November 9, 2020

Thai Enquirer Summary

Political News

 An anti-government rally led by the Khana Ratsadon (People’s Party) group turned ugly yesterday in the wake of police’s dispersal of tens of thousands of protesters with the use of high-pressured water cannons, resulting in injuries. Police used water cannons to try to try to stop protesters from reaching the whereby they were to submit petitions to HM King Maha yesterday.

 Three people were injured including 2 protesters and 1 police officer, according to Metropolitan Administration’s emergency medical service, the Erawan centre.

 At 17:35 hrs yesterday, Khana Ratsadon core leaders led around 10,000 protesters on a march from the Ratchadamnoen Klang Avenue to the royal palace to submit handwritten letters addressed to the king, calling for reforms and for the monarchy to stop interfering in politics.

 At 18:27 hrs, pro- protesters in were confronted by riot police and sprayed with water cannon as they tried to stop tens of thousands protesters who got within a 150-meter radius of the Grand Palace. Demonstrators halted their march after the water cannons were deployed but then continued.

 Police though came out to defend their action as they said they used the water cannon against the protesters as they struggled to get through a barricade blocking their route to the Grand Palace from the Democracy Monument.

 Police spokesman Krissana Phathanacharoen came out to say officers fired the cannon at the sky and did not intend to harm anyone, according to Khaosod Newspaper.

 The police succeeded in stopping protesters to march to the palace in front of the Supreme Court where protesters sent representatives to negotiate with the police.

 At 20.00 hrs, Metropolitan Police Bureau chief Pol Lt Gen Phukphong Phongpetra instructed the police to retreat to the Bangkok City’s shrine and clear public buses, barb wire barriers used to block protesters in order to allow protest

leaders to drop petitions for monarchy reform gathered from protesters in post boxes in front of the City’s shrine for the police to deliver letters to the palace.

 At 20.34 hrs, Jutatip Sirikhan, the president of the Student Union of Thailand (SRT) and Khana Ratsadon protest leader, read out 3 demands seeking the resignation of the prime minister and the government, dissolution of Parliament, rewriting of the Constitution and reform of the monarchy. Jutatip said these demands showed the utmost compromising position before dispersing the rally at around 21.00 hrs.

 There are reports that the BIR (Bachelor of Political Science Program in Politics and International Relations), ’s Faculty of Political Science, opened a “safe zone” in case of police’s violent crackdown on protesters.

 The Association advised protesters to take refuge through the Faculty of Law Gate and the gate facing . The Faculty is ready to shelter protesters at the Law building, Assistant Professor Dr. Prajak Kongkirati of the Faculty of Political Science announced on Twitter.

 Meanwhile, the royalist movement People’s Network for the Protection of the Monarchy or “Sor Por Por Sor” called for the army to stage a coup to shut down the country in the wake of ongoing political crisis.

 The movement’s secretary-general Krit Yiammethakorn said his group a gathering at 09:00 hrs today in front of Government House to hand an open letter to the Prime Minister and then the army chief at the Army’s headquarters to call for him to stage a coup to shut down the country.

 The group supports the idea of another military intervention to find a way out of the political crisis. Kris also pointed out the need for the government to provide students with a better understanding of political history, especially information about Thai kings to counter a certain group’s attempt to distort Thailand’s historical facts.

 Following Krit’s announcement, the “Sor Por Por Sor” took to its Facebook page to dismiss reports that the group would travel to hand letters to Prime Minister but said its key mission is to protect the royal institution.

 Reports are already coming in that the December 2, 2020 decision on the so called unlawful occupation of the army house by embattled Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o- cha that it may be the breaking point that would help break the deadlock in the country political upheaval.  This is a far cry from the reality because if the events of the past few months/years are any indication to go by, it is likely that Gen. Prayut and his gang would remain in power but then this is Thailand and anything can happen if there is a wind of change that the elites can sense.

 This issue was also highlighted by Jatuporn Promphan, chairman of the United front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD), had a premonition of imminent disaster for embattled Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha over his unlawful occupation of army housing.

 The UDD’s leader came out to say that the Constitutional Court’s ruling over embattled Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha’s allegedly unlawful occupation of an army residence will likely bring about changes to Thailand’s political crisis.

 The UDD leader said he personally believed that December 2 is a doomsday for Gen Prayut as the court is set to read his fate. He said the ruling may even steer Thailand out of political deadlock. Jatuporn compared the case of the late ’s Tasting and Grumbling TV cooking show which caused him to be removed from office by the court.

 Parliament Speaker is determined with his push to enlist ex-premiers in a reconciliation committee to address political crisis although his idea drew flak from some Phalang Pracharat Party member.

 Chuan is supposedly scheduled for a meeting with Gen Surayud Chulanont, president of the Privy Council and former prime minister, to discuss the idea of the proposed reconciliation committee. But his office has come out to say that Chuan is set to out of town the entire day.

 Meanwhile, reports said 48 senators submitted a petition to Chuan on November 6 to ask the Constitutional Court to decide whether the rewriting the charter and even the process of amending it should be allowed.

 Sen Direkrit Jenkrongtham said a group of 48 senators had signed a petition asking for the court to consider 3 contentious amendment bills proposed by the government, the opposition and Law Reform Dialogue (iLaw). These are a change to Section 256, the setting-up of a charter drafting assembly and whether Parliament should also discuss a draft proposed by iLaw whose ideas are similar to the 6 other charter amendment bills already tabled for debate.

 The senators want the court to consider the legality of the proposal as Section 256 of the charter allows only a charter amendment, not a charter rewrite, said Direkrit.

 The Kao Klai (Move Forward) Party came out to claim that Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha had rejected its call for the abolition of compulsory conscription.

 On its Facebook page, the party presented a letter addressed to Kao Klai list MP Ransiman Rome from the Secretariat of the House of Representatives informing the party that Gen Prayut had rejected the military enlistment bill that calls for the ending of Conscription in Thailand submitted by former Future Forward party-list MP Pongsakorn Rodchompoo.

 Gen Prayut’s refusal against the military enlistment bill signalled that he also rejected calls for military reforms.

 On provincial administrative organisation (PAO) elections in December, Srisuwan Chanya, secretary-general of the Constitution Protection Organisation, now tries to pressure the Election Commission (EC) to take action against Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, Piyabutr Saengkannokkul and Pannika Wanich, accusing them of forming the Progressive Movement to serve as a political party in order to field candidates for chiefs and members of the PAO elections in more than 40 provinces.

 Srisuwan said the Progressive Movement’s core leaders defied Section 111 of the constitution’s 2017 organic law on political parties. He accused the movement of serving as a political party in the wake of its leaders’ move to field candidates for chiefs and members of PAOs under the Progressive Movement’s banner. Moreover, the 3 figures also travelled to various regions to spearhead campaign for their PAO election candidates.

 Srisuwan will file a petition at 10.00 hrs today asking the poll agency to look into whether the 3 Progressive Movement leaders are behind any party in the local election contest.

Economic News

 The Bank of Thailand (BoT) sees a drastic rise in mortgage loan rejection rates in the 3rd quarter of this year while Thai home buyers struggle.

 The central bank’s business trend report for the 3rd and 4th quarters found the property sector to be contracting amid the ongoing pandemic.

 The rejection rate in the central region of the country rose 30 per cent while in the North it jumped between 40 to 50 per cent, even though borrowers had pre- approved loans, according to the BoT report.

 Naris Sathapholdeja, Head of TMB Analytics, predicted that TMB’s new mortgage lending would contract by 10 to 12 per cent this year from the current 8 per cent contraction due to people’s ability to repay loans and falling incomes. Outstanding mortgage loans are expected to fall by 0.5 per cent to 230 billion baht this year, compared with a 3 per cent rise in the 3rd quarter. Bad debt is expected to rise as borrowers have more debt and lower income.

 Non-performing loans (NPLs) are projected to rise by 4.35 per cent at the end of this year, representing 110 billion baht, compared with 4.14 per cent or 970 billion baht in the 3rd quarter.

 SET-listed developer Supalai Plc (SPALI) saw a rise in the number of cancellations of property purchases to a 20-year high due to the COVID-19 pandemic that caused severe damage to the economy that negatively affected people’s purchasing power and incomes.

 Managing director Tritecha Tangmatitham said although the company recorded higher residential property sales this year than last year, it expected the cancellation of residential property purchases to be higher than 4-5 per cent recorded in the worst year.

 SPALI saw bank rejection rates rising to 18-19 per cent this year, from 15 per cent last year.

 The company, however, maintains this year’s presales target of 26 billion baht with plans to launch 9 new projects in total in the 4th quarter of this year. It reported a sales backlog of 41 billion baht.

 Late on Friday, the Office of Trade Competition Commission (OTCC) announced its decision to rule in favour of the CP-Tesco acquisition deal but imposed 7 measures and conditions for CP to follow to alleviate impacts that might harm competition.

 The 7 measures, said to be caused by the OTCC’s opinion split on the approval, include: a 3-year ban on another acquisition in the modern trade sector, excluding e-commerce; CP All, the retail subsidiary of CP, and Ek-Chai Distribution System, which operates Tesco Lotus Express, are also required to increase sale volumes of agricultural and community products supplied by SMEs or Otop products by at least 10 per cent of the previous year for 5 consecutive years.

 Eastin Hotel Makkasan Bangkok is the latest to cut in its room rates to draw domestic guests to stay afloat amid the COVID-19 outbreak.

 On its Facebook post, the luxury 4-star hotel in the heart of Bangkok’s commercial district, said its room rate now starts at 7,425 baht per months.

 The hotel said it required no bond required with immediate stay from today to December 31, 2020.

 The package also offers free water, free electricity, free WiFi internet, free parking spaces, shutter service to various electric rail stations 4 times/day and 30 per cent off food and drinks.

 In the latest report, the hotel said its Suite and Deluxe Corner rooms for a long stay are now fully booked.

 State transport agencies have asked the Transport Ministry for more than 600 billion baht for the 2022 fiscal year.

 Meanwhile, Transport Minister Saksayam Chidchob said he has instructed the agencies to prioritise their projects under this budget and focus on those that have

passed the environmental impact assessment.The Highways Department has reportedly asked for 360 billion baht, the largest share, of which 80 billion baht will be spent on setting rubber barriers on roads. Saksayam has also instructed the agencies to complete projects under the 2021 budget by next August, one month ahead of the original schedule, as part of an effort to accelerate budget spending to revive the subdued economy.

 The minister said state transport agencies have already disbursed 90 per cent of the 2020 fiscal year budget, with 33 contracts still waiting to be executed.

 Democratic candidate Joe Biden is to become America’s 46th president by clinching Pennsylvania and its 20 electoral votes. Biden supporters took to the streets to express their joy and relief, making for unprecedented scenes across the country.

 Thai academics explained what Biden’s victory means for Thailand. Dr Piti Srisangnam, an economist at , saw a less-aggressive approach from the in a Joe Biden presidency compared to the outgoing Donald Trump administration. However, he noted that US economic policy, international relations between Thailand and the US as well as between the US, China and India, would change in form but not in principle. The US will continue to block China’s territorial expansion but will not be as aggressive as in Trump’s regime.

 He also predicted that the ongoing trade war will continue in the short term for 1- 2 years as the Democrat administration may adopt neo-liberal institutionalism by opening up new trading platforms.

 Piti, however, said the US was unlikely to return to the CPTPP (Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership), but it could open a new stage in the Indo-Pacific.

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General News

 Thailand recorded 7 new COVID-19 cases yesterday, according to the Centre for Covid- 19 Situation Administration (CCSA). Six are overseas returnees who were tested positive in state quarantine facilities and a truck driver who has been sent back across the Thai-Myanmar border for treatment.

 Two new infections arrived from the United States including a 32-year Thai woman and a 53-year old American woman. The others include a 24-year Czech businessman arriving from Austria, a 61-year old Canadian and a 56-year old Thai woman arriving from Canada and a 49-year old Russian air crew member, arriving from Russia.

 The new cases took cumulative infections in Thailand to 3,837, with the national death toll recorded at 60.

 Global coronavirus infections exceeded 50 million on Sunday, according to the Centre for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University.

 The global case count reached 50,052,204, with a total of 1,253,110 deaths worldwide, the CSSE data showed.

 The United States reported the most cases and deaths around the world, which stood at 9,879,323 and 237,192, respectively. India recorded 8,507,754 cases, ranking second in the world. Brazil followed India with 5,653,561 cases and 162,269 deaths, the world's second largest death toll.

 Countries with more than 1.1 million cases also include Russia, France, Spain, Argentina, Britain and Colombia, while other countries with over 40,000 deaths include India, Mexico, Britain, Italy and France, according to the centre.

 On the global scale the cases have now reached nearly 51 million, and as expected the cases hit 50 million on Sunday.

 The United States and France are recording numbers never seen before.  The United States continues to report more than 100,000 cases each day  France topped with more than 86,000 on Saturday but today the numbers are a little better with 38,000+

Political News Headlines in Thai Media

 Democratic transitions are rarely – if ever – straight-forward, simple or peaceful. This should be common sense since, by its very nature, democratic transitions require that the governing power be taken away from the establishment – be it from a military dictator or an absolute monarch.

 Link- https://www.thaienquirer.com/20460/opinion-those-trying-to-blame-the-united- states-for-the-pro-democracy-movement-fail-to-understand-history/

 The students can continue to deny it but there is a clear rift between the United Front of Thammasat and Demonstration and the Free Youth Movement.

o Link- https://www.thaienquirer.com/20462/opinion-the-student-leaders-need-to-put- away-their-egos-and-heal-all-rifts-to-continue-the-fight/

 Pro-democracy protest group Free Youth suffered from a coordinated online attack campaign aimed at its social media presence, the group told Thai Enquirer on Friday.

o Link- https://www.thaienquirer.com/20484/free-youth-and-leaders-suffer-from- coordinated-online-attacks-on-their-twitter-and-facebook-pages/

 Poetry: The Roads I’ve Travelled

o Link- https://www.thaienquirer.com/20465/poetry-the-roads-ive-travelled/

 Oftentimes, Thai political moments have been described as class wars. Our recent article covers the genesis and legacy of elite resistance against popular movements across Thai history and characterizes some of the arguments against pro-democracy protesters.

o Link- https://www.thaienquirer.com/20458/why-some-thai-elites-support-the- movement-in-their-own-words/

 The government will organise a Buddhist chanting ceremony at central temples in each province every Saturday until December 5, to mark the birthday of late King , and to commemorate his "royal grace and kindness towards Thai people", Anucha Nakasai, minister attached to the Prime Minister’s Office, said.

o Link- https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30397522?utm_source=category&utm_mediu m=internal_referral

 The Metropolitan Police Bureau (MPB) has warned anti-government protesters converging for a new rally at Democracy Monument to stay away from the palace.

o Link- https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/politics/2016171/police-warn-palace- area-off-limits

 Police have fired water cannon at anti-government protesters to prevent them from marching to the Royal Household Bureau at the Grand Palace.

o Link- https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/politics/2016187/police-fire-water- cannon-at-protesters

 A royalist group calling itself "People Protecting the Institution" will assemble on in Bangkok to monitor the pro-democracy protesters' anti-government rally at the Democracy Monument on Sunday.

o Link- https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30397530?utm_source=category&utm_mediu m=internal_referral

 Royalists plan a rally on Sunday evening to keep an eye on the Ratsadon's anti- government protest at Democracy Monument.

o Link- https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30397579?utm_source=category&utm_mediu m=internal_referral

 Three beauty queens from the Miss Grand Thailand pageant have urged the National Police to follow up the case of alleged forest encroachment by Palang Pracharath member of Parliament Pareena Kraikup.

o Link- https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30397534?utm_source=category&utm_mediu m=internal_referral

 A total of 8,641 people applied to run in the Dec 20 provincial administration organisation (PAO) elections in 76 provinces, according to Election Commission secretary-general Jarungvith Phumma.

o Link- https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/politics/2016151/8-641-apply-to-run- in-provincial-elections

 Senators want the Constitutional Court to decide if rewriting the charter and even the process of amending it should be allowed.

o Link- https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/politics/2016239/senators-raise-doubt- about-legality-of-amending-constitution

Economic News Headlines in Thai Media

 The Office of Trade Competition Commission (OTCC) said on Friday that it approved the Charoen Pokphand Group (CP)’s acquisition of Tesco stores in Thailand with some conditions.

o Link- https://www.thaienquirer.com/20491/government-regulators-greenlight-cps- acquisition-of-tesco-operations-in-thailand/

 The Comptroller-General's Department is reported to be working on new rules for state authorities to continue doing financial transactions with Krungthai Bank (KTB) and without breaching related rules despite the bank losing its state enterprise status, according to State Enterprise Policy Office director-general Prapas Kong-Ied.

o Link- https://www.nationthailand.com/business/30397537?utm_source=category&utm_me dium=internal_referral

 Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha is pleased with the response to the “Khon La Khrueng” (Let’s Go Halves) campaign from citizens and merchants, deputy government spokesperson Ratchada Dhanadirek said on Saturday.

o Link- https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30397533?utm_source=category&utm_mediu m=internal_referral

 Bangkok's air quality has seen a deterioration which can affect sensitive groups, the latest readings show.

o Link- https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30397572?utm_source=category&utm_mediu m=internal_referral

 The volume of Thai frozen-and-processed chicken exports fell 0.9 per cent to 618,000 tonnes in the first eight months (January-August) from last year, said Kukrit Areepakorn, head of the Thai Broiler Processing Exporters Association. Meanwhile the total value fell 1.5 per cent to Bt72.2 billion.

o Link- https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30397471?utm_source=category&utm_mediu m=internal_referral

International (THAI) on Friday opened its first kiosk selling dough sticks or “pa tong go” at the EnCo Building C in Bangkok’s Energy Complex.

o Link- https://www.nationthailand.com/business/30397458?utm_source=category&utm_me dium=internal_referral

 BTS Group's second Green Bond issue was oversubscribed by more than 3.3 times, the company said.

o Link- https://www.nationthailand.com/business/30397451?utm_source=category&utm_me dium=internal_referral

 A community living behind the old Mor Chit bus station plans to go to court to protest a land expropriation order, which they say is illegal as it serves commercial interests.

o Link- https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/2015835/residents-fight-bmas-bus- station-relocation-plan

 The Transport Ministry has done a U-turn, opting to replace the much-anticipated tram project with an electric bus system so it can save 10 billion baht.

o Link- https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/2015883/ministry-swaps-trams-for- electric-buses-in-phuket

 The National Village and Urban Community Committee chaired by Supattanapong Punmeechaow approved in principle 15 billion baht in spending for a scheme to upgrade community businesses and community tourism.

o Link- https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/2015595/communities-to-get-b15bn- upgrade

 The Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC) aims to limit its non- performing loan (NPL) ratio, keeping it from exceeding 4% of total outstanding loans through debt restructuring measures.

o Link- https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/2015563/baac-to-keep-lid-on-npl-ratio- at-4-of-total-loans

 Observers said Joe Biden's victory in the United States' presidential election would have a positive impact on Thailand, noting that ongoing trade tensions with China were likely to cool as the president-elect has vowed to resume constructive dialogue with all strategic partners.

o Link- https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/2016223/biden-win-forecast-to- benefit-thailand

 Academics and netizens have expressed their frustration after the Office of Trade Competition Commission (OTCC) approved conglomerate Charoen Pokphand's acquisition of retail giant Tesco Lotus.

o Link- https://www.nationthailand.com/business/30397580?utm_source=category&utm_me dium=internal_referral

 INTUCH reported a net profit of 2,661 million baht for the quarter, decreased 20.52% compared to the same period last year. The decrease was mainly due to a lower contribution from the local wireless telecommunication business.

o Link- https://www.kaohoon.com/content/399962

Issues to be watched out for

 December 2020 – The Federation of Thai Industries (FTI)’s “Faster Payment” scheme to increase liquidity for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) during the pandemic is set to end.

 December 2, 2020 – The Constitutional Court is set to rule on the status of Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha PM for his prolonged stay in an army house since retirement.

 December 20, 2020 – Tentative date for elections of Provincial Administrative Organizations (PAOs) in 76 provinces.

 December 30, 2020 - The Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) for 3,500 products from the 119 designated beneficiary countries and territories are set to end.

 February 28, 2021 – Tentative date for municipality elections and the election of tambon administrative organizations (TAOs).

 April, 2021 – The central bank plans to officially implement the new rule on the rate of penalty imposed on loan defaulters in a bid to ease borrowers’ burdens and motivate them to repay their debts. Key Data

SET Index 1,260.08 -4.24

 Link - https://www.set.or.th/en/company/ipo/upcoming_ipo_set.html

Global Commodities

 Metal -Link http://www.bloomberg.com/markets/commodities/futures/metals/

 Energy -Link - http://www.bloomberg.com/energy/

 Baltic Dry Index (BDI)-Link - http://www.bloomberg.com/quote/BDIY:IND

Global Equity Market’s Movements

 Link - http://www.bloomberg.com/markets/stocks/world-indexes/asia-pacific/

Asian Equity Markets Movement

 Link - http://www.bloomberg.com/markets/stocks/world-indexes/

Information on November 6, 2020

Buying, Selling or Transfer of shares by Owners/Management

Stock Code Volume Value Action

DIIMET 400,000 0.1 Purchase JCK 23,896,000 - Transfer JCK 24,000,000 - Transfer JCK 133,423,000 - Transfer PLE 1,000,000 0.71 Purchase TNDT 4,100 2.9 Purchase

XD, XE or XM or other notifications

For list of Companies that have dividend payment and AGM meeting schedules click on http://www.set.or.th/set/calendarofevents.do

Trading Breakdown on the Stock Exchange of Thailand

Daily as of 6 Nov 2020 Unit: M.Baht Investor Type Buy Sell Net Value % Value % Value % Local Institutions 6,605.72 8.98 8,707.36 11.84 -2,101.64 - Proprietary 10,012.21 13.62 8,839.86 12.02 1,172.35 - Trading Foreign Investors 28,283.53 38.47 28,832.39 39.21 -548.85 - Local Individuals 28,622.62 38.93 27,144.47 36.92 1,478.15 - Monthly Cumulative between 1 - 6 Nov 2020 Unit: M.Baht Investor Type Buy Sell Net Value % Value % Value % Local Institutions 33,173.01 11.24 25,008.25 8.47 8,164.76 - Proprietary 41,669.70 14.12 39,437.81 13.36 2,231.88 - Trading Foreign Investors 109,023.34 36.94 114,568.75 38.82 -5,545.41 - Local Individuals 111,289.35 37.71 116,140.57 39.35 -4,851.22 - Yearly Cumulative since 1 Jan - 6 Nov 2020 Unit: M.Baht

Investor Type Buy Sell Net Value % Value % Value % Local Institutions 1,391,408.00 10.76 1,328,185.94 10.27 63,222.06 - Proprietary 1,380,023.67 10.67 1,373,589.58 10.62 6,434.09 - Trading Foreign Investors 4,556,320.72 35.24 4,861,416.34 37.6 - - 305,095.63 Local Individuals 5,600,357.94 43.32 5,364,918.47 41.5 235,439.47 -

Total Trading Value 73,524.08 Million Baht

Background Information –

The strength of each party in the Thai Parliament as of May 8, 2019 as per the report by the Election Commission of Thailand. Elections took place on March 24, 2019

 https://www.ect.go.th/ect_th/news_all.php?cid=24

 List of MPs - https://www.ect.go.th/ect_th/download/article/article_20190508184334.pdf

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