International real estate consulting firm Colliers International Thailand said Thailand's hospitality industry would draw about 15 billion baht of new investment through next year. Patima Jeerapaet, managing director of Colliers Thailand, said most foreign investors are from the Middle East, Europe, China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore and Australia, although many foreign investors remained concerned about potential changes to the Foreign Business Act. He said institutional investors are focused on the hotel and leisure industry and the commercial sector, while corporate investors prefer the residential segment.
Bangkok Post
Bangkok Post
Thailand's economic growth rose a 4.3 percent in the first quarter from a year ago and increased 1.2 percent from the previous quarter, according to the National Economic and Social Development Board. Experts said surging exports helped to offset weakness in consumption and investment growth. The board also lowered its 2007 growth forecast range to between 4 percent and 4.5 percent from a previous projection of 4 percent to 5 percent, due to a weakness in the domestic economy caused by political uncertainty.
AP
AP
Petri Deryng, a native Fin who heads PYN Fund Management in Thailand, has beaten the Thai stock exchange in five of the last seven years. When choosing which countries to buy, Deryng says he looks for companies with price-to-earnings ratios of 10 or less and dividend yields that exceed those of his benchmark. Deryng also said he won't make any major changes in his portfolio in the next two years, as he is confident that a national election, lower interest rates and cheap valuations will attract investment and push share prices higher. "We've had three frustrating years in Thailand," Deryng said. "It's very clear that we're going to make quite good gains in Thailand with our current portfolio."
Bloomberg
Bloomberg