Customers can also use the K Plus app, with minimum purchases of Bt100, for a chance of winning an iPhone 8. The promotional campaign runs until July 15.

Vathit Chokwatana (far right), executive director of Sahapattanapibul PLC Koichi Hirose (second right), managing director of Saha Lawson, and KBank’s Wirawat Panthawangkun (second left).

Salinla Seehaphan, corporate affairs director, has signed a memorandum of understanding to purchase 150 tonnes of low-glycaemic index (low GI) rice to sell at Tesco Lotus stores, providing a distribution channel for farmers.

The 1kg packs will cost Bt60.

Low GI rice is a healthier choice, especially for diabetics and those watching their weight. The rice will be available at all Tesco Lotus hypermarkets from May 15.

Tesco Lotus said it continued to support rice farmers through its direct-sourcing programme, working with agricultural cooperatives in northeastern provinces who supply jasmine rice under the Tesco brand. The direct sourcing programme allows rice farmers and cooperatives to bypass middle merchants, get fair prices and have a secure distribution channel, the retail giant claimed.

Brown has served as Agoda’s chief operating officer since 2014 when he was promoted from chief product officer.

Current Agoda CEO, Robert Rosenstein, will become chairman of Agoda and special adviser to the CEO of Booking Holdings, Glenn Fogel. In addition, current product chief Omri Morgenshtern will become the operating chief.

“Rob’s vision for Agoda when he co-founded the company was unparalleled at the time. He recognised the immense opportunity in APAC [Asia-Pacific], and built a brand with strong loyalty and brand awareness in the region,” said Fogel. “Our business will continue to benefit from his knowledge of the APAC region and his expertise in digital technology trends, and we couldn’t be more excited to see John step into the role of CEO.”

“John has touched almost every facet of the Agoda business over the past eight years, actively contributing to the company’s strategy and expansion,” said Rosenstein. “Without question, John is the right choice to next lead the Agoda business, and I look forward to continuing to work alongside him and Omri as chairman, along with Glenn as we look to develop our global strategy further.”

Brown joined Agoda in 2010 from the Boston Consulting Group. He has a BA from Yale University and an MBA in finance from Wharton School.

Consolidated losses narrowed significantly to Bt26.88 million from Bt295.57 million during the same period last year.

Revenue grew by 5.6 per cent from the same quarter last year to Bt4.32 billion as average cost per seat declined and more passengers were carried, despite the rise in fuel costs.

“The result is better than expected and it clearly shows that our business turnaround plan has continued to bear fruit and we are on the right course for recovery,” Nok Air CEO Piya Yodmani said.

Adoption of new marketing initiatives which allow Nok Air to capture several market segments, increased competitiveness, stricter cost control enforcement and productivity enhancement have contributed to improved financial result, he said.

Those improvements allowed Nok Air to better deal with the 23.2-per-cent increase in fuel costs in the period, Piya noted.

The airline was able to fill more seats in the quarter, thus achieving an average of cabin factor (the proportion of seats filled) of 93.8 per cent, 6.1 points higher than last year in the same quarter.

This year the airline carried 3.8 per cent more passengers with a tally of 2.52 million, up from 2.43 million in the same period last year, thanks to the surge in passengers on its expanded Chinese traffic.

The quarter saw Nok Air increase aircraft use by 21.5 per cent to 10 hours per aircraft per day from 8.23 hours, contributing to higher productivity.

Piya said at the end of the quarter, Nok Air operated a fleet of 29 aircraft, down from 31 a year ago. The airline added two domestic routes in the first quarter to a total of 25, while its international scheduled routes remained unchanged at three.

Last month during a three-day promotion, the numbers of sellers rose 110 per cent faster than in last year’s anniversary campaign.

This seller-focused initiative is in line with Thailand’s Smart Business Transformation programme, helping strengthen the digital capabilities of SMEs, which are cited as a major economic driver.

Throughout the campaign, 47 per cent of sellers were from outside Bangkok, of which 37 per cent came from northern and eastern provinces, with central, south and western Thailand accounting for the remaining 63 per cent.

Lazada said its new payment option makes purchases faster and more convenient. It said its warehouses could ship 65 parcels a minute, including bulky items such as washing machines and large televisions, which were the best-selling large items throughout the anniversary campaign.

The fastest same-day delivery parcel was delivered in 2 hours 58 minutes from the main warehouse to a customer in Chatuchak, it said.

Alessandro Piscini, CEO Lazada in Thailand, said: “This year’s anniversary campaign focused on making both the selling and buying experiences seamless and convenient. We are the leading e-commerce platform in the region, and in order to maintain this stronghold, we are constantly innovating.

“Our support for our sellers, in making payments and shipments as fast and efficient as possible, has resulted in a record-breaking anniversary campaign for our sellers. We are proud of this partnership and excited to see what we can achieve in the year ahead.”

Prof Pichet Viriyajitra, CEO of Asian Phytoceuticals PCL (APCO), said increased online activity through the APCO Dropship customer-to-customer project has helped gain new customers for products for HIV/Aids patients.

“We expect to gain as many as 5,000 new customers from this new channel,” he said.

He said the company has targeted sales growth of 15-20 per cent this year, along with 28-30 per cent net profit.

Under the brand “LMGP”, the international adhesive-product manufacturer will for the first time in this region exhibit labels made with a hot melt pressure sensitive adhesive formulation technology that the company inherited when it acquired Mactac Americas in 2016.

Lintec will demonstrate labels that meet local market needs at the Labelexpo Southeast Asia 2018 exhibition.

The wine importing business is flourishing because Bangkok has continued to be the number one tourist destination and Thailand will receive 37 million visitors this year, said Joe Sriwarin, president of Wine Professionals’ Services Limited.

With the 11th Bangkok Grand Wine Tasting fast approaching Sriwarin noted the event remains the biggest and most elaborate wine professional get-together in the country. The annual event attracts overseas boutique wine producers and importers, who exhibit their wines and offer tastings to 1,000 wine professionals – sommeliers; F&B professionals; owners of restaurants, wine bars, and wineshop owners – along with high-end wine lovers.

“We’ve seen the volume of wine [sales] increasing year after year with more wine importers, fine dining and Michelin Star restaurants, more wine bars, wine shops and duty-free shops opening at border crossings as well as international airports all over Thailand,” Sriwarin said.

Tourism is becoming the number one industry in Thailand, due to its location in the centre of mainland Southeast Asia he said.

“Wine is an important part of the luxury lifestyle among local and foreign visitors. With wine consumption increasingly popular among younger Thai executives, with more international restaurants and eateries than all the neighbouring countries combined – this is helping to grow the wine trade.”

Bangkok has firmly established itself as the wine hub of mainland Southeast Asia, he added.

“From [Bangkok] we can travel to Malaysia’s capital in the south, Myanmar in the north, Laos in the Northeast, Cambodia and Vietnam in the East, all within one hour of air-time And with borders connected to four countries (Malaysia, Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia), it helps make wins transporting easier and faster,” he said.

The 11th Bangkok Grand Wine Tasting will be held on June 29 in the grand ballroom of the Grand Hyatt Erawan Bangkok.

Children’s movies offer a market growth opportunity for Major Cineplex, the firm said as it announced the new service innovation at Mega Cineplex Bang Na starting today.

In collaboration with Kodomo, a high-end children’s brand from Japan, Major is hoping the rollout will expand the customer base of children and families, it said in a press release on Friday. With over 250,000 members of “M Gen Kids” – children aged 5-12 – the market for children and families is growing.

Kodomo Kids Cinema will provide an exclusive movie experience and fun together in a private group, said Niti Pattanapakdee, chief media officer of Major Cineplex Group Plc. “It is important to help [foster] children’s thoughts and emotional development. The cinema is also supported by various film studios to show a variety of movies, such as animations, cartoons, and adventures.”

Kodomo Kids Cinema features Playland, a land of happiness, colourful balls and sliders for children to play before the movie, said the release. There are 84 candy-coloured chairs that create a brilliant cinematic atmosphere.

The new kid’s cinema creates a new alternative for parents to use a cinema for recreational activities. It also provides a meeting place for children and parents to share and enhance new learning skills. In addition, it can also serve as a venue for children’s activities to shape their behaviours so that they can choose activities and spend time wisely in the future, said the company release.