The certification was assessed by its internal auditor and independent auditor, according to its press release.

The 13 units included Chicken Manufacturing Plants, Food Processing Plants, Processed Foods, Shrimp Hatcheries, Roi Phet Closed Operation Shrimp Farm,  Wild Shrimp Research Centre, Breeding Duck, Broiler Chicken and Kasetphand Industry Company.

The certification has dented CP Foods’ operating efficiency toward sustainable development goal covering both in Thailand and its overseas investment.

In this occasion, CP Foods’ executives Virachai Ratanabanchuen, senior advisor and Chairman of SHE&EN committee, DVM.

Sujint Thammasart, Chief Operating Officer – Aquaculture Business, jointly congratulated those who receipted the certifications.

“Our first quarter performance was a positive start to the year for Thai Union. Thanks to continued operational efficiencies and continued margin recovery, we are starting to see the flow-on benefits, with a recovery in our overall performance and normalising of our operations,” said Thiraphong Chansiri, CEO of Thai Union Group.

Gross profit increased 29.3 per cent from a year earlier to Bt4.38 billion, while the gross profit margin improved to 14.9 per cent from 11.6 per cent in the first quarter last year. Stable raw material prices along with stronger performances from Thai Union’s ambient seafood and PetCare businesses contributed to the recovery.

Operating profit increased 10-fold year on year to Bt1.02 billion with its selling, general and administration (SG&A) ratio at 11.4 per cent, compared to 11.2 per cent in the first quarter of 2018.

Consolidated sales were Bt29.36 billion, up 0.1 per cent from a year earlier.

However, excluding the impact of foreign exchange, organic growth in sales value improved 2.3 per cent year on year, driven largely by sales growth in the frozen and PetCare businesses.

The sales contribution from Thai Union’s frozen and chilled seafood business rose to Bt11.52 billion, up 3.4 per cent year on year, due to improved frozen seafood sales in the US.

In addition, PetCare and value-added product sales grew 7.5 per cent year over year to Bt4.38 billion on higher volumes.

Sales contributions from Thai Union’s brands remained stable at 42 per cent in the first quarter, with the balance coming from the company’s private label and food services sales.

The US remained the largest market with 40.4 per cent of total sales in the first quarter this year, followed by Europe at 27.9 per cent, the Thai domestic market at 13.1 per cent, Japan at 4.7 per cent and other markets at 13.9 per cent.

Another strong cash-flow performance from operations helped to continue the de-leveraging of the net debt-to-equity ratio to 1.35 from above 1.4 a year earlier.

During the quarter, growth was also recorded at Thai Union Ingredients after the first 100 tonnes of refined tuna oil were shipped to customers for the productionof infant formula.

The sum will be taken from KVision’s current startup investment budget of $245 million. The rest of the budget will go to funding Thai and foreign startups elsewhere in the Asean region.

In its business plan to target startups in Vietnam, a fast-growing market in the Asean region, KVision has joined hands with the Vietnamese government to support Thai startups in Vietnam.

In cementing their commitment to investing in the Vietnamese startup ecosystem, KVision signed a cooperation agreement with the Vietnamese government’s Business Startup Support Centre (BSSC).

“BSSC’s profound understanding of their home market will help Thai startups thrive in the Vietnamese business ecosystem,” Pattarapong Kanhasuwan, chairman of KVision, told a press conference yesterday.

Investment in startups in Vietnam reached $889 million in 2018, tripling the figure in 2017, Pattarapong said.

For this reason, he argued that the Vietnamese market is like a “Greenfield”, offering ample business opportunities for new ventures.

“In investing in Thai startups that will enter the Vietnamese market, we are not looking for investment returns. Instead, we are investing in the long-term for future business partners, as we plan to eventually become a regional bank in Asean,” Pattarapong said.

KVision will particularly target fintech and e-commerce startups.

Those target groups are in-line with the market trend of Vietnam. According to Hang Nyugen, deputy director of BSSC, “The key startup trends in Vietnam are currently led by fintech firms, followed by e-commerce, education tech and travel tech.”

“From our collaboration with KVision, we aim to boost the number of unicorns – startup companies valued at over $1 billion – in the country. We expect 20 Thai startups to enter the Vietnamese market in the upcoming year,” she added.

“When investing in the Vietnamese market, Thai firm should first become familiar with Vietnam’s socio-political background,” Nyugen continued. “Vietnam is a one-party country supporting a free market.”

Hence, when startups enter the Vietnamese market, they should be ready to collaborate with the Vietnamese government and receive support from the public sector, especially if they are firms operating in an entirely new market segment or business model, she explained.

The procurement plan has already been forwarded by the National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB) to the Ministry of Transport, THAI president Sumeth Damrongchaitham, said. The ministry in turn is expected to propose the matter to the office of secretary-general of the Cabinet within this week and then to the Cabinet within this month.

The procurement would be in two phases. About 25 new aircraft will be purchased in the first phase and 13 in the second phase. Of the total, 31 new aircraft would be used to replace older planes that will be gradually decommissioned over the next 10 years, while the remaining seven planes will be assigned to new routes in the future. Meanwhile, THAI is planning to open the Bangkok-Sendai (Japan) route this November, due to Japan’s growing popularity as a destination for Thai people.

Recently, Manchester airport, the UK’s fourth busiest airport by passenger traffic, met officials from THAI about increasing direct flights. Thai tourists have been travelling to the north of the United Kingdom, but experience some difficulty in obtaining visas to the country, said Sumeth. The airport authority will seek solutions to the visa-approval problem.

In regard to a solution to the Rolls-Royce engine problems that have affected six to seven of the airline’s planes, THAI is now negotiating with the British jet engine manufacturer for compensation.

The airline has hedged against global oil price fluctuations and has adjusted its ticket prices to reflect actual costs. But the Thai flagship airline has taken a cautious approach to adjusting ticket prices, given the high competition, and it believes now is not the right time to raise ticket prices. Sumeth, who is also chairman of Thai Smile Airways, said he has assigned both companies to connect their policies, merge administrative centres for cost reduction and have separate service and aviation sections without reducing staff.

“Merging the centres will allow connectivity of overseas routes of Thai Smile and THAI, to facilitate passengers’ transits in the country and abroad. Thai Smile is expected to have satisfactory performance at the end of this year, thanks to new cost management and resource sharing,” Sumeth said.

Meanwhile, THAI has reported total revenue of Bt200.58 billion, and a net loss of Bt11.62 billion for 2018 year-end, higher than its Bt2.10 billion net loss in 2017.

Located in a 20-rai (3 hectares) area adjacent to the Culture Ministry, the National Knowledge Centre (NKC) is expected to be the country’s biggest and most modern public educational venue.

MCOT president Kematat Paladesh and OKMD director Atipad Bumroong on Tuesday signed a memorandum of understanding on the development of the NKC.

The signing ceremony was chaired by Air Chief Marshall Prajin Juntong, deputy prime minister and justice minister.

Jirachai Moontongroy, director of MCOT and chairman of OKMD, said at the ceremony that as both MCOT and OKMD placed importance on human-capability development through the public-learning process, they had agreed to establish the NKC.

The centre will comprise an electronic library, a large outdoor learning area, seminar rooms and a big green leisure area.

Thailand Knowledge Park, which is a unit under OKMD management, will be moved to the NKC, too.

Prajin, deputy prime minister supervising the NKC, added that the centre represented a new dimension of modern education and a learning-tourism destination for people of all ages.

The centre will integrate national knowledge, strengthen creative thinking and create sustainable innovations in the country, he added.

“I strongly believe that the NKC will play an important role in sustainably enhancing the capabilities and life quality of Thai people, in accordance with the government’s policy on human-resource development,” the deputy PM said.

Midea teams up with talented director Nattawut of “Bad Genius” and J. Walter Thompson Bangkok to create an emotional story about Paola Antonini, a Brazilian model who lost her left leg in a car accident but never ceased to pursue her dream, according to its press release.

Produced by Houseton Film, “Good Night Paola” follows Antonini’s journey through her treacherous path towards becoming a model, starring Antonini as herself.

Through her story, Midea hopes to inspire consumers to overcome obstacles and reclaim power to pursue their dreams, according to the press release.

“We developed the short film based on the double definitions of ‘dream’. One is the literal ‘dream state’ that occurs at the final stage of sleep and can only be achieved via calm and comfort; the other is a metaphor for realizing ‘dreams’ in life,” said Pete – Thasorn Boonyanate, Creative Director of J. Walter Thompson Bangkok.

“We interlinked these two definitions with Midea residential AC’s commitment to providing consumers not only cooling comfort for a restful night, but also refreshing energy to power through real-life challenges.”

“The film ‘Good Night Paula’ is also part of Midea’s global campaign #NoHeatCanBeatYourDreams to encourage consumers to brave through any ‘heat’ in their lives in pursuit of their own ‘dream states’.”

Globally, people encounter different obstacles in pursuing their dreams, including social pressure, financial difficulties, and physical limitations. In Thailand, approximately three percent of population are people with disabilities1, who have been fighting for equal rights and opportunities to fulfill their dreams.

“The #NoHeatCanBeatYourDreams campaign aims to encourage our audiences to overcome obstacles for their cherished dreams.” says Tony Liu, General Manager of Midea Air Conditioner Business Unit. “Midea residential AC is always there to protect your ‘dream state’ through any source of ‘heat’ in life.”

Launched in Thailand, one of Midea’s key markets in ASEAN, this campaign will later be hosted in Latin America. The film can be viewed online at https://youtu.be/OtD0Z8o2P8Y. For more information about Midea Thailand, please visit https://th.midea.com/ and https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=417891829002769