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Thailand: UTCC gives mixed view
Changing consumer behaviour has ignited new industries, with platform businesses like e-marketplaces expected to have the brightest growth prospects next year, according to a local forecaster.
Book rental, basic phone and fax manufacturing, internet cafes, and printing and journal production are forecast to have the bleakest outlooks.
Thanavath Phonvichai, vice-president for research at the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce (UTCC), said changes in consumer lifestyles and advanced technology will cause certain businesses to fare quite well next year.
Offline stores, particularly restaurants and food outlets, have jumped on the online bandwagon, making the e-marketplace platform a standout, Mr Thanavath said.
“Given diversity and formats of services and growing demand of business operators to go online, changing consumers’ lifestyle, the ease, convenience and higher safety, as well as the government’s support, we believe the platform businesses like e-marketplaces will see the most promising prospects next year,” he said.
The UTCC also identified e-commerce, logistics services, general insurance, life insurance, medical services and beauty, food and beverage, street food, and elderly care as the top sectors with bright prospects in the year to come.
Fintech, e-payment services, energy, construction and infrastructure, legal service/accounting, faith- and tourism-related business, modern/lifestyle tourism and cosmetics/skin creams were also mentioned among the most promising industries.
Meanwhile, the UTCC said book rental, basic phone and fax manufacturing, internet cafes, printing and journal production, labour-intensive garment production for domestic sale, handicrafts and wooden furniture (conventional), conventional grocery stores, and storage media distribution such as CDs, DVDs, Blu-ray discs, external hard drives and memory cards face gloomy prospects next year.
Mr Thanavath said the UTCC based its forecasts on industry sales, production costs, net profit, competition landscape and the overall economic outlook.
He said that despite concerns about simmering political protests, the Thai economy is entering a phase of recovery.
The trade war between the US and China appears to have cooled, with the first phase agreed upon, while fiscal budget disbursement is being accelerated and tourism is expected to become active until next year.
The university forecasts economic growth to average 3.1%, in a range of 2.7-3.6%, next year.
“We still believe that the government can handle the protests,” Mr Thanavath said. “And we also believe that the protests will come under the law.”
Source: https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/1818449/utcc-gives-mixed-view