The event's guest of honour, Dr. Bandid Nijathaworn, President and CEO, Thai Institute of Directors, provided the opening keynote address.
Mr. Mervyn Tang, Director, Asia-Pacific Sovereigns at Fitch Ratings, highlighted that so far this year, there have been a relatively large number of sovereign downgrades and many ratings are currently on Negative Outlook, in particular among emerging markets. While external funding requirements are relatively large in a number of emerging markets globally, the external finances are strong in a number of Asian economies, including Thailand. Thailand's 'BBB+' rating and Stable Outlook are supported by strong public and external finances. Moreover, the economy has shown resilience despite domestic and external shocks. At the same time, the economy continues to face some structural headwinds, including a rapidly ageing population and high private-sector leverage.
Mr. Parson Singha, Senior Director, Financial Institutions at Fitch Ratings (Thailand) Limited, noted that the operating environment remains difficult for banks in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), due to weaker economic growth and high levels of private-sector leverage. This is already causing pressure on profitability and asset quality for banking sectors across the region, which Fitch expects to continue over the next several quarters. Nevertheless, the banking sectors in most ASEAN members are supported by sound levels of operating profitability and core capitalisation, particularly compared with other emerging markets.
Thai banks are facing many of the same operating conditions and performance challenges as their regional peers. Nevertheless, most of the rated banks in Thailand remain on Stable Outlooks as Fitch views that their financial profiles are sufficiently strong to cope with a normal cyclical rise in loan impairments.
Potential impacts from financial technology advances were discussed in greater detail in a roundtable that followed. Mr. Vincent Milton, Managing Director of Fitch Ratings (Thailand), moderated a panel on the technology disruption in the financial, insurance, and industrial sectors. Speakers on the panel comprised Mr. Teeranun Srihong, President of Kasikornbank and Chairman of Kasikorn Business-Technology Group; Mr. Punnamas Vichitkulwongsa, Chief Executive Officer, Ascend Group; and Mr. Frank Gulitz, Senior Manager - Financial Services, Technology Consulting, Accenture Solutions.
The conference was attended by more than 250 executives and officials from the regulatory, investor, financial and corporate sectors.