Jun 29, 2015

Thailand - Dismal Thai May trade numbers show economic recovery remains elusive

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* Ministry says it 'has to hit' 2015 export growth of 1.2 pct
* May exports -5 pct y/y, poll projected -2.9 pct
* Imports in May -20 pct y/y vs -9 pct seen in poll
* May trade surplus $2.42 bln vs poll's $500 mln surplus
* Jan-May exports -4.2 pct y/y, imports -9.39 pct y/y

BANGKOK, June 26 (Reuters) - Thailand reported poor trade numbers for May, showing that the country's long-sputtering growth engine still is not helping the struggling economy get on track.

Exports, which equal more than 60 percent of the economy, fell 5.01 percent in May from a year earlier, the Commerce Ministry said on Friday, worse than the 2.9 percent drop seen in a Reuters poll.

Imports collapsed 19.97 percent, their biggest fall on an annual basis since August 2009 and more than twice the poll's projection of a 9 percent decline.

Many of Thailand's imported materials are assembled into completed goods and shipped out again, so the bad May import number is another indication of how weak exports are.

Imports of fuel slumped 49 percent, reflecting that much of the import fall stemmed from lower oil. But imports of capital goods fell 8 percent and raw materials by 14.5 percent.

"The collapse in imports would suggest business still lacks the confidence to import capital goods and raw materials to expand business," said Kobsidthi Silpachai, head of capital markets business research at Kasikornbank.

Thai exports fell in 2013 and 2014, and last week, the Bank of Thailand (BOT) predicted they would drop 1.5 percent this year rather than rise 0.8 percent.

However, the Commerce Ministry maintained its 2015 export growth forecast of 1.2 percent.

"It's a working target that we have to hit," Somkiat Triratpan, a director-general, said.

Orathai Sriring and Kitiphong Thaichareon


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Jun 28, 2015

Thailand - Prayut not bothered over July 4th snub

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Thai Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha yesterday said he did not care whether or not the US Embassy invites him to its Fourth of July celebrations in Bangkok this year.

"It's their business. It does not matter. If they invite me, I will [attend]. If they don't, I will not," he said.

Meanwhile, General Wilas Aroonsri, secretary-general to the prime minister, said Prayut had received an invitation. However, the prime minister would not be able to attend the event next Thursday as he would be heading for Tokyo for the Japan-Mekong Summit, scheduled for the following Saturday, July 4.

"That is why [he] will not be able to attend. It does not mean that they did not invite him," Wilas said.

The Nation contacted the US Embassy but an official said no information was available on the matter and refused to comment further.

Last year, no Thai generals were invited to the event because of their role in the May coup. Washington also downgraded Thai-US relations by cutting military aid.

Pramote Nakornthab, a former Thammasat University lecturer, on Thursday regaled his Facebook followers about a discussion he had with Patrick Murphy, the charge d'affaires of the embassy. Pramote said he asked Murphy three times whether the embassy had sent Prayut an invitation but Murphy did not answer clearly.

Murphy met with Pramote to apologise after the embassy wrote "Dr Pramote Nakornthab, Anti-Thaksin Activist" on his invitation for the Fourth of July celebrations, which will be held on July 2 at a Bangkok hotel.


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Indonesia - Indonesia at high risk of MERS, officials warn

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Indonesia, the world’s biggest Muslim-majority country, is at high risk of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) virus spreading with at least 1 million of its citizens going to the Middle East for religious trips annually.

The Health Ministry general director for disease control and environmental health, Muhammad Subuh, said on Friday that Indonesia was prone to MERS virus outbreaks because of the high number of Indonesians traveling for hajj pilgrimage and umrah (minor pilgrimage) to Saudi Arabia, where the virus originated.

He said there were 250,000 hajj pilgrims and 750,000 religious travelers travelling to Saudi Arabia every year.

"There is no country as big as Indonesia, whose citizens go in huge number to a MERS-infected country for a long time," he said as quoted by kompas.com.

Hajj and minor pilgrimages require Muslims to stay in Saudi Arabia for at least two weeks.

In 2014, Subuh said two Indonesians were infected by MERS with one of them infected during an umrah trip. Both of them were hospitalised in Saudi Arabia and returned to Indonesia after they recovered.

The head of the Health Ministry’s research and development body, Tjandra Yoga Aditama, meanwhile, reminded travelers that MERS virus was still active in its point of origin.

He said there were three new MERS cases in Saudi Arabia, bringing the total to 1,038 people with 459 dead, 573 recovered and six were hospitalised.


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Vietnam - New illicit drugs starting to flood Vietnam

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The use of illicit, synthetic substances was increasing in Vietnam, Deputy Minister of Labour, Invalid and Social Affairs, Nguyen Trong Dam told a meeting of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in Ha Noi on Friday.

Dam was speaking at a meeting to announce the release of the 2015 UN World Drug Report.

He said the use of psycho-active substances (NPS) had emerged in recent years, adding that many drug users purchased supplies on the internet.

The deputy minister said the use of amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS) was common among young drug users in big cities, border areas and industrial zones, adding that the market had developed swiftly in the past 10 years.

(Amphetamine-type stimulants, ATS, refers to a group of drugs whose principal members include amphetamine and methamphetamine).

"The Vietnamese Government realises that the impact of ATS use is very dangerous in the community. ATS users can even commit murder when they lose control," Dam said.

He said treatment for drug-addicts at State rehabilitation centres in Vietnam had made remarkable progress in the last three years. As of May 2015, there were 162 Methadone Maintenance Therapy clinics in 44 provinces and cities.

More than 29,800 people were receiving treatment, equal to 36.8 per cent of the target.

A representative from the Vietnamese Ministry of Public Security said the illicit manufacture of methamphetamines and other synthetic drugs was expanding rapidly in the country.

He said large quantities were trafficked into Vietnam from or through Laos to supply the domestic market and for further overland trafficking to China.

Heroin seizures continued to rise in the first three months of this year with a total of 260kg being seized, an increase of 46kg compared to the same period last year.

In 2014, a total of 922kg of heroin was detected. Heroin remains the most widely used illicit drug in Vietnam.

The report said methamphetamine dominated the global market for synthetic drugs, and its use was expanding in East and Southeast Asia.

Seizures of ATS reached more than 144 tonnes in the period 2011- 2012, a two-fold increase against 2009, and remained high in 2013.

By December 2014, a total of 541 new psycho-active substances (NPS) had been reported by 95 countries and territories, an increase of 20 per cent against 2013 (450).

The UN World Drug Report said that the percentage of drug users around the world was stable, but opium production was increasing.

Christopher Batt, head of UNODC in Vietnam, said at the ceremony a stable but unacceptably high number of drug users world-wide continued to lose their lives prematurely. He said there were an estimated 187,100 drug-related deaths in 2013.

However, the number of new HIV infections among people who injected drugs (PWID) declined by roughly 10 per cent between 2010 and 2013 - from an estimated 110,000 to 98,000.

However, the World Drug Report also indicated that many risk factors, including the transmission of infectious diseases such as HIV and Hepatitis C, and the incidence of drug overdoses, led to a death rate among PWID 15 times higher than in the rest of the population.

The use of opiates (heroin, opium) had remained stable and cocaine use had declined overall, the report said. However, the use of cannabis and the non-medical use of pharmaceutical opioids had continued to rise.

The report said there were 32.4 million heroin and opium users in the world. In 2014, global potential opium production reached 7,554 tonnes - the second highest year since 1930 - due to cultivation increasing significantly in Afghanistan, the main source of supply.

The global seizures of heroin increased by 8 per cent while illicit morphine seizures decreased by 26 per cent from 2012 to 2013.

While maritime trafficking was not the most widely used mode of smuggling drugs, law enforcement authorities at sea had potentially the greatest impact as the average volume of seizures was proportionally higher.

For example, in the period 2009-14, the average seizure at sea was 365kg, while by land ( road and rail) it was 107kg and by air 10kg, the report said.

The report also noted a dynamic shift in the routes used for smuggling opiates, with Afghan heroin reaching new markets.

Recent seizures suggested that it may be more common for large shipments of Afghan heroin to be smuggled across the Indian Ocean into East and Southern Africa.


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South Korea - Another Samsung doctor contracts MERS

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Confirmed cases in South Korean now total 181 with 31 deaths

Another Samsung Medical Center doctor was found to have been infected with the Middle East respiratory syndrome, raising questions over measures to protect medical staff treating patients with the deadly virus, health officials said Friday.

The Health Ministry said a 26-year-old doctor caught the virus while treating the 135th patient -- an emergency worker who was infected while taking a MERS patient to the hospital.

As of Friday afternoon, one additional case and two more deaths were reported, bringing the total confirmed cases to 181 with 31 deaths. The fatality rate reached 17.1 per cent. Of the infected, 35 patients are hospital-related workers, accounting for nearly 20 percent of the total cases. Four of them are SMC doctors, the authorities said.

The ministry said that further spread by the latest confirmed patient is unlikely as the doctor has been isolated since June 17.

The insufficient protective measures for medical staff is suspected to be the cause, they said.

“Until June 17, the protective clothing of SMC staff had apparently been insufficient. The ministry has reinforced the measures since then,” the quarantine officials said.

While the government has recommended the medical facilities to provide D-level protective equipment for medical staff, SMC only provided protective clothing called VRE -- which leaves the neck and ankles exposed -- until June 17, they added.

As more and more medical staff are being exposed to the virus while treating the MERS patients, fresh concerns are growing over staff shortage at MERS-hit medical facilities.

At a public hospital in Gangneung, Gangwon Province, 18 staff have been quarantined and 39 other workers are in self-isolation after a nurse was confirmed with MERS.

Meanwhile, the 10th MERS patient who was being treated in China has fully recovered and left the hospital, the Health Ministry said.

The 44-year-old caught the virus last month from his father who was infected from the very first MERS patient at a local hospital.

Being unaware of his symptoms, he left for Guangzhou on a business trip via Hong Kong on May 26. Three days later, he was diagnosed with MERS and hospitalised.

The patient’s medical cost was shouldered by the Chinese government, the authorities said.

The Korean government has also covered the treatment cost for a Chinese who was infected here.

The returning date of the Korean patient will be kept confidential, citing privacy, they added.

Also, two MERS-hit hospitals in Daejeon were cleared from the cohort isolation measures earlier in the day, the city said. More than 75 patients and medical staff have been isolated in each hospital since June 5 after several cases were confirmed at the medical facilities.

Lee Hyun-jeong


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India - ‘Emerging markets critical for pharma sector growth’

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The main driver in the selection of an emerging market would be the active role the respective Government plays in providing healthcare to its citizens.

CHENNAI, JUNE 26: 
Emerging markets are critical for the sustained growth of pharma industries, as they are likely to account for 30 per cent of the global pharmaceutical spend by the end of next year, according to a new report.

The report, ‘Emerging Market and Sustainable Growth Report 2015’, on the Indian pharmaceutical sector, revealed that innovation and technology will be important differentiators as pharma organisations try to drive growth in developing countries. The emerging markets cover nations in Africa, the Middle East, South-East Asia, Brazil, Russia, India and China.

The report is the outcome of a workshop hosted by Cambridge Consultants, a global product development and technology consultancy firm. The participants were pharmaceutical companies like Novartis Vaccines India, Cipla, and Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, among others.

Major ailments

Ambuj Jain, General Manager (India), Cambridge Consultants, said in the report, “In India, the prevalence of diabetes and cancer is projected to rise by 25-40 per cent over the next 10 years. This shift gives pharma companies an opportunity to market their global products in emerging markets.”

The main driver in the selection of an emerging market for the pharma companies would be the active role the respective Government plays in providing healthcare to its citizens, since it facilitates direct dealing with the government.

The report states that key barriers like accessibility and affordability should be addressed. Improvements in affordability will be driven by rising disposable income and increasing insurance coverage.

Growth in accessibility will come from increase in Government spending, medical infrastructure, and new business models for rural areas.

The report says that lack of good diagnostic centres and higher cost for diagnosis leads to under-treatment. Collaborating with diagnostics companies to develop minimally invasive diagnostics instruments will be beneficial in the long-run.

But the idea that healthcare innovation in emerging markets has to focus only on cost reduction was dismissed by experts. The example of smartphones and how their adoption has penetrated into the society was highlighted. This suggests that ‘value’, at the right price point, is more relevant in driving adoption of new technologies.


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The Philippines - An all-out drive for Philippine agriculture

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WITH the start of the rainy season, Secretary of Agriculture Proceso Alcala has called on the nation’s farmers to plant early this year. The El Niño dry spell continues to threaten Philippine agriculture, he said. It is now weak but it is expected to become moderate until August, persist until December, and then start weakening in early 2016.

Thus, while the Philippine monsoon season has begun, with rain-bearing winds now blowing from the southwest, they can give way at any time to the El Niño’s dry winds blowing in from the central Pacific in the east. Thus Secretary Alcala’s advice to farmers to plant now to take advantage of the intermittent rains. Should the El Niño threat intensify any time in the coming months, he said, the Department of Agriculture is ready to undertake cloud seeding operations and to install water and solar pumps in farm communities that are in greatest need.

Despite the El Niño threat that now threatens the Philippine agriculture, it remains the most crucial sector in the country’s economic growth. The agricultural sector occupies almost a third of the country’s land area and has a third of the country’s labor force. Yet it contributes only a tenth of the country’s annual growth as measured in Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The country imports more agricultural products than it exports. It is way behind its fellow ASEAN nations Thailand and Vietnam from which it imports most of its rice needs.

It should not be like this, the Vegetable Importers, Exporters, and Vendors Association (VIEVA) of the Philippines said this week as it pressed the government to move more decisively in agricultural development in the face of ASEAN economic integration starting in the coming year. The government has the plans, it has the budget, but agriculture needs a truly coordinated program of action between the government and the private sector for it to truly flourish and be the springboard for the Philippines becoming a true Asian economic tiger.

A major problem facing Filipino farmers, the association said, is lack of financing. Banks regard farmers as high-risk borrowers and they have limited knowledge on bank loan processes. Farmers also need assistance in new technology, high-yielding crops, and other advances in agriculture. They need assistance in establishing reliable market linkages.

In this last year of the Aquino administration, it should look into undertaking an all-out drive to make Philippine agriculture the major economic engine that it should be. We have the land and other needed resources, we have the technology, we have the people, and, as the VIEVA pointed out, we have the budget. It would reach and benefit the biggest and neediest sector of Philippine society, and provide the biggest step towards a truly inclusive economic growth for the country.


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The Philippines - 25bn pesos worth aircraft deals grounded by panel

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Just as the nation’s military is racing against time to build up its air defence capabilities amid tensions in the South China Sea, the Commission on Audit (COA) has ordered the suspension of three aircraft acquisition deals forged by the Defence department after state auditors red-flagged them for irregularities.

Documents obtained by Manila Times said the contracts, with a combined value of nearly P25bn, included the P1.2bn helicopter contract, which this paper had exposed and is the subject of ongoing Senate blue ribbon investigation.

Also cited in COA’s notice to the Department of National Defence (DND) and Philippine Air Force officials were the transactions involving the acquisition of 12 fighter jets from South Korea, valued at P18.9bn, and of eight Bell 412EP combat utility helicopters, valued at P4.8bn.

The Manila Times early this year came out with a series detailing the alleged anomalies in the P1.2bn helicopter deal based on documents provided by and interviews with whistleblower Rhodora Alvarez, whose identity was initially masked with the codename Joey.

The jet fighter deal involves the acquisition of FA-50 fighter/trainer jets from Korean Aerospace Inc. The deal was done through government-to-government negotiation with the contract signed during President Benigno Aquino’s visit to Seoul in March 2013.

The revelation of the COA “grounding” notice came a few days after the DND announced the successful maiden test flight of the jets in South Korea last week.

The Korean contractor committed to deliver two of the 12 fighter jets by the last quarter of the year or early next year.

The test flight of the newly manufactured FA-50 jet was conducted on June 19.

A team of PAF pilots and ground crew are also in training in South Korea on how to handle the jet fighter, which is patterned after the US-made F-16 Fighting Falcon.

Two of the eight brand-new Bell 412EP helicopters have reportedly arrived early this month and are assembled and tested in a secured Air Fforce facility.

A total of six helicopters from Bell Helicopter Canada are expected to be delivered until August this year.
Like the jet fighter contract, the Bell 412EP acquisition involved a government-to-government transaction with Canada through the Canadian Commercial Corp. The contract was signed in March 2014.

A media report quoting Defence Undersecretary Fernando Manalo said three of the eight helicopters will be configured as VIP helicopters for use during the coming Asia-Pacific Economic Conference summit in September. The VIP-configured helicopters would be assigned to the PAF Presidential Airlift Wing.

Alvarez said the alleged anomalies that were flagged by COA auditors validate her claim that there was a pattern of irregularity in the modernisation programme of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

“This is the pattern of irregularity that I was talking about. The P1.2bn deal with Rice Aircraft Services Inc is just a tip of the iceberg, a speck of dust in a multitude of wrongdoings in the (Defence) department. This has to stop for the sake of our lowly soldiers who sacrifice limbs and lives for the country,” Alvarez said in an interview.

“I thank the COA for its diligence and sense of justice. I know this is not the end of the road because the Notice of Suspension and the issuance of an AOM (Audit Observation Memorandum) is just the beginning of a lengthy process. But I’m glad it has begun,” she noted.

A DND insider said the notice issued by the COA tells the PAF technical working group that a meeting has been called by the DND to deal with the COA suspension.

The notice, which was reportedly green-lighted by Defence Secretary Voltaire Gazmin, tasked DND Assistant Secretary Patrick Velez to preside over the meeting.

The notice indicated that the sole agenda for the conference was “Compliance to the AOM/ Notice of suspension issued by COA on the above-mentioned AFP modernisation programme projects.”

Velez as well as Undersecretary Manalo, a former Air Force general, were among the DND officials whom whistleblower Alvarez had accused of “tailor-fitting” the UH-1D project specifications for Rice Aircraft Services Inc.

Joel M Sy Egco


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Vietnam - Vietnam Seeks Investment Boost With Wave of Industry Opening

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Vietnam is betting that the most significant easing of business regulation in 25 years and an accelerated sale of state-owned firms’ shares will revive a flagging investment outlook.

The government on July 1 will reduce to six from 51 the number of areas in which firms are prohibited from operating, allowing fireworks manufacture and genetically-modified products, among others. It will also loosen regulations in more than 100 other areas in what will be the biggest overhaul of business rules in the economy since private firms were allowed in Vietnam in 1990.

“We aim to trigger an investment wave from both local and foreign investors,” Planning and Investment Minister Bui Quang Vinh said in an interview in Hanoi June 18. The revised laws on investment and enterprises “will make huge changes to significantly improve our business environment and create strong momentum for growth,” he said.

Vietnam is facing competition for foreign direct investment from other nations in Asia, with pledged FDI in the first five months of this year totaling only $4.3 billion, less than 20 percent of the total forecast for 2015. Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung aims to sell a record number of shares in state-owned firms this year as the government seeks to spur economic growth to a four-year high of 6.2 percent.

The benchmark VN Index gained 1 percent by its noon break Monday, heading for its highest close since March 6. The dong was little changed against the U.S. dollar.

Major Milestone

The revised laws “are a major milestone to encourage foreign as well as domestic investors,” said Alan Pham, Ho Chi Minh City-based chief economist at VinaCapital Group, Vietnam’s biggest fund manager. “They represent a change in the mentality of policy making -– more towards the market and less by bureaucracy.”

Pledged foreign direct investment in Vietnam fell 22 percent in the five months through May from a year earlier, according to data from the planning and investment ministry. Disbursed FDI rose 7.6 percent to $4.95 billion in the period.

That compares to the Philippines’ approved FDI, which fell 41.7 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier, while Indonesia’s approved foreign investment rose 14 percent in the first quarter.

“In Vietnam, we are offering more incentives in areas such as taxes and land to lure foreign investors,” Vinh said. “We aim to be among the top four Asean countries for FDI by 2016.” He forecast pledged FDI would reach as much as $23 billion this year, from $21.9 billion in 2014, and predicted disbursed FDI to be about $12.5 billion.

More Transparent

The government will issue six decrees next month to provide detailed guidance on the revised laws, Vinh said. A “large number” of permits and licenses will be abolished “to make it a lot easier and more transparent for investors,” he said.

The six areas in which businesses will still be prohibited include prostitution, as well as trading of illegal drugs and wildlife, according to the government’s website. Vinh predicted economic growth would quicken to 6.1 percent in the first six months of 2015 from 5.18 percent in the same period a year earlier.
“This is the biggest change in business regulations since Vietnam allowed private companies in 1990,” said Tran Dinh Thien, director of the Vietnam Institute of Economics in Hanoi. “It’s significant, yet the implementation of the regulations is crucial.”

Larger Stakes

Foreign investors will have more opportunities to invest as more state companies sell shares this year, Vinh said. “However, we should sell state stakes in larger proportions, not just five, 10 or 20 percent as we have been doing,” he said.

The government faces challenges in reaching its target to sell shares in 289 state companies in 2015. Shares in 43 of these businesses had been sold by the end of May, according to the finance ministry.

“We should sell shares at larger proportions to make it more attractive, since investors would want to hold the stakes big enough to allow them to be involved in the companies’ management,” Vinh said. “Selling shares in such small proportions won’t make any difference to the companies while improving corporate governance is what we really need now.”

Uyen Nguyen


This article was proposed into the Linkedin group Linkin Vietnam and received the following comment from Minh-Duc Pham

These investment laws changes has been suggested by some lawyers to make Vietnam more attractive to investors.
We all know that between law and reality, there are big gaps that are discovered only during IC application.

Will obligations of foreign companies versus local companies will be aligned ?

How investor's interests will be protected against (frequent) changes in law or unfair local competition (product copy, rental fee increase, custom clearance hidden fees, etc) ?

What about labour law with this new social welfare tax ?

What about immigration and especially visas and work permit for foreigners working for the expected wave of FDI ?

What about improving the education system ?
If you invest in a country and cannot find suitable skilled employees.

What about enforcement laws against corruption ?

The list of unsolved issues preventing investment is very long.

Welcoming foreign capital is one thing but there is still a long way to go for protecting foreign investment.

I will let other members to list what is missing to encourage a sustainable investment.


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Jun 8, 2015

Indonesia - Thrifty consumers put brakes on Indonesia's economy

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The Muslim fasting month is traditionally a time of plenty in Indonesia: shoppers throng Jakarta's markets snapping up gifts to exchange at extravagant fast-breaking celebrations.

But this year, Ramadan - which runs from mid-June - will be a more abstemious affair because widespread job losses, a spike in inflation and lower earnings from commodities that Indonesia sells to the world have crimped consumers' purchasing power.

The unseasonable thriftiness of Indonesia's 250 million inhabitants - who between them spend $500 billion a year on goods and services, about the same as Thais, Malaysians and Singaporeans combined - is another obstacle in the way of President Joko Widodo's promise to lift economic growth to 7 percent.

Because private consumption accounts for more than half of gross domestic product, even a slight slowdown in spending has a big impact on overall growth.

Already growth has slipped to its most sluggish pace since 2009, and consumption languished at a four-year low of 5 percent in the first quarter as disposable incomes were squeezed.

To stimulate demand, the government is considering raising the income tax threshold and the central bank plans to relax rules on lending, including mortgages and auto loans. But, with inflation rising and the rupiah at a 17-year low versus the dollar, cutting interest rates isn't an obvious remedy.

Such measures would come too late anyway for traders at Jakarta's sprawling Tanah Abang market, who are waiting impatiently for their seasonal sales boom.

"Last year was way better," says Meta, a chatty middle-aged woman who peers over a jumble of prayer mats and religious robes in her basement stall, scanning the market for customers. Her best hope now is that business will pick up ahead of the Lebaran holiday, which follows Ramadan.

CAUTIOUS SHOPPERS

But there is an abundance of evidence that shoppers in Southeast Asia's largest economy remain cautious.

Consumer lending has recovered a little after sinking to an eight-year low last September, but is still only growing slowly.

Sales of cars and motorbikes dropped by 16.3 percent and 21.5 percent, respectively, in January-April from a year earlier, and in the first five months of 2015, sales-tax collection was down 6.1 percent.

Consumer prices rose by 7.15 percent in May, the highest this year, as the cost of food staples such as rice and chilli leapt. This means households have less to spend on other things.

"Overall this year, the trend for sales has been down," said Fetty Kwartati, corporate secretary of retail giant PT Mitra Adiperkasa Tbk, which oversees big brands such as Zara, Marks & Spencer and Starbucks.

Satria Hamid, secretary-general of the national retailers' association, said sales during the holiday period usually account for 60-70 percent of the group's annual target, but this year retailers will do well to hit 40 percent.

"As retailers, we have to be able to read the market and diversify our strategy," said Hamid. "We are doing a lot of credit card promotions to attract people to our stores."

Surrounded by bulging bags of shopping at the Tanah Abang market, however, Acehnese woman Erni is determined not to let a sluggish economy spoil her holidays. Her husband's business is struggling, but they still have some spending money.

"We can't buy new clothes for Lebaran," she said.

By Nicholas Owen And Gayatri Suroyo

Additional reporting by Cindy Silviana; Editing by John Chalmers and Ian Geoghegan


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Jun 6, 2015

China - MERS deals travel agents blow

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As the number of cases - and deaths - from Middle East respiratory syndrome continues to rise in South Korea, travel agencies in China are facing increasing numbers of customers who want to cancel their trips there.

Forty-one South Koreans have now tested positive for MERS and deaths increased to four on Friday, the country's Health Ministry said.

China's National Tourism Administration has not issued a travel warning yet, but the Foreign Ministry's consular department has cautioned Chinese contemplating visits to South Korea to pay close attention.

The Republic of Korea's Tourism Organisation said some 4,400 tourists from the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan had canceled their Korea trips as of Thursday.

Experts predicted the number will continue to rise nationwide.

Sun Lichan, director of marketing for Haitao Travel, said more than 50 percent of the customers who ordered trips to the ROK have requested cancellations.

"To address their demands, we have worked out three solutions," she said. "For those who want to cancel a trip, we will give them an unconditional refund. For those who still want to travel abroad, we will help them to switch to Japan or other nearby countries. And for those who still prefer South Korea, trips will depart as scheduled, but we will spare no effort to be better equipped - for example, handing out masks - and we will try to avoid crowded places."

"South Korea is one of the largest foreign destinations for Chinese tourists. As our trips are all chartered flights, the large number of refunds has resulted in a big loss," she said.

Ctrip, China's largest online travel agency, said it received some cancellation requests, but not many.

"Tourists who are in South Korea now want to end the trip and come back early," said Chen Caiyin of the public affairs department.

Customers should pay some penalty for a cancellation, as there has been no notice issued by the National Tourism Administration, Chen said.

In Harbin, Heilongjiang province, some travel agencies have lowered their fees by almost 1,000 yuan ($160) to prop up the numbers.

Ji Chunlei, manager of the Beitang district office of China Comfort Travel's branch in Wuxi, Jiangsu province, said people are asking to withdraw from booked tours to the ROK daily, but things haven't really changed in the country.

"Our guides say the travel market there is normal. We hope the National Tourism Administration will make an official statement about travel to the ROK, or else the market may be further influenced."

More than 700 ROK schools, from kindergartens to colleges, have shut their doors in response to public fears over what has become the largest outbreak of MERS outside Saudi Arabia, Xinhua News Agency reported.

China's first confirmed MERS patient remained in serious condition, the Health and Family Planning Commission of Guangdong province said on Thursday.

A man from the ROK tested positive for MERS in Guangdong last week. All of the 78 people who had close contact with him have been found and quarantined, it said.

He Na

Cang Wei in Wuxi and Su Zhou in Beijing contributed to this story.


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Myanmar - Suu Kyi to make her first visit to China

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Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi is to lead a delegation to China for the first time next week.

The visit comes amid strained ties between the two neighbors over conflicts near their border and months ahead of a general election in Myanmar.

Observers said the trip underlines the changes in both countries' policies, with Beijing engaging in exchanges with various sectors other than just the government, and the party headed by Suu Kyi expected to continue reaching out to Beijing if it wins the election.

President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang will meet Suu Kyi, who heads Myanmar's National League for Democracy, during the trip from June 10 to 14, Nyan Win, the party's secretary and spokesman, told Reuters.

On Friday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei hailed exchanges between China and various parties in Myanmar, saying he hoped such communication can be strengthened.

Fan Hongwei, an expert on Southeast Asian studies at Xiamen University, said stability in Myanmar and Chinese investment would be high on the agenda for Suu Kyi's visit.

Relations between the two countries were strained in March when a bomb dropped by a Myanmar warplane killed four people and injured nine others in Lincang, Yunnan province. Myanmar later apologised.

Xu Liping, an expert on Southeast Asian affairs at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said that after some setbacks, Beijing is "seeking an environment" for its investment in Myanmar.

Myanmar's reformist government has sought to reduce its heavy dependence on China since taking office in 2011 and has suspended a multibillion-dollar Chinese-led dam project. Ties have warmed recently, and both governments also signed more than a dozen cooperation deals last year.

Xu said whether Suu Kyi's party wins the November election or not, she has an undoubted influence on the country.

"China doesn't take sides in Myanmar's political struggle, but extends exchanges to it. The message from Suu Kyi to the world is that her party, if elected, will sustain traditional ties and upgrade cooperation with China."

Zhao Shengnan


Business & Investment Opportunities 

Saigon Business Corporation Pte Ltd (SBC) is incorporated in Singapore since 1994. 

Thailand - 'Staying longer may hurt faith in Thai junta, government'

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Political factions have warned that the credibility of the National Council for Peace and Order and the National Reform Council will be hit hard if they insist on holding on to power by extending the roadmap to complete the reform process.

Their comments came hot on the heels of Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha's remark on Thursday that he might stay on for a longer period than the current plan if people want him to do so to push through difficult reforms.

But Prayut, who is also the NCPO leader, stressed that all parties concerned must ensure he would be protected from countervailing pressures in such an event.

Yesterday, Prayut reiterated that he had no desire to extend his time as head of the government beyond the original plan which earlier indicated that there would be a general election to return power to the people sometime next year. Yet, the premier repeated his statement that he would be willing to stay on longer if that was the people's choice.

While thanking those who supported him staying in power longer, he said: "As the nation’s leader, I could neither accept nor reject their wish. However, if it's possible, maybe what the people have to do is to [hold a referendum to determine if there will be two years of reform before the next general election].

"That's what I said. It doesn't mean that I have already accepted their request. If I don't have to do this [the reform], it'll be easier for me because that's the next government's business.

"On the other hand, if they want me to push through the reform work, they'll have to come up with a method that makes it acceptable for the outside world. Please do not say that I want to stay for a longer time. That's not right. No, I don't want to."

Prayut said it would be up to the Election Commission to decide whether such a referendum could be held.

Red-shirt leader Nattawut Saikua said extending the roadmap would destroy the creditability of the NCPO and Prayut.

"They have confirmed that everything would go in accordance with the roadmap. Now, it's questionable," he said.

"This is not to mention how Thailand would look in the eyes of the international community. Any confidence that we will return to democracy will be shaken."

He also suggested that members of the so-called "five rivers of power" - the NCPO, the Cabinet, the NRC, the National Legislative Assembly, and Constitution Drafting Committee - stand at the next election if any of them wanted to stay on longer. If they won support, they could stay for another four years, not just two as planned.

Red-shirt leader Weng Tojirakarn was worried some people would be upset and perceived that Prayut failed to keep his word.

"In the roadmap, it says there will be an election to return to democracy and the NCPO and NRC will leave. But now they are testing public sentiment to see if the roadmap should be further extended. People won't be happy if the premier breaks his promise," Weng said.

Regarding the "Reform before Election" campaign proposed by some members of the NRC, Weng firmly opposed the idea and said the NRC lacked the legitimacy to do that.

He remarked that many of the council's members were once part of the People's Democratic Reform Committee. So having them take charge of reform was nothing but imposing the PDRC's ideology and approach on the entire country.

Akanat Promphan, the PDRC spokesman, said both the NRC and the NCPO should focus on their immediate tasks rather than on trying to prolong their stay.

"The NRC should be working against time and complete their missions according to the roadmap. Now it's the time that they report to the people what they have done that contributes to the reform and not talk about the prolonging their stay," he said.

Buddha Issara, a Buddhist monk who helped lead the street protests that led to the coup last year, said he would collect 50,000 signatures in support of a referendum that would determine whether to postpone the next election - scheduled for September 2016 at the earliest - until the junta's reform process is complete. "I support [the idea] of reform before an election," Buddha Issara said.

Phra Suthep Paphakaro, formerly Suthep Thaugsuban of the Democrat Party who led rallies to bring down the Yingluck government, said he would not return to the political arena after leaving the monkhood but would focus on public sector work aimed at improving the rural community's economic standing and general well-being.

Kasamakorn Chanwanpen and Anapat Deechuay


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Saigon Business Corporation Pte Ltd (SBC) is incorporated in Singapore since 1994.