Japanese firms in Thailand expect profit drops

The survey conducted is findings on the operating profits of Japanese Affiliated Firms in six ASEAN countries, consisting of Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, and India.

Firms were asked about their prospects for operating profits in 2008 and outlook for 2009. Of the 4,245 firms sent questionnaires, valid replies were received from 1,473 firms (34.7-per-cent response rate).

The survey (conducted between September 25th and October 31st, 2008) revealed that business sentiment had worsened (compared to last year's survey) in many locations.

Among respondent firms in manufacturing sectors, reasons for worsened prospects for operating profits in 2008 relate mainly to higher energy and resource prices, with most citing "increased procurements costs" (66.8 per cent of respondents), followed by "increased fuel and utility (electricity and gas) costs" (49.1 per cent) and "insufficient passing on of costs" (36.5 per cent).