Briefs

The economy continued to expand in April, according to a monthly report by the Bank of Thailand headlined by 5.9 per cent growth in exports.
The report, released yesterday, also pointed to arrivals of foreign tourists rising 7 per cent on an annualised basis as helping to underpin growth in the economy.
Private consumption gained traction, particularly on spending in the services sector, the report said. Private investment held steady with he previous month.
However, manufacturing production contracted from the same month last year, due mainly to a slowdown in automobile production. Public spending also contracted, especially on capital works, after having accelerated in earlier periods.
Headline inflation continued to ease, due mainly to lower prices of fresh food. The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was unchanged from last month. The current account posted a surplus, reflecting support from the stronger exports and the boost in tourism.

GHB OFFERS CHEAPER
LOANS TO SECURE TARGET

Government Housing Bank (GHB) is offering home loans at interest of less than 4 per cent a year in a bid to shore up its new loans target of Bt170 billion this year, bank’s president Chatchai Sirilai said yesterday.
GHB’s move to discount its mortgage packages comes after the bank recorded only Bt50 billion in new loans in the first five month of this year, said Chatchai, noting this mark fell short of its estimates.
Prospective homebuyers have been holding back as they wait to see if the government will launch an assistance package, he said. This was the main factor in the lower than estimated take-up of new loans, he added.
The bank’s non-performing loans in the first five months of the year came in at 5.3 per cent of its total loans. GHB aims to reduce this level 4 per cent or less by the end of this year, Chatchai said.

OVERHAUL PAVES WAY FOR 
LISTING OF BANGCHAK UNIT

Bangchak Corp plans to list its subsidiary, BBP Holding Co Ltd, on the stock exchange within two years of completing the latter's restructuring in the third quarter of this year.
Bangchak president Chaiwat Kovavisarach said that BBP, an alternative energy producer, has been undergoing a restructuring process in anticipation of the proposed listing as early as next year.

HUNDREDS SEEK 
PICO FINANCE LICENCES

Some 224 operators nationwide have applied for pico finance licences, said the Fiscal Policy Office (FPO), which expects to grant 100 such licences by the end of June.
Krisda Chinavicharana, FPO director-general, said: “We’re satisfied with the number of applicants for pico finance licences. Most of them are in the Northeast and they are really local operators who want to expand into formal lending.” 
The Ministry of Finance has so far granted pico finance licences to 55 operators, 19 of which have proceeded to extend pico finance loans. Five of these operators have extended pico finance loans worth totalling Bt1.2 million at the end of April.
 

SUSTAINABLE PATH

Improved global view 
firms up, Moody’s says

The improving outlook for global growth in 2017 appears to be sustainable as some of the biggest risks to advanced economies have subsided and emerging markets maintain their expansion, says Moody’s Investors Service in a report.
Moody’s expects G20 economies, which account for 78 per cent of the global economy, to collectively grow at an annual rate of 3.1 per cent in 2017 and 2018, compared with growth of 2.6 per cent in 2016. The potential damage to global trade and growth from the pursuit of protectionist policies in the US appears to have diminished for now.
“Overall, global growth is looking increasingly sustainable with economic data surprising to the upside in a number of emerging market countries,” said Madhavi Bokil, a vice-president and senior analyst at Moody’s. “The current momentum should continue, barring any negative surprises.”
Growth in China will continue to slow over the year due to reduced property-related investment as liquidity-tightening measures of the central bank, including limits on home mortgage lending, take effect. Accordingly, we expect that GDP will grow at 6.6 per cent in 2017, in line with the government’s target of “at least 6.5 per cent and higher if possible”.

Thai traders urged to tap Hong Kong
Hong Kong and Thailand enjoy strong and fruitful trade links covering a broad variety of products and services and these ties are set to become more robust in the future, says Hong Kong Trade Development Council assistant executive director Sophia Chong. 
On a visit to Bangkok, Chong said Hong Kong’s year-round trade events strengthen its position as an Asian business hub, offering an effective platform for Thai and other overseas buyers and suppliers to develop business opportunities in the region.
Attending a fashion-business seminar in the capital, Chong highlighted the opportunities awaiting Thai enterprises at the CentreStage event from September 6-9, a promotional gathering for fashion brands and designer collections. 
The inaugural edition last year attracted 8,300 buyers from 71 countries and regions, she said, and this year’s show will showcase some 200 clothing brands under the themes Glam, Allure and Metro.

STARTING UP

KBank, AIS link up on restaurant service
Kasikornbank and Advanced Info Service have joined forces technology startups FoodStory and FlowAccount to release Food Solution, billed as Thailand’s first comprehensive system of restaurant management. 
Food Solution provides a service to link all matters related to restaurant management, from storefront service to the back of restaurant, automatic data connection to the accounting system, and payment via online application. The linkages are aimed at enhancing a restaurant’s business efficiency. 
Kasikornbank senior executive vice president Patchara Samalapa said that there are new entrants in the restaurant business every year. It is expected that restaurants in Thailand will record a total market turnover of Bt397 billion, up by 2-4 per cent over the previous year. Medium-sized and small establishments are valued at Bt275 billion, or equal to 69 per cent of all operators.
“Most of them rely upon their employees for data recording, and not on technology-based systems. Data including customer orders, raw material stocks, accounting and cash receipt risk incorrect input, causing needless loss of time and expenditure,” Patchara said.
“Having seen this weakness, the bank strongly encourages the use of technology to overcome business obstacles. It is our aim to enhance management efficiency for restaurant businesses as a basis of further advancement.”

BIG PICTURE

IT workers take to Big Data, poll finds
Forty per cent of Thai IT professionals have started using Big Data technology, a study by IMC Institute has found.
Thanachart Numnonda, director of IMC Institute, said the survey of IT workers skills found that Thais were increasingly ready to make use of Big Data. It also found that blockchain technology was an unfamiliar area for most of the survey respondents.
 “We randomised more than 250 samples and found that Thai IT personnel were more interested in Big Data, but new technology still needs to develop further,” Thanachart
The survey found that over 40 per cent of respondents understood and had started using Big Data technology. About 56 per cent said they used cloud computing, around 40 per cent used Apache Hadoop, and 30 per cent used NoSQL.
The survey concluded that IT personnel had gained much more experience in using cloud computing technology and Big Data. Java and PHP languages are the most popular. However, Thai IT workers have limited experience with new technologies like Spark, Microservices, Container or DevOp, which are widely used in foreign countries.
 The study concluded that development was needed in these areas.

TRAFFIC COPS

Lazada recruits Qrator to thwart hackers
Lazada Group has hired Qrator Labs to guard its e-commerce operations across Southeast Asia against distributed denial of service (DDoS) hacker attacks. 
Saying it has seen traffic to its websites and mobile apps more than double annually in recent years, the online trading firm made the announcement following a l six-month collaboration in which Qrator boosted Lazada’s internet resources for steep traffic surges and fortified them against hacking attempts. 
The effort ensured uninterrupted service for Lazada users even during its three-day, fifth-anniversary event in March, which drew about 70 million visitors.
The system involves a traffic-filtering network connecting Lazada’s data centres in Singapore, Hong Kong and Indonesia to deter and mitigate risks of DDoS intrusions. It was designed specifically for Lazada with data collected and analysed by Qrator.
Qrator Labs has also opened a new node for traffic transmission in Singapore to provide additional connectivity in Southeast Asia.
The customised solution is integrated into Lazada’s Web and mobile network spanning Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
“As an e-commerce platform, we are ‘always on’ for our shoppers and sellers, so having a world-class technology infrastructure is critical,” said senior vice president Vladimir Ivanov. “We are pleased to work with the tech professionals and scientists at Qrator Labs to provide a secure, fast and high-quality online shopping and selling experience for our users.”
Qrator founder and chief executive Alexander Lyamin said his firm has “a strong scientific background and over 10 years of conducting research with our clients”.

BCPG to pay dividend 
BCPG said it will pay an interim dividend of Bt0.15 per share on June 26. 
Company’s president |Bundit Sapianchai said |that the company’s board of directors on late Tuesday approved the dividend payout, which would come to Bt298.7 million.
The company said the record date for determining the dividend entitlement is June 14.