ASPS Forecasts Retail-Tourism-Hotel Stocks to Benefit from Vaccine Distribution

“Prayut” reaffirmed that the first 200,000 doses of Sinovac’s COVID-19 vaccine will arrive in Thailand at the end of this month and another 1.2 million doses will be delivered in March and April. The analyst believed the faster vaccine is rolled out, the sooner economy will return to normal, pointing out stocks in property, retail, tourism-hotel, media, transportation and consumer products will be benefited once economic activities resume. Meanwhile fund flow would return to Thai market after correction signals ended soon.

 

Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha yesterday (Feb 9) said, regarding a vaccination delay, that Thailand would receive the first shipment of 200,000 coronavirus vaccine doses at the end of February. Later in March, 800,000 doses will arrive and one million doses will come in April. The vaccination campaign will divide into two phases.

 

Asia Plus Securities (ASPS) assessed that if vaccine distribution is as planned, Thailand’s economy would recover back to normal sooner, and will also benefit the stocks especially property (CPN, CRC), retail (HMPRO, CPALL), tourism-hotel (ERW, CENTEL, MINT), media (PLANB), transportation (BTS, BEM), and consumer goods (OSP, TKN, SAPPE).

 

Fund inflow is projected to be robust from now on as foreigners place emphasis on vaccine progress. After Indonesia was the first country in the region to start vaccination in January, it was with the largest foreign net buying in the region of US$1.05bn. Meanwhile, other countries have not started vaccination, so their markets faced fund outflow.

 

Thailand is expected to start vaccination in February. Yesterday (Feb 9), it was with the largest net buying in the region of US$140m or B4.2bn, highlighting as the second largest net buying in 2021.