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https://www.nationthailand.com/business/corporate/40024013

Esso deal took one year to close, says Bangchak CEO

SATURDAY, JANUARY 14, 2023

Bangchak Corporation Plc began planning to take over petroleum refining company Esso (Thailand) Plc four years ago, and it took one year of negotiations before the deal was sealed, said Chaiwat Kovavisarac, the Thai petroleum and energy conglomerate’s CEO and president.

On Thursday, Bangchak announced it had acquired 65.99% of Esso (Thailand)’s ordinary shares from ExxonMobil Asia Holdings Pte Ltd. The stake was valued at 55.5 billion baht.
Both Bangchak and Esso (Thailand) are listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand.

After the takeover, Chaiwat said that Bangchak began planning to acquire more petroleum refineries four years ago as part of its business expansion, as petroleum would remain the company’s major money-maker.

“We had serious negotiations with ExxonMobil for a full year,” he said, pointing out that Esso has the capacity to procure crude oil from around the world and is experienced in managing large refineries.

Under the takeover deal, Bangchak will acquire Esso refineries with a total capacity of 174,000 barrels per day, Esso’s network of petroleum warehouses, and more than 700 of its petrol stations across the country.

Bangchak will continue to employ workers at the service stations.

Bangchak’s rebranding of the existing Esso service stations is expected to be completed within two years.

With the business merger, Bangchak will have a combined refinery capacity of 294,000 barrels per day and about 2,100 service stations throughout the country.

Esso will keep its brand for a variety of chemical and petroleum products, including lubricant oil.

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https://www.nationthailand.com/business/corporate/40023998

Electric tuk-tuk innovator MuvMi to triple fleet as demand soars

FRIDAY, JANUARY 13, 2023

Nongluck Ajanapanya

Thai startup MuvMi will nearly triple the number of its electric tuk-tuks this year from 350 to 1,000 due to rising demand for rides in vehicles, said the CEO of its parent company, Urban Mobility Tech.

Krisada Kritayakirana, who is also the co-founder of Urban Mobility Tech, told a press conference on Friday that demand for rides in electric tuk-tuks is growing in tandem with the rising popularity of electric vehicles (EVs) in Thailand.

“Our initial goal is to provide environmentally friendly vehicles for city dwellers who struggle to find public transportation after departing skytrain, subway, and bus stations,” he said.

“The majority of our MuvMi customers are working people and university students who take tuk-tuk to and from their homes to shopping malls, offices, restaurants, and universities nearby,” he added.

Customers can book an electric tuk-tuk through the MuvMi app for 10 baht, with the price rising in tandem with travel time and distance.

Krisada said the company would increase the number of electric tuk-tuks in the first half of this year, while the second half would focus on expanding service to cover all of Bangkok and other major cities, such as Chaing Mai, and the resort island of Phuket.

“We are currently available in 12 main areas in downtown Bangkok, including Sukhumvit, Chulalongkorn University, Samyan, Silom-Sathorn, Ratchada-Rama 9, and Chidlom-Lumpini,” he said.

The company’s strength is the technology it invented and developed, Krisada said.

Krisada Kritayakirana

Krisada said the company owns the designs of the electric tuk-tuk body and the EV charging points using solar energy. Both designs are protected by patents, he said. Artificial intelligence is also used to control the current to achieve a long-term competitive advantage, Krisada said.

He said the company’s expansion plan would cost between 600 million and 700 million baht. As the company is a startup business, some funding will be from venture capital and partners.

“We expect to expand both domestically and internationally as a 100% Thai EV ride-sharing service with its own EVs and platform. We are committed to further developing our technology, ” he said.

MuvMi has had about 3.7 million passengers since its inception in 2018. However, as demand increased and some customers complained about long wait times, Krisada said the company decided it was time to expand.

Urban Mobility Tech is a success story for Thailand’s National Innovation Agency, which helped launch the company in 2016. It took nearly two years to develop and manufacture its electric tuk-tuk before launching the service five years ago.

According to Vichian Suksoir, deputy executive director at the National Innovation Agency’s Innovation Development, the agency wants MuvMi to be a role model for other Thai EV startups and related businesses, such as EV charging stations.

They can seek support from the agency, he said.

EV and related technology will be one of the six key sectors the agency will allocate funding to this year, Vichian said.

“This year, we allocated 100 million baht to support EV and EV-related technology. Interested startups must submit a business plan for our consideration. We plan to award 10-15 startup grants this year,” he said.

The National Innovation Agency’s strategy coincides with the government’s efforts to propel the growth in the digital economy. The EV industry is contributing to the effort. Currently, the Thai government is implementing a number of measures to attract investment from both foreign and domestic investors. At the same time, it is implementing measures to increase demand for EVs in the country.

According to TTB Analytics, Thailand’s EV industry continues to surge in both production and demand. The number of new EV registrations at the Department of Land Transport was 15,423 during the first 10 months of last year. The total number of EV registrations in the previous decade (2012 – 2021) was 11,749.

Nongluck Ajanapanya

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https://www.nationthailand.com/business/corporate/40023995

National Telecom reports 1.3-billion baht profit as revenue edges up

FRIDAY, JANUARY 13, 2023

Thailand’s state-owned telecommunications company National Telecom Plc (NT) exceeded its own targets and reported a net profit of 1.3 billion baht for 2022, NT president Colonel Sanphachai Huvanandana said on Friday.

The company’s estimated revenue at the end of 2022 totalled 91.5 billion baht, compared to costs of 90.2 billion.

He said the company’s operating results last year were better than in 2021 – when it was established – and exceeded the targets in its business plan.

The NT president attributed the improved results to more revenue from its digital services, larger business alliance, reduced costs, and greater corporate efficiency.

NT was established and corporatised in 2021 following the merger of state-run telecom operators CAT Telecom and TOT Plc.

Sanphachai said on Friday that most of NT’s revenue – 50.8 billion baht or 55% – came from its mobile business, 19.9 billion (22%) from fixed line and broadband and satellite business, 9.4 billion (10%) from telecom infrastructure, and 3.9 billion (4%) from digital and IDC (internet data centre) and cloud-computing business.

He said the company’s main business involves mobile networking and broadband internet, which has high investment costs and tough competition in the market.

The president said that the company was working harder to further cut costs that stem from the repetition of the separate legacy telecom networks of its two predecessors. Also, NT was restructuring the organisation in a bid to reduce its work force, particularly those redundant following the merger.

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https://www.nationthailand.com/business/corporate/40023985

Company created by merger of telecom giants to retain True Corporation name

FRIDAY, JANUARY 13, 2023

The newly formed entity after the merger of two telecom giants will be called True Corporation Plc.

The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) was informed on Friday of the decision of the boards of Total Access Communication Plc (DTAC) and True Corporation Plc.

The decision to retain the current name of True lays to rest earlier rumours that the merged entity will be named True D Plc.

The merger of Thailand’s second- and third–largest mobile network operators was first announced in November 2021.

The deal, which would make the combined entity the largest mobile network ahead of current market leader AIS and reduce the mobile service provider market to a duopoly, has been strongly opposed by academics and civil society groups as detrimental to the interests of consumers and the general public.

Telecom watchdog National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission acknowledged the merger in October last year but set certain conditions, which included True and DTAC retaining their brands without sharing their frequency for three years.

The boards of True and DTAC and their shareholders will meet on February 23 to vote on the new board of directors of the merged entity. The proposed list comprises 11 executives from both companies. They are: Suphachai Chearavanont (chairman of the board), Joergen Christian Arentz Rostrup, Kittipong Kittayarak, Kamonwan Wipulakorn; Kalin Sarasin, Pratana Mongkolkul, Adhiruth Thothaveesansuk, Tongqing Gao, Tone Ripel, Lars Erik Tellmann and Teerapon Tanomsakyut.

The companies have also nominated Manat Manavutiveth, the current co-president of True, as the chief executive officer of the new company, and Sharad Mehrotra, the current chief executive of DTAC, as his deputy. Meanwhile, DTAC’s Nakul Sehgal and True’s Yupa Leewongcharoen were nominated as co-chief financial officers.

A news source said on Friday that some DTAC employees were shocked and disappointed with the board’s decision to abandon the brand name, as the company had been making profits under its own brand for several years.

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