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Capital inflows will move towards risky assets, especially in Asia including Thailand after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) revised its world GDP growth estimate for 2021 from 5.2% to 5.5%, a signal the economic impact of the pandemic may have receded, predicts Asia Plus Securities (ASPS) Research.
According to ASPS Research, IMF s GDP growth projections for many Asian countries are relatively higher than those in other regions. India is expected to grow by 11.5%, China by 8.1%, and Malaysia by 6%, while the US is projected to grow by only 5.1% in 2021.
President Joe Biden s tax hikes could cut the profits of listed companies in the US for the next few years.
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Asia Plus Securities (ASPS) Research predicts 13 low free-float stocks with high volatility are likely to drop in value following a possible revision of the criteria for free-float shareholding of listed companies.
New liquidity criteria are expected to make stocks with strong fundamentals more attractive to investors.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) asked the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) to revise the free-float standards for minor shareholder distribution along with other measures that may reduce speculation in this stock segment.
The SEC also urged the SET to review measures on posting warning alerts to investors on certain stocks, and the criteria for new additions to the SET50 or SET100 indices.
Earnings per share on the Thai stock market will increase 40% from last year, in line with listed firms' net profit recovery and supported by global governments' quantitative easing programmes and inbound fund flow, according to a survey by the Investment Analysts Association (IAA).
A banner year for M&A deals
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Despite the pandemic, there were many large merger and acquisition agreements
published : 25 Dec 2020 at 07:00
1 A woman pushes a shopping cart in front of a Tesco Lotus store in Bangkok. CP Group s acquisition of the hypermarket chain was one of the largest deals this year. (Photo by Wisit Tham-ngern)
Merger and acquisition (M&A) activity looked strong at the beginning of 2020 with numerous transactions, including the acquisition of the Ninth Towers office building and Unilever House office building projects (US$186 million and $50.4 million, respectively) by CPN Retail Growth Leasehold REIT.
In the first quarter of 2020, according to international consulting firm KPMG, the real estate, infrastructure and construction sectors contributed 83.5% of the $1.36 billion M&A transaction value.
Thailand s BDMS Group to accelerate medical innovations
Thailand s BDMS Group to accelerate medical innovations 18 December 2020 | News BDMS aims to provide advanced healthcare services with Thai hospitality by deploying Plug and Play s state-of-the-art technology
Photo Credit: PRNewswire
Bangkok Dusit Medical Services Plc (BDMS), one of the most prestigious hospital networks in the Asia-Pacific region, has announced its partnership with Silicon Valley-based innovation platform Plug and Play Tech Center to develop innovation for a new paradigm of medical treatment.
Through this partnership, BDMS intends to leverage Plug and Play s global ecosystem to identify the latest cutting-edge technologies to drive innovation across its business units to provide advanced healthcare services with Thai hospitality for excellent experience.