Posted on 23 Jul 2014
Krungsri Asset Management (KSAM) expects to
see a gradual recovery in the Thai economy in the second half of the year, now
that the political situation has stabilised and there is greater certainty over
public spending policy.
These developments have led to an increase
in both consumer and investor confidence, along with a positive outlook for the
capital market as witnessed by the rising number of foreign funds in the stock
and bond markets, the company said yesterday.
Chief investment officer Prapas Tonpibulsak
said increased certainty over the planned increase in public investment would
in turn restore private investment confidence, while the more stable political
situation had already resulted in higher consumption.
The level of foreign funds has continued to
increase in the past two months due to the incipient economic recovery and
decreased political uncertainty and, if the flow continues to be positive in
the next two months, the overall foreign fund flow this year should return to
positive territory, he said.
"KSAM's positive outlook for
investment in Thailand's capital market has increased from the expectation that
the economy will gradually recover from the second half onwards, which should
lift the overall performance of registered companies. Meanwhile, foreign
investors' concerns over the political situation have begun to dissipate, and
recently they have come back to invest in the stock market," he added.
Prapas said the Stock Exchange of Thailand
Index had continued to rise this year, with the potential to touch 1,600 points
by year-end.
However, should the market do so, it would
have to adjust its base by 3-8 per cent to around 1,500 in order to maintain
growth, he warned.
Moreover, the price-earnings ratio should
be around 15 times at 1,600 points, which would be quite expensive, he said.
As for gross domestic product, Prapas
believes the economic recovery in the second half should help boost growth to
around 2.5 per cent, which is in line with the comment made by the deputy
secretary-general of the National Economic and Social Development Board, who
revealed last week that the agency would reconsider its previous estimate of
annual GDP growth forecast of 1.5-2.5 per cent.
"Our internal GDP projection is along
the lines of that of the NESDB at around 2-2.5 per cent, and we believe
economic growth in the third quarter should grow around 3-4 per cent, with
expansion of 4-5 per cent in the fourth quarter.
"The economy in the first quarter of
2015 should be able to grow by 5-6 per cent, and by 6-7 per cent in the second
quarter, due to the economic policies that are gradually coming out from the
National Council for Peace and Order, and the certainty over government
spending from the acceleration of the 2014 budget and approval of the 2015
budget," said Prapas.
He also said private investment would
follow the lead of public spending, and that domestic consumption would
increase along with investment.
However, high household debt will pose a
constraint on the expansion of consumption and it might take some time before
for the increase of investment positively affected the economy, he cautioned.
As for the baht, Prapas said the
strengthening of the currency in the past one to two months due to the return
of foreign funds would present an obstacle for the recovery of the export
sector.
The baht also has the potential to stay on
a strengthening trend, which is in line with other currencies in Asia. KSAM
forecasts that the currency will be in the range of 31.50-32.50 per US dollar
by year-end.
"The inflow of foreign funds in Asia
emerging markets will probably continue for the rest of the year, which will
pose pressure from US dollars buying baht. I believe the Bank of Thailand will
most likely intervene at different periods since they do not want the unit to
strengthen too much and too fast, because the export numbers this year are
already not that good and the recovery of the economy is still partially
dependent on the performance of the export sector," he said.
Chief executive officer Chatrapee
Tantixalerm said KSAM in the first half of 2014 had achieved growth of 23 per
cent, bringing assets under management to an on-target Bt240 million.
Market share for all products has increased
slightly, along with 28-per-cent growth in the size of its mutual funds and an
inflow of Bt4.7 billion in long-term equity funds - the highest in the
industry.
