People in Myanmar and Cambodia are familiar with the Thai language as a result of watching Thai TV shows, while the growing middle classes in both countries are capable of supporting their children to study abroad, including in Thailand, said Sathorn Upanwan, chief executive officer of OnDemand.

Regulations in both Myanmar and Cambodia allow international schools and foreign tutoring institutions to set up schools there, he said, adding that the company’s feasibility study is looking for partners to do business in these markets.

“Parents in Myanmar and Cambodia have similar goals to those of Thai parents, especially wealthy people who want to see their children well educated because it gives them a chance to get a good job,” the CEO said.

With Thailand facing a declining birth rate, and the number of one-child families on the rise, primary schools and secondary schools that offer an English programme are becoming the priority choice for parents who can afford such an education for their offspring, he explained.

Three or four tutoring-school players have already introduced new courses for primary-school through to secondary-school learners.

OnDemand will follow this trend, with the company adding an English-language programme in mathematics and sciences, and will set up a branch under the name of OnDemand Inter to make it clear that the tutoring institution is for international learners, Sathorn said.

OnDemand has 40 branches nationwide, of which 10 are in Bangkok, and the company plans to open a further five branches this year.

Sutee Assavavimol, the founder of OnDemand, said the economic slowdown had affected the income of parents in upcountry provinces, while the trend for one-of-one tutoring in these provinces had affected tutoring schools as well.

“Since we opened to receiving tutoring charges via credit card, the volume of income via this route has been high, showing that the economic slowdown has affected the cash flow of parents,” he said.

To maintain growth, the company will have to add new courses in its primary and international programmes, and will promote a new educational concept – Trusted onDemand – with the goal of helping students get into the right faculty, the founder said.

By expanding its courses to primary-school and international-programme learners, it hopes to maintain revenue growth of 10-20 per cent.

Last year’s revenue grew 20 per cent from the 2014 level, he added.

A BBL executive said yesterday that the bank alone could provide financial support to Jasmine but the company had to submit a formal business plan to the bank first.

The company needs help to pay the first instalment of its upfront licence fee to the telecom regulator and post bank guarantees for the balance.

The source said the Bt75.6 billion that Jasmine quoted to win the 900MHz licence last December was higher than Bt40 billion, which was the estimated upfront licence price in the bank’s initial talks with JAS on possible financial support.

The two 900MHz licence winners, Jasmine and True Corp, are required to pay the first instalment of the upfront licence fee and place bank guarantees by March 21.

True bid Bt76.3 billion for its licence.

Takorn Tantasith, secretary-general of the National Broadcasting and Telecommu-nications Com-mission, said he still believed that Jasmine would come through with the first instalment as the firm could face negative consequences from failing to fulfil such a condition.

Recently Noppadol Dej-udom, chief financial officer of True, said that company was ready to meet the payment and bank-guarantee conditions, pending a signal from the boss.

One MoU is between FOMM and SIIT to do joint research for one year evaluating electric vehicles. The other is between FOMM and Bangchak to undertake a study on implementation of a “battery cloud” system for FOMM compact vehicles by utilising Bangchak’s service stations.

The main purposes of this collaboration are the development of EV efficiency, driving convenience, basic infrastructure, and a future Thai EV industry. In addition, Bangchak will participate in a feasibility study on a “battery cloud” system and general maintenance services at its service-station network. Under FOMM’s “battery cloud” concept, batteries for its EVs can be charged at home or be replaced at service stations.

A fully charged battery can run the EV for up to 100 kilometres. The batteries are designed to allow smartphones monitor the remaining power.

The collaboration is part of FOMM’s strategy to use Thailand as the hub for manufacturing compact electric cars to sell in Thailand and elsewhere in Asean.

According to a survey on worldwide EV demand since 2011, the initial number of 40,000 units dramatically increased to 265,000 units in 2013. This demand is expected to soar to around 541,000 units in 2018.

FOMM is committed to building compact EVs that are a cross between an automobile and a motorcycle.

Hideo Tsurumaki, chief executive officer of FOMM – whose name is an acronym of “First One Mile Mobility” – said the core technologies of FOMM’s EV included in-wheel motors, high-power cooling systems, steering accelerators, and cassette-type batteries, and floating.

In Europe and in the United State, the relative law of ‘compact car’ is existed, meanwhile in Japan is now accelerating the legislation.

“We expect the Thai government will introduce new regulations for compact EV cars,” Tsurumaki said.

The company has set up a |company in Thailand in February named FOMM Asia to take care of research and development, manufacturing, marketing and sales. The company is still looking for business partners interested in manufacturing joint ventures.

“The FOMM compact EV car needs only 1,500 parts. We expect to start mass production in September 2017 and start to sell the EV car in Thailand in October 2017.”

The company targets 5,000 sales in 2017, 16,000 in 2018, 30,000 in 2019 and 40,000 in 2020.

Pongchai Chaichirawiwat, senior executive vice president of Bangchak Petroleum, said the company would like to take part in providing the battery cloud for the electric cars. It might start from the company’s more than 200 service stations in Bangkok, which is the priority market for the FOMM compact EVs.

Phanit Laosirirat, adviser to |the Ministry of Science and Technology, said the electric vehicle was the new generation of automobile. It is forecast that by 2030, around 20 per cent of total vehicles on the road will be electrically powered, up from only 0.08 per cent now. There is therefore huge market potential.

He said the government had recognised the importance of science and technology as key drivers of economic and social development.

The National Science, Technology and Innovation Policy Office and the Studies for Society Science and Technology Foun-dation have established a facilitation centre to promote the development of industrial R&D centres in Thailand.

This project should be an important mechanism for collaboration between the education/research sector and the private/industry sector for both of Thailand and other countries.

 

Kobe Steel executives visited Thailand on Tuesday to attend a ceremony marking the formation of the firm’s joint venture with listed company Millcon Steel.

The JV will produce special grades of wire-rod steel for supply to the Thai automotive industry.

Kobe and Millcon each hold 50 per cent of the JV company, named Kobelco Millcon Steel.

Takashi Gato, senior officer at Kobe Steel, said late on Tuesday that in the initial production phase, the JV plant at Millcon Steel’s complex in Rayong province would have the capacity to produce 40,000 tonnes of special-grade wire rod per month.

“We chose Thailand because automobile sales there are greater [than other markets] and, even though domestic sales in the country have slowed, the company believes the auto sector will get back to normal in the next three to four years,” he explained.

According to the Federation of Thai Industries, auto production in the Kingdom last year reached 1.91 million units, up slightly from 1.88 million units in 2014.

Kobe Steel, which is Japan’s third-largest steelmaker, also has a plant in the US to produce aluminium sheet and another in China for the production of steel sheet.

The company wants to increase its exposure in Asean and the facility in Thailand will help give it sufficient capacity to supply to other countries, Gato said.

Sittichai Leeswadtrakul, president and chief executive officer of Millcon Steel, said the special-grade wire rod would improve his company’s margins, as the special-grade price of Bt30 per kilogram was considerably higher than Bt13 per kilo for normal-grade steel.

Millcon Steel’s profitability will now grow steadily and the company will shift from producing normal-grade steel to high-value steel in order to escape the pricing war in the sector, he said.

In 2020, the producer’s sales revenue from special-grade wire rod will account for 50 per cent of overall income, he added.

At present, 90 per cent of Millcon Steel’s sales revenue comes from normal-grade steel.

The JV with Kobe Steel has received a tax incentive from the Board of Investment.

Hiroya Kawasaki, president and CEO of Kobe Steel, said special-grade wire-rod steel was currently in high demand.

However, responding to market demand on its own was not easy, because the production of special-grade steel required high technology, hence the decision to form a JV with Millcon Steel, he said.

The company will next month send an additional seven staff from Japan to assist the JV operation, he added.

“The opening of the new route from Don Mueang International Airport to Luang Prabang marks the completion |of our network of CLMV countries, namely Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam.

“They are considered countries with great economic potential in Asean, as they are all brimming with resources and reasonably priced labour,” Tassapon Bijleveld, chief executive officer, said yesterday.

The low-cost carrier has been waiting in the wings for eight years to open this route, which will push the Asean Economic Community closer together, particularly Thailand and Laos.

Within Asean, the airline still does not operate to the Philippines and Brunei. However, Vientiane is most likely to be its next destination.

Luang Prabang was one of the top five destinations recommended to visit in the world, he said.

It is one of two CLMV cities along with Angkor Wat in Cambodia that are recommended to visit.

According to statistics, more than 4 million tourists visited Laos last year, with half of them coming from Thailand.

Arrivals from third countries are expected to increase as more flights are added.

Tourism contributes 3-4 per cent of Laos’ economy. It is expected to climb to 7 per cent in the near future.

The flight to Luang Prabang takes just over one hour from Bangkok.

“Luang Prabang has many distinct travel features, from its local lifestyle and culture to its natural attractions.

“This latest route also creates new investment opportunities. We are confident that as a friendly destination, Luang Prabang will quickly grow to be a popular place to visit for both Thai and international travellers,” he said.

Tickets can now be booked at introductory fares starting at Bt990 until February 14 for travel from March 24 to February 5 of next year.

AirAsia Group has the most exten-|sive network of destinations in Asean. Thai AirAsia connects Thailand to seven Asean countries via 15 routes to 12 destinations.

Thai AirAsia carried 14.8 million passengers last year and expects to serve 16.9 million this year thanks to five new aircraft due to be delivered this year.

The airline celebrated a good past year in line with rising demand globally from falling fuel prices.

Suppapong Phetsuit, president of Cera C-Cure, said the emergence of the Asean Economic Community at the end of last year benefited the company, which had set its business direction to concentrate more on international markets, especially the AEC and the CLMV (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam) sub-region.

He said the company planned to build awareness of its brand and products, and capture customers in those potential export markets. It would also focus on exporting high-value products to bring back a lot of money into Thailand.

Cera C-Cure revealed its business vision at the “Beyond Two Decades, Beyond Relationship” event it hosted to thank its business partners and customers, and reinforce the market leadership of the Crocodile brand driven by a long heritage of more than 20 years in the tile-adhesive, chemical and coloured-cement business.

Under its vision, the company expects to increase its contribution from exports from the current 10 per cent of total revenue to 30 per cent in five years, and up to 50 per cent in 10 years. It is targeting the AEC market representing about 70 per cent of total export value.

“We are considering opening our own offices in the CLMV markets, especially Vietnam. Beyond CLMV, we are also interested in expanding market into Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and India,” Suppapong said.

He said that the company in 2007 started exporting Crocodile products into eight markets, of which four were the CLMV bloc, and the rest were China, Bangladesh, Canada and Maldives.

Cera C-Cure posted Bt2.3 billion in revenue last year, up 10 per cent over 2014. The company is targeting no less than 15-per-cent growth in revenue this year.

Over the past 20 years, Cera C-Cure has maintained itself as a Thai-owned company.

“Entering the 24th year of leadership in the tile-adhesive and tile-grout market in Thailand, we would like to make the Thai people proud of a Thai company that is able to compete neck-and-neck with rivals in the world market,” Suppapong said.

“We will continue to focus on strengthening our Crocodile brand under the theme ‘innovation for your family’s happiness’, which is in line with our aspiration to give happiness to all individuals in the family.”

He said that from time to time Cera C-Cure had focused on research and development for better product quality. The company launched two or three new products, especially tiling and repairing innovations, every year with more advanced manufacturing technology. This saw Crocodile products awarded American National Standards Institute certification, a world-class standard for auditing of product quality, which is widely accepted and recognised around the world.

“We are a revolutionist in the market for cement products … which is appropriate to any kind of ceramic tiles and textures,” Suppapong said. “We are the first in the world in the creation of tile grout with Microban’s anti-microbial technology [which is] designed to kill bacteria or fungus on contact.”

Crocodile products have been divided into three major categories, which are tiling, repairing products and coloured cement.

“For both domestic and overseas markets, we focus on home or residential renovation,” the CEO said, adding that amid the slowdown in the global economy “the purchasing power for new houses within the region is declining”.

“However, we believe that our Crocodile brand will be able to grow itself, especially in the renovation sector. We are also monitoring carefully the property market and overall economy in Thailand, which are crucial factors in our business expansion.”

He said the company would this year also focus on the excellence of before- and after-sale services. They include a host of training activities to educate dealers and retailers about Crocodile products, and the support of advertising and sales promotion materials.

“Since last year, we have seen that individual owners have participated in the decision-making process to purchase construction materials for their houses. We then increased our attention in communicating and building awareness directly with house owners,” Suppapong said.

He said the company’s products were now available in more than 4,000 retail outlets throughout the Kingdom, both at modern trades and those operated by individual dealers. The company also supplied products directly to construction projects owned by the government and private sectors.

The company last year divided its investment budget into two parts – to expand its factory and bring robotic technology into its production process to increase efficiency and capacity in order to cope with greater demand, and to deliver more environment-friendly projects.

“Cera C-Cure Co gives high concern to the environment all the time. We have significantly improved and developed our surroundings,” Suppapong said. “The company is also highly concerned about the health of our employees and nearby communities. Lately, we have brought in new technology that is able to reduce dust in the factory and surrounding areas.”

Cera C-Cure has more than 1,000 employees. The company plans to open a new head office to cater for its business expansion domestically and abroad.

A source at the subscription-based TV operator admitted that its call centre was not able to handle the avalanche of calls from affected customers, but said it would provide new channels, including websites and mobile services, that could be reached by customers.

CTH made headlines last month when it announced it would no longer provide its Z Pay-TV service via third-party satellite TV operators, namely GMM Z in January 6 and PSI Holdings and RS Sunbox on February 29.

The move directly affects about 100,000 users of the Z Pay-TV package, which includes 21 exclusive TV channels.

The source said that after the cancellation of the GMM Z service, CTH offered a high-value package to 20,000 affected subscribers as compensation. To date, the company has delivered new satellite-TV set-top boxes with the new package to almost 80 per cent of those affected. Within two weeks, all affected customers would get full compensation.

CTH will soon also start dealing with the remaining subscribers of PSI and Sunbox.

Apart from the compensation packages, CTH’s customers are also able to get refunds. The total value of the compensation plan is about Bt100 million.

However, the broadcasting regulator has warned GMM Z and GMM B that they might be fined Bt2 million or more with extra daily fines of Bt100,000 each after the Z Pay-TV service was pulled without appropriate advance notice, which was considered consumer exploitation.

Sombat Leelapata, acting deputy secretary-general of the National Broadcasting andTelecommuni-cations Commission (NBTC), said yesterday that the advance notice provided was not in accordance with broadcasting regulations.

“If a broadcaster wants to change some details of conditions of service, the company should inform its customers 30 days in advance,” he said.

Both GMM B and GMM Z must propose remedial measures to the NBTC subcommittee on consumer-rights protection as soon as possible.

Z Pay-TV is operated by GMM B, while GMM Z is the distributor of GMM Z satellite-TV boxes. GMM B was acquired last year from GMM Grammy by CTH, while GMM Z is wholly owned by GMM Grammy.