The Federation of Thai Industries president has indicated that the cost of flood damage to the industrial sector in Ayutthaya Province stands at between 70 and 80 billion baht. He urges the government to provide extra help to flood-hit SMEs. Federation of Thai Industries, or FTI, President Payungsak Chartsuthipol said the current floods have badly affected the industrial sector in Ayutthaya Province, which has over 100,000 workers and more than 500 factories. These factories are mostly involved in the auto parts, electrical appliances and electronics, textiles and rubber goods industries.

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Govt Urged to Help Flood-hit Industries

At the end of 2009, real GDP was back at pre-crisis levels, as measured in seasonally adjusted terms.
The continuation of certain government policies, especially the pension to the elderly and free education should also support higher consumption levels for the poor. The longer-term goal of reducing reliance on external demand will take time, especially given political uncertainties that hinder the government’s ability to implement not only its investment program but also needed structural reforms.

In any case, Thailand’s strong rally in 2009 should still be considered in context.
But another factor is likely the presence of larger, institutional investors in large-cap stocks who are more concerned about long-term performance than short-term market movements.

In 1972 the Government took a further step in this direction by amending the “Announcement of the Executive Council No. 58 on the Control of Commercial Undertakings Affecting Public Safety and Welfare”. The changes extended Government control and regulation over the operations of finance and securities companies, which until then had operated fairly freely. Following these amendments, in May 1974, long-awaited legislation establishing “The Securities Exchange of Thailand” (SET) was enacted. This was followed by revisions to the Revenue Code at the end of the year, allowing the investment of savings in the capital market. By 1975 the basic legislative framework was in place and on April 30, 1975, “The Securities Exchange of Thailand” officially started trading. On January 1, 1991 its name was formally changed to “The Stock Exchange of Thailand” (SET).