TISI in Nov up, first time in five months

BANGKOK, December 20 (TNA) - The Thai Industries Sentiment Index (TISI) stood at 95.2 in November 2012, from 93.0 a month earlier, its increase for the first time in five months. Payungsak Chartsutipol, Chairman of the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI), told journalists on Thursday that the increased TISI last month was attributed to the country's growing purchase and sale orders, production quantity, production costs and profits. Payungsak noted, despite the increase, last month's TISI was still below 100, showing that business operators' confidence in the Thai economy remained low, but the index of purchase and sales orders alone actually rose above 100 last month, reflecting a continual increase in domestic demand, boosted by demand for vehicles and spare parts, construction materials, food, electrical appliances and electronics and energy. For the Thai export sector, the FTI chief said, local business operators' confidence in November also rose from the previous month, thanks to the approaching Christmas and New Year’s holidays with rising purchase orders. Despite the favourable scenario, the FTI chief cautioned, negative factors which may affect local business operators' confidence in the coming months include uncertainties of the global economy and domestic politics, as well as rising production costs and a new daily minimum wage hike to 300 baht as of January 1, 2013. The FTI chief revealed that proposals made by local business operators to the Thai government last month included widening cooperation between Thailand and neighbouring countries, aimed mainly at expanding goods and services exported by local small and medium-sized enterprises or SMEs, and that they also urged the government to support SME operators on cash investment and business development, in the lead-up to the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), by 2015 and to find measures to assist business operators who would be affected from the 300-baht daily minimum wage policy. (TNA)