The number of second-hand homes for sale nationwide costing 3 million baht or below posted the highest increase in the fourth quarter last year as the property measures for the segment expired at the end of the year.

Vichai Viratkapan, acting director-general of the Real Estate Information Center (REIC), said the cuts in transfer and mortgage fees for second-hand homes ran from Jan 18, 2022 to Dec 31, 2022.

“The measures urged more supply in these pricing ranges to come to the market,” he said. “Compared with the fourth quarter of 2021, when the measures applied to just new units, their year-on-year rise in the fourth quarter last year was large.”

According to REIC, the number of second-hand homes offered for sale nationwide in the fourth quarter last year priced below 3 million baht soared by 30.7% to 102,994 units from 78,795 units in the same period of 2021.

Compared with the third quarter of 2022, the amount rose by 6.3%.

The largest increase was those priced below 1 million baht with a surge of 10.8%, followed by those priced between 2.01-3 million baht with an increase of 6.3%.

Mr Vichai said the supply was in line with the number of second-hand units transferred between January and November 2022 which saw the largest increase in units priced below 3 million baht.

REIC gathered data concerning second-hand homes nationwide offered for sale through major property websites and those owned by financial institutions, asset management firms and the Legal Department.

As of the end of the fourth quarter of 2022, the total number of second-hand homes offered for sale nationwide rose 13.4% year-on-year to 162,787 units worth a combined 860.4 billion baht, down 7.2%.

The number of units priced above 3 million baht offered for sale in this quarter declined across the board when compared with the third quarter.

The largest decrease was units priced above 10 million baht which fell by 16.4%, followed by those priced 7.51-10 million (14.6%), 5.01-7.5 million (11.7%) and 3.01-5 million (1.6%).

Source: Bangkok Post

Cambodia was Adidas’ largest garment manufacturer in 2021, overtaking China, as the German sportswear giant turns to Southeast Asia to fulfil its manufacturing needs.

Adidas’ incoming chief executive officer will need to tackle the tricky issues of manufacturing in China and the Chinese market, where sales are sliding.

Cambodia made 21 percent of Adidas’ sports clothing in 2021, followed by China with 20 percent and Vietnam with 15 percent, according to the Bavaria-based firm’s financial report.

Back in 2013, China was the biggest producer at 33 percent, followed by Indonesia with 11 percent and Vietnam 10 percent for Vietnam.

Adidas’ sales are also tumbling in China and have dropped for six consecutive quarters due to the Covid-19 pandemic, changes in consumer preference and stiff competition.

The sportswear giant said at the end of last year that it will reduce the number of outlets in China to 8,000 from 12,000.

The replacement to former CEO Kasper Rorsted, who stepped down ahead of schedule earlier this year, will have to reverse the decline in the Chinese market.

And in terms of production, China is faring even worse with footwear. Indonesia makes just over a third of Adidas’ sports shoes, at 36 percent, Vietnam produces 30 percent and China only 15
percent.

And it is a similar situation with Nike. More than half of Nike’s sports shoes are manufactured in Vietnam, a quarter in Indonesia and 21 percent in China.

In pursuit of lower costs, many Chinese manufacturers are moving production to Southeast Asia. Shenzhou International Group Holdings, one of Adidas’ biggest suppliers, is building more plants in Cambodia and Vietnam.

Shoe maker Huali Industrial Group has also made Southeast Asia a major production base.

The Zhongshan, Guangdong province-based firm has shifted all its shoe factories overseas and is building new plants in Indonesia and Myanmar, according to its 2022 financial report.

Source: Khmer Times

Trade between the United States and China hit a record high in 2022, even as political tension heightened between the world’s top two economies.

The bilateral goods trade between the countries rose to $690.6 billion last year, according to official US data, which was released Tuesday.

Exports to China increased by $2.4 billion to $153.8 billion, while imports of Chinese products rose by $31.8 billion to $536.8 billion according to the US Bureau of Economic Analysis.

The data suggests that the idea of “decoupling,” or reducing mutual reliance in a range of areas, is much more evident in policy discussions in Washington rather than on-the-ground trade reality, according to analysts.

“Supply chains are sticky, particularly those linked to China,” Nick Marro, lead analyst for global trade at the Economist Intelligence Unit, told CNN.

The US government is working to reduce its supply chain reliance on China, but at the end of the day, most companies care more about getting their products to consumers on time, and in ways that are the most cost-effective for their own operations.”

Source: CNN

Chinese state-owned real estate companies restarted overseas bond issuances in January after five months of suspension, paving the way for a rebound of the industry.

Some leading state-owned developers are opening up overseas financing channels again, experts said, expecting more companies to follow suit to inject more impetus into the country’s economic revival.

In January, the developers such as China Jinmao and Yuexiu Group took the lead in successfully issuing bonds in Macao, according to media reports, marking the resumption of overseas bond issuances five months after suspension.

While the total non-bank financing of real estate enterprises amounted 50.85 billion yuan ($7.49 billion) in January, a year-on-year decrease of 33.1 percent, as data released by China Index Academy on Tuesday showed, things are taking a positive turn followed by the resumption.

Affected by the weeklong Spring Festival holidays, the total amount of non-bank financing in January decreased year-on-year due to the tough economic situation, but the decline narrowed year-on-year, China Index Academy said, suggesting that industry financing has entered a relatively stable period after a year of adjustments.

Source: Global Times