Valved said the firm aims to be the leading provider of sustainable crop nutrition solutions in Myanmar by 2020.

“Within the next three years, we aim to be the top brand that farmers trust when they think of crop quality and profitability for their farming business growth. We feel confident that we have enough knowledge to scale up and support farmers here,” he said.

“To achieve this, we are now working hard to establish a relationship of trust with farmers, distributors and value-chain partners by delivering value to them. This includes hosting farmer meetings, demonstration plots and field days to share knowledge with thousands of farmers with the aim of increasing their profitability and improving their livelihoods.”

He said the firm would help farmers increase productivity while reducing environmental impacts. He sees great potential for increased productivity in Myanmar by improving fertiliser application practices.

According to Valved, Myanmar’s total fertiliser consumption is less than one-fourth of Thailand, though the two nations have nearly the same agriculture area.

Currently, China and Thailand are two of Yara’s biggest markets in Asia. The firm began operations in Thailand 46 years ago, and has become the market leader in many crop segments there. In line with the Thai government’s agenda, the firm has a Thailand 4.0 vision for smarter ways to farm, focusing on farmers, small and medium enterprises, and digital solutions.

Yara established its presence in Myanmar in January by distributing its products – mostly produced in Norway – providing crop knowledge and application competence to farmers. With quality products designed to maximise crop yield and quality, the firm aims to address the issues Myanmar farmers are facing, said Valved.

“As the agricultural and farming communities in Myanmar increasingly look for sustainable solutions to increase productivity, the market adoption rate is growing. We expect our business in Myanmar will grow relative to our position in the rest of the world,” he said.

According to Valved, the firm is rapidly expanding its dealer and retail network and expects to be represented in more than 500 retail stores by 2020. Building competence among employees, farmers and distributors, and creating shared value in the agriculture value chain play a vital role in the firm’s strategy.

He stressed the importance of investing in local talents. Currently, the firm has hired 25 local talents, and will continue to look for ambitious young locals. In the future, further investments will be made to create a more efficient supply chain and complementary services.

“Newly recruited crop-nutrition advisers will go through comprehensive training by global experts and be tested and assessed to progress to the next step in a career path within agronomy. By formally assessing their competence, skills and behaviours we can be more confident to ensure we provide high value and performance,” he said.

The firm will host knowledge-sharing events in the coming months for farmers in Upper Myanmar, including Shan State, Mandalay and Sagaing regions. The events are tailored for various seasonal crops grown in different regions.

“In Myanmar, we aim to work closely with thousands of farmers. Our agronomists will engage with growers, analysing growth conditions and needs to provide the most suitable nutrition for each crop. For example in Aungban, we are focusing on Brassica crop [vegetables, cabbages, or mustard plants] which many farmers in this region grow,” he said.

More than 1,000 farmers attended its knowledge-sharing event in the Aungban township of Shan State on April 3. The firm has collaborated with Yezin Agricultural University to offer scholarships and internship programmes.

That decision has paid off for Jeraset, 38, who was running a contracting business when an employee told him about his experiences of travelling overseas.

“My employee, who had worked in Australia, spent his one-month holiday travelling abroad,” Jeraset said in explaining the inspiration for his decision to diversify his business into the hostel sector. “When he came back to work, he asked me if I had any interest to get into the hostel business and went on to tell me how hostels were common overseas and that he could see this form of budget accommodation taking hold in Thailand.”

Taken with his worker’s suggestion, Jeraset, who graduated with a bachelor’s degree in architecture from Chiang Mai University, decided to look for an appropriate building in the city, which is renowned as one of the top tourist destinations in Thailand.

Jeraset, in an interview with The Nation, said he also drew on his long business experience in the province while researching how to get started on the plan. His ambitions later led to a further diversification into the restaurant business.

Jeraset and six of his friends spent combined savings of Bt10 million to renovate an old building in Chiang Mai and fit it out with six hostel rooms accommodating 34 beds, along with six private rooms. All the guests were required to use shared bathrooms. For this purpose, they established Oxo Hotel Chiang Mai Co Ltd, with registered capital of Bt1 million.

For the first year of operation – from December 2015 until the end of 2016 – the hostel enjoyed an average occupancy rate of 85 per cent. Up to 90 per cent of the guests were foreigners holidaying in Chiang Mai, as Thais tend not to like shared bathrooms. The hostel generated an average daily income of Bt18,000.

For the second year, Jeraset and his partners spent a further Bt2 million on additional renovations to increase the number of private rooms to 10 and included private bathrooms in order to attract more Thai visitors. They also provided a camper van as an accommodative alternative for guests. Over that time, Chiang Mai saw an increase in the number of hostels, leading to a drop in the occupancy rate to an average of 65 per cent at Oxotel. Average daily income declined to Bt15,000.

Faced with high competition in the hostel market, Jeraset and his friends decided to open a restaurant to offset the reduced income from the hostel.

“With a hostel, our income is limited according to the number of the rooms, but it’s different with a restaurant,” Jeraset said. “Our potential income with a restaurant has no such limits, as that depends on the number customers and their orders. We were inspired in this thinking by a partner who owns a coffee shop in Chiang Mai and also joined in with Oxotel.”

Acting on the restaurant idea, Jeraset and his friends asked around among their friends and raised Bt10 million from 30 of them. This funding enabled them to open a restaurant in Lad Proad 71. Called Kien Kai Ka, the restaurant is operated by a newly established company, Mama Rich Co Ltd, with registered capital Bt4.95 million. Since opening last year, Kien Kai Ka has brought in an average of Bt3 million a month, exceeding that of the hostel business. The restaurant is on a list of establishments recommended by the Michelin Guide Book.

Encouraged by the success of the restaurant, Jeraset and his partners opened a second Kiea Kai Ka outlet in Chiang Mai on April 2. They now plan to open a new restaurant each year in provinces popular with tourists.

“We are confident about our plans for a restaurant chain and are looking ahead to a plan to open a branch in Bangkok,” he said.

“We believe the restaurant business can double our group income, given the attention we pay to service and quality of the food we serve. This commitment is the key to our success in both the restaurant and hostel operations.”

The company said the expansion will help strengthen Thailand’s capability in becoming a medical hub for medical aesthetic services in Asia with the provision of top-grade medical equipment and doctors.

Dr Nantapat Supapannachart, chief executive officer of Apex Medical Center, said that the company operates 20 aesthetic centres in Thailand, of which seven are stand-alone outlets and the rest are clinics in shopping malls.

“Apex will continue to focus on beauty and wellness services, delivering safe and quality results for all our patients,” she said. “In five years, we aim to build up a network of over 50 premium medical centres and/or clinics in Thailand and are looking for opportunities in the regional countries as well,” Nantapat said, adding that China, Vietnam and Myanmar are of particular interest.

She said that about 25 more medical centres and clinics would be opened within the next five years, taking the total above 50.

“We are also looking for 20 per cent growth on annual revenue every year over the next five years,” said Nantapat, adding that the expansion of its clinical network will allow accessibility to individual customers. About five to six medical centres and clinics will be opened every year.

Nantapat said as many as nine medical centres and clinics would be opened this year, including at CentralPlaza Nakhon Ratchasima, CentralPlaza Rama II, Seacon Square, CentralWorld, and Amarin Plaza.

Nantapat said that each medical centre will require more than 200 square metres and Bt30 million of investment on average, while small-scale aesthetics clinics will occupy about 100 square metres and need Bt10 million of investment.

For the regional markets, Apex has appointed contracted representatives in Vietnam, Myanmar and Hong Kong. The company will provide materials, training and consultation to these representatives, and customers will be transferred to the company’s medical centres in Bangkok.

“We will take another five years to strengthen our medical network in the Kingdom as well as look for opportunities to expand our medical centres and clinics to potential markets in the region,” Nantapat said.

Apex Medical Center has been in the market for more than 20 years as a well-known operator of aesthetic medical centres and clinics, she said. The company last year opened its latest medical centre in Bangkok’s Ploenchit area. With investment of about Bt300 million, excluding land and the building, the centre is the largest to be opened by the company.

“It is the only medical centre in Thailand that provides turnkey aesthetic treatments and services, from basic laser treatments to more complicated medical services, such as cosmetics surgery, dental scanner, robotic hair transplant, ice lab for health and anti-ageing treatments, nephropathy, breast implant, veneers, and liposuction,” Nantapat said.

“Our Ploenchit centre can accommodate about 300 customers a day. However, there are currently 150 customers a day using its aesthetic services, of which 70 per cent are Thais and 30 per cent foreigners from the Middle East, Myanmar, Australia, Hong Kong and Singapore,” she said.

“Thailand has strong potential of being a regional medical hub, thanks to its high-skilled medical doctors, up-to-date medical technologies, good hospitality, and more competitive costs compared to those in Hong Kong and Singapore.”

Apex Medical Center was accredited by Joint Commission International (JCI), an accreditation body for healthcare institutions, in February. “Accreditation and certification from JCI is recognised as the gold seal of approval for international quality standards for patient care and organisation management,” Nantapat said. “The accreditation comes as a testament to Apex Medical Center’s commitment towards services and excellence in the medical industry.

“JCI is the world’s leader in healthcare accreditation and the author and evaluator of the most rigorous international standards in quality and patient safety.

“Ultimately, Apex Medical Center strives to offer the highest standards to our patients. We want to reassure our patient s that with JCI accreditation, we are meeting all the international standards that are set for us.”

Chanya Tamrongweenijchai, director of relationship business, Major Cineplex Group, and Suripong Tantiyanon, Visa Country Manager Thailand, recently launched QR Payment service through Visa credit card. Major Cineplex group is the first cinema to provide this service at E-Ticketing Machine in Thailand.

In addition, customers who pay with Visa credit card from April 2 to 3 at any branch of Major Cineplex will get a chance to watch 2018 FIFA World Cup round of 16 in Moscow as first prize winners of a raffle. They will be rewarded with flight tickets and accommodation in Moscow for 5 days and four nights. Other prizes are five movie tickets (100 prizes), five games of bowling (100 prizes) and 5 hours karaoke (100 prizes). The awards are worth a total Bt900,000.

Grab celebrates first anniversary

Grab, the leading ride hailing platform in Myanmar and Southeast Asia, celebrated its first anniversary in Myanmar on March 21 2018. Since Grab’s entry into Myanmar in March 2017, it has gained a leadership position in the ride-hailing market and aims to continue supporting the transformation of the country’s transportation sector.

This includes improving taxi standards, safety, and transport efficiency to offer the best experience for passengers with its GrabTaxi and GrabTaxi Plus services, as well as increasing the incomes of driver-partners.

To celebrate its first anniversary, Grab hosted a social media campaign from March 21 to 28 March 2018 for passengers to share their happiest moments with Grab over the past year. Grab selected the top 10 contest entries with the most interesting stories and awarded the winning participants with 50,000 GrabRewards points each.

GrabRewards points can be used for discounts on Grab rides as well as discounts and free items from GrabRewards partners such as shop.com.mm, Pizza Hut, Swensen’s and Japan |Store.

Passengers can view their GrabRewards points and the rewards catalogue by tapping on “GrabRewards” in the menu panel of the Grab application.

CPN leads in hosting New Year splash

Central Pattana (CPN), is joining forces with Thai Beverage plc, Singha Corporation Co, Pepsi-Cola (Thai) Trading Co, True Corporation plc and M2F, to invest more than Bt70 million in holding ‘Thailand Songkran Festival 2018 – a splash of colours nationwide’ under the concept of ‘Colorful Splash’ with fun and entertaining activities for the traditional Thai New Year at CentralWorld, 32 branches of CentralPlaza and CentralFestival nationwide from April 12 to 19.

The event will create a one-stop Songkran experience – a family and entertainment destination for customers of all ages.

Families and individuals are invited to spend quality time at the shopping centres, where all types of activities will be gathered in one place, from offering food to monks, pouring water over Buddha images, building sand pagodas, tasting delicious food to having watery fun in different forms (huge water walls, giant water slides, water towers, water tunnels, water parks and foam parties).

Also, Songkran celebrations and concerts will be held at 19 CPN shopping centers. Intended foryoung people, it will feature light and sound and a hundred artists led by Bodyslam, Slot Machine, Klear, Zeal, Lipta, Cocktail, Atom, Jetseter and Flure.

Nattakit Tangpoonsinthana, CPN’s executive vice president of marketing, said that all CPN shopping centres will serve as a ‘Center of Life’ and CPN is the leader in organising activities and events for both international and Thai festivals.

“We apply a strategy of customer engagement by creating a sense of involvement, attracting all groups of customers to experience events and live life based on their interests at our shopping centres. This summer, we will highlight ourselves as the top Songkran and summer destination by holding numerous activities to welcome Songkran and the hot season under the concept of ‘One-stop Songkran Experience’, where everyone can get together in one place. It is expected that our ‘Colorful Splash’ activities will boost our customer traffic by 20 per cent.” he said.

New concept brings 40% monthly growth

After improving its website under the concept of “Be Better, Everyday Life” with “Show Host Li Leng” as the brand presenter, O Shopping has enjoyed a monthly growth of 40 per cent, compared to 2017, with spending per each purchase reaching Bt1,500 on average.

Suwat Damrongchaitham, CEO, GMM CJ O Shopping, said: “O Shopping launched its website Oshoppingtv.com designed and developed to be easy to use with different types of payment. Moreover, it can serve more online shoppers and increase more merchandise to answer all target groups with hot promotions to urge online shoppers to be confident.

“O Shopping expects to see housewives shop online more while we aim to promote TV home shopping, including show hosts as the representative to review products for online shoppers,” Suwat continued.

“This year, Oshoppingtv.com grows significantly with more than 3,000 items, including best sellers like fashion, cosmetics and supplements. There are approximately 600 times, or a 1.7 time, increase. The highest numbers of orders come from mobile browsers which accounted for 61 per cent of the total orders. The second channel is via the call centre and then the internet.

“We changed consumer behaviour from calling our call centre to online buying by 10 per cent. As a result, we try to develop our e-commerce channel including the website, applications and social media as well as delivery and payment systems. We have built trust among buyers with our cash on delivery, free delivery and easy refunds.”

This chief executive said this was the way to do home shopping that could expand to a new generation while keeping the adults at home, which is the main target. In the future, online shopping will be another key channel of the company which will grow continuously, Suwat said.

Chanya Tamrongweenijchai, business partner director at Major Cineplex, and Suripong Tantiyanon, Visa’s Thailand representative, have joined to offer QR payments. It is the first cinema chain to provide the service in Thailand.

Customers have a chance of winning tickets to a knock-out match in the Fifa World Cup, including flights and four nights in Moscow.

Other rewards include five movie tickets, which will go to 100 customers along with five rounds of bowling and five hours of karaoke.

Suwat Damrongchaitham, CEO, GMM CJ O Shopping, said: “O Shopping launched its website Oshoppingtv.com designed and developed to be easy to use with different types of payment. Moreover, it can serve more online shoppers and increase more merchandise to answer all target groups with hot promotions to urge online shoppers to be confident.

“O Shopping expects to see housewives shop online more while we aim to promote TV home shopping, including show hosts as the representative to review products for online shoppers,” Suwat continued.

“This year, Oshoppingtv.com grows significantly with more than 3,000 items, including best sellers like fashion, cosmetics and supplements. There are approximately 600 times, or a 1.7 time, increase. The highest numbers of orders come from mobile browsers which accounted for 61 per cent of the total orders. The second channel is via the call centre and then the internet.

“We changed consumer behaviour from calling our call centre to online buying by 10 per cent. As a result, we try to develop our e-commerce channel including the website, applications and social media as well as delivery and payment systems. We have built trust among buyers with our cash on delivery, free delivery and easy refunds.”

This chief executive said this was the way to do home shopping that could expand to a new generation while keeping the adults at home, which is the main target. In the future, online shopping will be another key channel of the company which will grow continuously, Suwat said.