THAI Smile offers more than 396 weekly flights to 32 destinations in nine countries and regions. As a Connecting Partner, the airline will extend the Star Alliance network by ten new destinations.

From Tuesday (February 25), passengers travelling on any itinerary, which includes a transfer between certain Star Alliance member airlines and THAI Smile on a single booking, will enjoy comforts such as passenger and baggage through check-in.

In addition, customers who hold Star Alliance Silver and Gold status in any Star Alliance member airline’s frequent flyer programme will enjoy a tailored set of privileges.

Currently, such privileges are available on eligible connections between THAI Smile Airways and Austrian, Lufthansa, SWISS, and THAI Airways International.

Star Alliance CEO Jeffrey Goh, said: “Our Connecting Partner model was introduced three years ago to offer airlines an attractive way to connect to our global alliance network without requiring full membership, and we are continuing to expand the model to provide customers with more travel options. I am pleased to welcome THAI Smile Airways today as a Star Alliance Connecting Partner, from which customers will benefit through greater connectivity and enhanced services in Asia”.

Some 450,000 people are expected to attend the six-day event, and generate more than Bt10 billion worth of business transactions.

Sakchai Pattarapreechakul, president of NCC Exhibition Organiser Co Ltd (NEO), said that “2020 is regarded as the year of challenges for NEO because we have a mission to organise many events. One of them is the marvellous expo of Thai architects “Architect’20 Expo: Refocus Heritage”. We have been entrusted by the Association of Siamese Architects Under Royal Patronage to manage the event for the second time.”

“With the capability and extensive experience in organising trade exhibitions, we have got hundreds of alliance networks in the building and construction industry from various countries across the world. This enables us to bring in existing and new entrepreneurs from those countries to exhibit products over 75,000 square metres, together with country pavilions from Europe, USA, Australia, Russia, South Korea, Japan and India, etc. It is expected that the Architect’20 Expo will generate total trade value of more than Bt10 billion.”

He said that to strengthen the positioning of the expo as Asean’s No 1 event, NEO has arranged to meet major alliances and entrepreneurs related to the building and construction industry across the region. Furthermore, they will hold press conferences to promote the event in Myanmar and Cambodia to attract new buyers in Asia. Thai entrepreneurs who want to be distributors can connect with foreign manufacturers through the online business matching programme. “The aim is to support the expansion of construction and building material businesses in Asia, and we expect more than 500 matches at the event,” he said.

According to Vasu Poshyanandana, the chairperson of Architect’20 Expo, “the global and Thai economy have gradually slowed down. This makes several sectors, especially in the industry of construction and real estate, pay more attention to the renovation of existing old buildings to adjust their functions for new usage. By doing so, however, it requires experts in all areas such as architects, interior designers, and contractors. The most important issue is, of course, materials for preservation works. To fulfil this, the coming Architect’20 Expo under the concept “Refocus Heritage” will collect all requirements within one place.”

Sakchai added that “consumers nowadays gradually turn to renovate, repair and restore old buildings, and this keeps the industry of building materials expanding constantly. We are willing to drive Architect’20 Expo as a dedicated expo that gathers materials for building renovation and covers a wide range of profiles, for instance, sanitary ware, kitchen, tile, stone, pipe, pump, waterworks, pool & spa, finishes, furniture, paint, wood, laminate, glass, curtain and decoration, door, windows, roof, metal and services, safety and security, lighting, electronic appliances and international building materials and decorations. More than 850 exhibitors from Thailand and foreign countries have already booked over 90 per cent of the exhibition space.”

Vasu added that apart from the trade fair, there will be consultation services on design and construction by architects, engineers and experts on building preservation via the activity “Mobaan ASA”.

Another highlight is various exhibitions with different themes such as “A Crisis of Heritage on the Online World” that aims to present hot issues widely discussed on the social network and invites people to raise questions and find out answers together.

Regarding other exhibitions, they also involve preservation and make attendees refocus heritage with new perspectives and realise their role as the owner who wants to cherish and keep such heritage.

Regarding concerns about the outbreak of Covid-19, Sakchai said they have set up measures and vigilance against the spread of the virus such as hand-gel service points, temperature scanners, separation of suspected patients who need more follow-ups, medical rooms to exclude patients, an increase in frequency in cleaning the event’s areas and a campaign to ask attendees to wear hygienic masks to prevent the outbreak.

Architect’20 Expo: Refocus Heritage will be held from April 28 to May 3,at Challenger Hall 1-3, Impact Exhibition Centre, Bangkok. For more information, visit www.architectexpoasia.com or www.facebook.com/ASAArchitectExposition

Noting that the current condition of the global economy presents many challenges, Chang said he nevertheless he believes Delta Thailand can rely on its financial health and talents to find new opportunities and strengthen its sustainability.

Chang is currently Delta vice president for Southeast Asia and India, responsible for leading the regional sales teams in their respective markets.

Starting in April 2020, Hsieh will serve as senior adviser to the president at Delta Thailand and will continue to contribute to the company’s business growth.

Parisotat Punnabhum, CP Foods’ Executive Vice President of Human Resources, said CPF operates with ethics, responsibility and transparency, particularly when it comes to the recruitment of both Thai and foreign workers.

CPF has strictly followed its labour policy and guidelines. Under the policy, child labour is prohibited. It also forbids the collection of any payment from workers or the confiscation of workers’ personal documents. It highlights respect for workers’ differences and equal treatment. Workers shall not be rewarded unfairly or deprived of labour rights regardless of their nationality, citizenship, ethnicity, complexion, religion, gender, age, physical disabilities, political views and marital status. Preventive and rectifying measures on sexual harassment are also included.

Regarding remuneration, CPF adheres to the pay scale and other payments, including overtime and other benefits, as stipulated in the labour law. The payments are on time and deducted only for the reasons allowed by law. Hours of work and overtime are set within legal limits. The company promotes, improves and maintains safety at workplace, protecting workers and relevant individuals against health risks. It also strives to conserve the environment and reduce impacts from the operations of the company and its partners , in compliance with environmental laws.

“We emphasise legal recruitment in all dimensions and encourage our suppliers to comply with laws and international labour standards. Given that these are aligned with our policy, their best practices will help push all parties towards the shared goals,” Parisotat said.

Meanwhile, CPF collaborated with Labour Protection Network Foundation (LPN) in establishing “Labour Voices Hotline by LPN”. Through the centre, operated by a neutral organisation, workers of all nationalities can express their views and recommendations, file complaints or seek assistance. The centre also offers training on human rights and legal knowledge about labour, occupational health and safety in Thailand.

S Hotels & Resorts (SHR) through its subsidiary S Hotels and Resorts (SC) Co., Ltd. (SHR SC) which holds 100% in Prime Locations Management 3 (Prime Locations), has completed the sales of 50% stakes in Prime Locations worth US$16.2 million to EWD on the 19th February 2020.

Mr. Chairath Sivapornpan, Chief Financial Officer of S Hotels & Resorts Plc, said having EWD as its business partner will enhance the company’s financial and operational strengths. SHR is even more confident that the resort on Island 3 in CROSSROADS will be successful and achieved commercial operation in time.

Under the joint venture agreement between SHR and EWD, Prime Locations Management 3 has a wholly owned subsidiary Dream Islands Development 3 Private Limited to enter a Sublease Agreement with Dream Islands Development 2 Private Limited (DID2) to obtain sublease rights of Island 3 in the CROSSROADS. DID2 has a Head Lease Agreement with the Government of Maldives.

Late 2019, SHR announced its joint venture cooperation with EWD, a business conglomerate from Myanmar which has various business interests in property development, mining, automotive and food, to develop a high-end lifestyle resort worthUS$60 million on Island 3 in the CROSSROADS.

The new high-end lifestyle resort on Island 3 will have 80 spacious villas with majority of inventory as water villas at a price point of $900-$1000 per night. The new resort development will support SHR to have a more diversified portfolio in the Maldives. The construction is expected to start this year and will be completed in 2022.

This is an exciting first step for both organizations, to leverage their strengths and leading industry positions in Thailand to offer a unique value proposition to millions of smallholder farmers.

“Telecommunications is a key enabler for innovation in a digital economy, with the emergence of new connectivity technologies such as 5G, IoT and AI, we see massive opportunities to drive transformation across major industry sectors. Agriculture as a key pillar of the Thai economy is particularly close to our hearts, we have over the past 10 years empowered farmers with mobile technology and digital services through our Smart Farmer program. We see a lot of synergies in our strategic collaboration with Yara as it speaks to our commitment and vision as a company – to connect you with what matters most and to empower societies. Together, we look forward to delivering sustainable impact within the agriculture sector,” said Sharad Mehrotra, dtac CEO.

“We believe that digital technologies can expand our reach and deepen the engagement with each individual farmer. Therefore we are excited about the strategic collaboration with dtac. Together we can contribute to empower smallholder societies through digital solutions, bringing agronomic solutions and knowledge of balanced crop nutrition which help increase productivity, profitability and sustainability for farmers in Thailand,” said Terje Knutsen, EVP Sales & Marketing at Yara.

By working together, dtac and Yara believe that they can contribute towards the future of farming in Thailand, contributing to a growing ecosystem of knowledge and solutions that drive productivity improvements and unlock economic opportunities for farmers.

Chataya Supanpong, chief executive of Food Passion Co Ltd, the operator of Bar-B-Q Plaza, was the keynote speaker for an Entrepreneur Talk, discussing the topic “How to Train Your Dragon”.

Also attending were Vasana Jantarach, Rungroj Tancharoen and Vipada Vongsiridej.

KPMG Legal provides a full range of business law services on commercial and corporate law, mergers & acquisitions and reorganisation, employment law, legal compliance and investigation, and privacy laws, the firm said.

In Thailand, there is an increasing need for businesses to implement transformation programmes that need an integrated legal approach and business methodologies, not just pure legal advice, the company said.

KPMG Legal is able to offer an end-to-end holistic approach for businesses in Thailand and the region, it added.

“At KPMG, we believe in being proactive,” said Charoen Phosamritlert, CEO of KPMG in Thailand, Myanmar and Laos. “We need to be able to identify future trends and upcoming industries in order to be ready with our team of experts to serve our clients. With KPMG Legal and our strong background in various business industries, we will be able to provide our customers with a holistic legal counsel service backed by a team of business-savvy legal advisers,” he added.

“The launch of KPMG Legal in Thailand reflects KPMG’s global strategy to grow its services network and capability,” said Stuart Fuller, global head of Legal Services and Asia Pacific leader for Legal Services, KPMG International.

“The increasing relevance of the Asia Pacific to our clients from a market, business and strategic perspective has seen KPMG’s Global Legal Services network expand in Hong Kong and Shanghai in the last 12 months, strong growth in Australia, Vietnam and Taiwan, and now the launch of KPMG Legal in Thailand. As part of our Asia Pacific and Asean strategy, we expect to see strong and continuing growth of our legal services footprint and capability in the region so that we can best support our clients,” he added.

KPMG Legal Services has more than 2,400 lawyers operating in 79 jurisdictions around the globe. This network of lawyers, including those in Thailand, allow for a deep understanding of international trends and global best practices, the firm said.

All profits from selling the sticker will be donated to Foundation for the Welfare of the Crippled.

Head to https://line.me/S/sticker/10650101/?lang=en&ref=gnsh_stickerDetail to get it today, or simply scan the QR code in the above picture. You can either purchase it for yourself or send it as a gift to your friends.

For further information, contact MEA hotline at 1130.

Designed to build export success among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), the programme is an exhaustive take on B2B e-commerce for manufacturers contemplating taking their operations to the next level.

According to the platform, SSIP is part of Alibaba.com’s efforts “to foster in-depth understanding of B2B e-commerce among SMEs which are eager to settle smoothly into an increasingly competitive and digitised global trade environment”.

Organised in collaboration with the platform’s local channel partner Feyverly, the three-month programme is scheduled to begin mid-year and will be held in Bangkok by Alibaba experts and other industry practitioners.

The integrated training approach of SSIP aims to equip current and aspiring Thai exporters with fundamental knowledge, practical skills as well as a mindset change required for success in online global trade, the platform said.

Through a combination of lectures and interactive sessions, the course will cover topics including the ins and outs of establishing a presence and operating a supplier store on Alibaba.com; platform analytics for understanding customer demand and the wider industry trends; global trade processes, from business matching to payment and logistics terms; as well as the key to sustainable business growth amid competition.

“Thai suppliers are highly competitive in terms of product variety and quality, but many of them have not yet capitalised on opportunities presented by the current digital era to reach their full potential,” said Samantha Suriwon Tng, head of Strategy and Operations at Alibaba.com in Thailand.

“Our objective is to develop suppliers with both practical knowledge essential to navigating the world of global trade freely, and an appreciation of e-commerce as a powerful global marketing and distribution channel that is crucial for the future of SMEs. With this programme, we look forward to cultivating a batch of stellar exporters who will be an inspiration to other SMEs,” she added.

The programme is open to SMEs from any export sector for enrollment from now until March 31. The enrollment fee covers the full SSIP training and a one-year Alibaba.com basic supplier membership.