Executives of DHL Express and Thailand Post express their confidence on the prospects for the logistics partnership announced yesterday.

Operated by DHL Express, Thailand Post customers using the Courier Post service will “enjoy a premium delivery experience within two to four days”, with access to a global network in over 220 countries and territories, customs clearance expertise at the destination country and an On Demand Delivery (ODD) service, the company said.

With cross border e-commerce sales expected to grow to US$900 billion by 2020, DHL said: “This logistics partnership reflects DHL’s strong commitment to support local entrepreneurs looking to go global. The partnership helps facilitate the significant growth potential of e-commerce sellers in Thailand, in addition to the current cross-border delivery services provided by Thailand Post.”

Shipments sent through Courier Post will be handled by DHL, with its global service standards, and with ODD, receivers can select delivery options that meet their needs.

“For instance, receivers can re-schedule their own delivery or change pick-up address,” DHL said. According to the Electronic Transactions Development Agency (ETDA), Thailand’s e-commerce market in 2016 reached Bt2.56 trillion, while cross-border e-commerce market share was recorded at 13.47 per cent and growing by 25 per cent each year.

DHL said the country’s total e-commerce market value is expected to reach Bt3 trillion in 2018. These trends show the opportunities in international trade for business startups in Thailand and local online merchants with high basket values, it said.

“Cross-border e-commerce is transforming the way in which SMEs and online merchants operate their businesses. We constantly reinvent our service to meet the needs of our customers,” said Smorn Terdthumpiboon, president of Thailand Post.

“With this official partnership with DHL Express Thailand, Courier Post provides e-commerce sellers a premium delivery service, with faster transit time as compared to the traditional postal service– within two to four days and responsive last mile solutions. This collaborative unique service will bring long-term customer loyalty.”

Chananyarak Phetcharat, managing director of DHL Express Thailand, said: “To align with the government’s policy for Thailand 4.0 and drive international competitiveness for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and e-commerce merchants, we’ve partnered with Thailand Post and initiated Courier Post to facilitate international trade and enable e-commerce merchants to reach their full growth potential.”

Courier Post is available at 171 Thailand Post outlets in Bangkok and vicinities, for documents and packages to 25 countries of destination.

The service is expected to start in the third quarter of this year.

It is led by Ali Ziane (4th from right), Managing Director of Mass Connect Co., Ltd., executives of L’Officiel Thailand, together with Ploy-Chavaporn Laohapongchana (3rd from left), Pao-Varith Hongsanan (2nd from left) GOT – Jirayu Tantrakul (left) Prang – Apinara Srikanchana (right) and Pern-Apicha Laohapongchana (2nd from right) at Suvarnabhumi Airport recently.

Known for his hands-on leadership style, the 34-year-old Malaysian will oversee a reimagining of Show DC and strive to take Show DC to the next level, expanding the retail and entertainment offerings and diversity, as well as enhancing its appeal to both city residents and visitors. Located at the heart of the fast-growing Rama IX area of Bangkok, Show DC is set to become a new landmark and lifestyle destination in the city.

Goh brings a wealth of experience to his new role. A graduate of the UK’s London School of Economics, Goh began his career in corporate finance at a leading financial institution in Malaysia where he was involved in large-scale financial transactions and business acquisitions before moving into real estate and retail.

His past experience includes managing family investments in successful shopping malls in Penang, namely Gurney Plaza and Prangin Mall.

Having been surrounded by his family’s construction and real estate business from an early age, a move into real estate development was inevitable and in 2011 Goh became executive director of PPM Realty Sdn Bhd and later managing director of the re-branded Bon Estates Sdn Bhd. While at the helm of Bon Estates, Goh led teams in the development of successful residential projects in Penang and Kuala Lumpur’s Klang Valley. More projects are currently in the pipeline.

“I am relishing this new challenge and am excited to be working with the dynamic team at Show DC. We have a lot of ideas and new plans, both in terms of retail and entertainment offerings but also for new customer experiences, and we will be launching many of these over the coming months,” Goh commented.

With CGIF’s partial guarantee of 85 per cent, the five-year Bt2 billion (US$64 million) bond issuance by Siamgas and Petrochemicals PCL (SGP), has a coupon rate of 3.03 per cent per year. SGP, Thailand’s second largest liquid petroleum gas (LPG) distributor, aims to raise long-term funds from institutional investors at a fixed rate through the Thai bond market.

The transaction is also SGP’s first A-rated bond issuance. UOB (Thai) was the structuring adviser and one of the joint lead underwriters for this transaction.

Tan Choon Hin, president and chief executive of UOB (Thai), said: “A strong credit rating is key to a successful bond issuance and to the issuing company attracting a wider investor base. To help SGP raise funds from institutional investors, we tapped UOB Group’s extensive regional network, deep knowledge of Asian credit and strong understanding of the company’s financing needs.”

Worawit Weeraborwornpong, chairman of the executive board and president of SGP, added: “We have had a relationship with UOB (Thai) for more than 20 years. We value the Bank’s insights, advice and bespoke financial solutions. Through its network and experienced financial advisers, UOB (Thai) has provided sound advice on our bond issuance to meet our investment needs and we trust that UOB (Thai) will continue to be a reliable banking partner to help us grow sustainably.”

Kiyoyasu Asanuma, Managing Director of AEON Thana Sinsap (Thailand), said: “AEON is constantly developing products and privileges that focus on customer satisfaction and help us expand our premium customer base. By focusing on a proactive strategy based on spending and travelling, we can offer our premium customers experiences that truly benefit their lives.

AEON’s expansion into the premium market takes another step forward through its collaboration with Thai Airways and Mastercard. The “AEON Royal Orchid Plus World Mastercard” is part of a new generation of credit cards that double as a personal assistant when planning a trip and is designed to meet the needs of target groups with an income of Bt70,000 per month or above, by providing value and benefits that complement their premium lifestyles.

AEON Royal Orchid Plus World Mastercard enables cardholders to travel around the world while enjoying exclusive privileges. For every Bt15 spent in foreign currency, the customer earns earn one AEON Royal Orchid Plus Reward Point. When spending in foreign currency, premium customers are eligible to earn cash-back of up to Bt36,000 per year on global spending. Moreover, when purchasing a second Thai Airways business class ticket, they’ll be eligible for 50 per cent cash-back as well as access to the Royal Orchid Lounge at Suvarnabhumi Airport and a Lounge Key to 850 leading airports around the world.

Additionally, customers can enjoy exclusive privileges with AEON Personal Assistant, a 24-hour worldwide concierge that will ensure that all requirements of cardholders are met anywhere and at any time. This includes travel accident insurance coverage of up to Bt31 million, as well as compensation for a lost wallet and the items inside; or any damage incurred from online shopping through the Wallet Protection Insurance and Mastercard E-Commerce Protection plan.

This project is designed to reinforce AIA’s commitment to supporting better health and longer lives for all Thais.

“The Healthiest Workplace by AIA Vitality” project was initiated by AIA Group to survey employees’ health in organizations across Asia-Pacific. The aim is to better understand the health risks affecting company-wide productivity. Participating organizations will be provided with health promotion strategies to help improve their employees’ health and wellness. AIA has already implemented this project in Australia, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore.

“‘Thailand’s Healthiest Workplace by AIA Vitality’ project is another initiative that underlines our commitment to employee health and wellness. At AIA, we continuously promote health in the workplace by creating a healthier and more productive environment for our people through workout activities and the AIA Vitality programme,” Aekkaratt Thitimon, chief marketing officer of AIA Thailand, explained.

“We are also committed to helping other organisations across Thailand improve their workplace health.”

Dr Nipit Piravej, AIA Thailand’s director of healthcare concurred, adding: “AIA Thailand believes that investing in employees’ health and wellbeing enhances company-wide productivity and overall business performance because employees can work to their full potential. As a leading life and health insurance insurer, AIA recognises the importance of the business sector in supporting employees to stay well, as this does not only bring benefits at the corporate level, but also strengthens the nation in socio-economic terms.”

In designing the methodology of the health survey, the company studied Britain’s Healthiest Workplace by UK Vitality’s model for more than four years.

“We also collaborated with Rand Europe, a non-profit research company that runs advanced and reliable data analysis and data processing and academic partners across the regions to validate the survey questionnaire, research and findings in each market. The participating organisations will receive an Organizational Health Report that provides them with an overview of their employees’ wellbeing and benchmarking information to help them develop strategies to improve their employees’ health profile as well as encourage them to live healthier and better lives. All participating employees will receive their own Personal Health Report to better understand their health risk profile and how they can manage these risks,” Dr Nipit explained.

AIA currently has more than 10,000 corporate customers including group insurance and provident fund,” said Chiraporn Kanistarath, AIA Thailand’s director of Corporate Solutions.

“We continuously organise health promotion activities for our corporate customers, for example, AIS, Air Asia and MBK and so on. Thailand’s Healthiest Workplace by AIA Vitality is another project that will support our customers in creating a healthier environment for their people.”

“The survey will provide employers with a comprehensive overview of their employees’ health and wellbeing in terms of lifestyle, clinical indicators, mental health, stress and other areas, which will in turn help them assess the correlation between health and productivity.

“The Organisational Health Assessment will help employees to improve their productivity, reduce time spent off sick, raise their morale and be happier at work.

“The survey is open to any organisation and the participating organizations are eligible for Healthiest Workplace Awards in three categories. Namely: Healthiest Employer 2) Healthiest Employee and 3) Healthiest Workplace. The winners will be announced in November.”

Thailand’s Healthiest Workplace by AIA Vitality” project is free to enter for any organisation with a minimum of 20 employees. Registration will be open between May 20 and June 30, 2018 at https://healthiestworkplace.aia.com. After registering, employees must complete the survey by July 31.

Don Charnsupharindr, the head of retail banking at Citibank Thailand, said yesterday that global stock market was highly volatile in the first quarter of this year, reflecting investors’ worries about an increase in US inflation, which could spur a more aggressive stance by the US Federal Reserve on its schedule for rate increases this year.

Investors are also concerned about the escalation in trade conflicts after the US imposed tariffs on steel and aluminium imports and announced additional measures against Chinese products.

Additionally, there has been a sell-off in US technology stocks on concerns over inadequate data protection and the likelihood of increased regulatory oversight.

These pressures have led to negative investment returns in the US equity market, although there have been marginal gains in the European markets. The Asian markets, excluding Japan, have increased just 1.4 per cent this year.

However, Don said that the fundamentals of the global economy were strong.

Citi analysts expect the global economy to grow 3.4 per cent in 2018, up from 3.3 per cent in 2017, with global inflation expected to edge up to 2.5 per cent from 2.4 per cent last year.

“We still love Europe and are overweight emerging Asia,” Don said at a press conference.

He said that Citi’s analysts remain overweight global equities and underweight global bonds.

Citi is bullish on the stock markets in mainland China, Taiwan, South Korea, Indonesia, India, Malaysia, and Thailand as the cyclical upturn in the world economy is likely to favour Asian economies, Don said.

Nevertheless, Citi recommends that investors diversify their portfolios to cushion them from volatility in market conditions, he said.

Smith Banomyong, the chief executive officer of SCB Asset Management, shares the view on the comparative strength of Asian economies.

A growing demographic of young people in these countries will drive long-term GDP growth, which is forecast to reach 5.9 per cent in 2018, Smith said.

Another positive is the high rate of adoption of information technology. Also, interest rates remain high, which suggests that Asian economies will continue to grow, as will their income streams, Smith said.

Smith said the current bout of capital outflows from emerging Asia would be short term, due to the strong fundamentals in the region’s economies. The two main risk factors are the trade tensions between the US and China and the scale of rate rises in the US, he said.

Citibank Thailand has joined with Siam Commercial Bank Asset Management Co (SCBAM) to highlight two funds on the Asian theme: SCB Asian Emerging Markets Fund THB Hedge and SCB Asia Pacific Income Plus Fund. Both funds invest in the securities of issuers or companies domiciled in, or exercising the predominant part of their activity in Asia, excluding Japan.

SCB Asian Emerging Markets THB Hedged focuses on investment in foreign mutual fund BGF Asian Growth Leaders Fund D2, with its US dollar share class. It is domiciled in Luxembourg and comes under the UCITS. The master fund is managed by BlackRock Global Funds, Smith said.

The fund invests at least 70 per cent of its total assets in the equities of companies domiciled in, or exercising the predominant part of their activity in emerging Asia. The fund places particular emphasis on sectors and companies that, in the opinion of the investment adviser, exhibit growth investment characteristics. By March 30, it had risen 4.98 per cent since its inception on August 29, 2017, Smith said.

The SCB Asia Pacific Income Plus Fund focuses on investment in only one foreign mutual fund, the JPMorgan Funds Asia Pacific Fund, with its unit class invested in US dollars. The master fund will be managed by JPMorgan Asset Management (Europe), Smith said.

At least 67 per cent of the fund’s assets will be invested in equity instruments, debt instruments, convertible securities and real estate investment trusts (REITs). The issuers are companies located in or incorporated mainly in the Asia-Pacific region, as well as the governments or any organisations in the Asia Pacific region, excluding Japan. It gained 4.34 per cent over the year to March 30, Smith said.