee cautioned that the Macron was unlikely to support the takeover of French businesses by foreign firms, meaning that foreign investors would face difficulties.
France is the world's sixth-largest economy and the third largest in Europe. The value of Thai exports to the country last year stood at US$1.553 billion, down 3.02 per cent from the prior year. This accounted for 0.7 per cent of Thailand’s total exports. During the first three months of this year, Thai shipments to France came in at US$389 million, down 6.54 per cent year on year. The top export products included air conditioners and air conditioner parts, lenses, rubber and rubber products.

WORK STARTS ON UK NUCLEAR PLANT BACKED BY 

Construction is under way on the main part of a nuclear power project at Hinkley Point in Britain that is partly funded by Chinese investment.
Tan Jiansheng, vice president of China General Nuclear Power Corporation (CGN), provided the update at a press conference. The project, known as Hinkley Point C, is co-invested by a CGN-led Chinese consortium and French state-owned power giant EDF, with the Chinese side holding a one-third stake.
Britain and China struck the final agreement on the 18 billion pound (Bt810 billion) project in September last year. It will be the first new nuclear power plant in Britain for more than 20 years.
Upon completion, Hinkley Point C will provide 7 per cent of Britain's electricity, according to Tan.
CGN and EDF are cooperating on a further two British nuclear projects, at Sizewell and Bradwell. The Bradwell project will use the Hualong One design, China's third-generation nuclear reactor design, if the technology passes British regulatory inspections. – China Daily 

DALIAN WANDA’S WANG
JIANLIN TOPS RICH LIST

Chinese real estate tycoon Wang Jianlin, of Dalian Wanda Group, and his son Wang Sicong topped the 2017 New Fortune 500 rich list, with a personal wealth of 179.4 billion yuan (Bt904 billion, according to the latest annual wealth ranking released by the magazine.
Alibaba’s chief executive Jack Ma came in second, with 156.3 billion yuan to his name. SF Express chairman Wang Wei rose to third spot after the logistics company was listed on China’s A-share market this year, catapulting his wealth to 150.5 billion yuan. The chief of search engine Baidu, Robin Li, slipped to the 10th on the list with 63.4 billion yuan. Jia Yueting, chief executive and founder of LeEco, dropped out of the top 10, after his wealth shrank by nearly 30 billion yuan. – China Daily 

Muang Thai leads in
insurance premiums 
Muang Thai Life Assurance Plc led the insurance market last quarter with premiums of Bt27.61 billion.
That was good for a market share of 18.5 per cent, the Life Assurance Association reported on Friday.
The company’s first-year insurance premiums reached Bt4.48 billion in the first quarter of this year, or 17.7 per cent of the market, said Sara Lamsam, president and chief executive officer of the company.

Fitch affirms ratings on 
4 largest commercial banks 
Fitch Ratings has affirmed the ratings on the four largest commercial banks. 
The Long-Term Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs) on Bangkok Bank Plc, Kasikornbank Plc and Siam Commercial Bank Plc have been affirmed at “BBB+”. 
The Long-Term IDR of Krungthai Bank Plc has been affirmed at “BBB”. 
The National Long-Term Ratings of all four banks were affirmed at “AA+(tha)”.
Fitch has also affirmed the National Long-Term Ratings of two of the banks’ subsidiaries – Kasikorn Securities Plc and SCB Securities Co – at “AA(tha)”. The outlooks are stable.

Streaming application
for securities investment 
Settrade.com Co, a leading Internet trading platform and investment technology provider, has unveiled Settrade DCA Order for investing in securities using dollar-cost averaging.
The new function is on its Streaming application. 
Settrade has also introduced Settrade App for iOS and Android, enabling investors to get up-to-date market information.
Amatee Prapapant, acting managing director, said this new function allows investors to place orders in advance with specific conditions |and periods, while enabling them to check |their order status and get end-of-the-day reports. 
Streaming also offers back testing to simulate the return on investment by using historical |data. 
Settrade App provides key investment information and tools to support investors, such as Virtual Portfolio and Click2Win trading simulation.
The new trading function and app are available now and are also demonstrated at the SET booth at the Money Expo running from today to Sunday at the Impact Exhibition and Convention Centre. 

Asian investors stay tuned to safe havens

Despite policy uncertainties, Asian investors regard real estate as safe haven assets amid global low-interest-rate conditions, analysts said.
According to research by Zillow, the online US residential property portal, job opportunities and education resources are among the top priorities for Asian investors when choosing a destination for investment, as they believe these are factors supporting long-term yields.
Although policy uncertainties remain in the US market, demand for real estate, particularly residential property, remains because investors mainly secure yields from stable cashflow from rental income, which has been rising steadily in key cities.
In the UK’s key cities, such as London, mature markets are seeing a plateau in yields, in which yields remain high and go up slowly for mainstream segments.
In segments that are more capital-driven, there will be more volatility, said Yolande Barnes, head of Savills World Research, a real estate services provider.
China’s key cities remain attractive to investors, and their business models have been shifting from mainly “develop-to-let” to “develop-to-lease”, with an eye on long-term, stable cashflow, analysts said. – China Daily

China’s listed firms bet big on Belt and Road

As China’s state-owned enterprises actively seek opportunities from the Belt and Road Initiative, private companies are also accelerating their “going out” strategy, especially some listed companies with abundant funds.
From 2014-16, 953 companies listed on the Shanghai and Shenzhen bourses mentioned the Belt and Road Initiative in their annual reports, according to statistics from Shanghai Securities News. Among them, the number of private companies reached 416, accounting for 43.65 per cent.
These private companies’ overseas business interests related to architecture, energy, automobile, communication, environmental protection, agriculture, steel, transportation, electric equipment, machinery, information technology and non-ferrous metals.
Chinese electronics giant TCL Corporation gradually promoted its Belt and Road Initiative plan by building factories in Vietnam, Poland, Mexico, Egypt and Brazil. 
The company is also constructing a manufacturing base in Pakistan and cooperating closely with India’s Reliance Jio, the telecom unit of Reliance Industries.
Of the 416 private listed companies to mention the Belt and Road Initiative, 86 have made preliminary achievements, Shanghai Securities News reported.– China Daily