According to the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET), Temasek sold 257.10 million shares in Intouch Holdings at Bt60.75 per unit in block trading worth a total of Bt.15.6 billion.

Natwarin Tripobsakul, director of SCB Securities (SCBS), said Temasek has been interested in selling its share because the Thai communications market has reached its peak and the market was gearing up for 5G technology, offering plenty of opportunities for investors. Temasek also said it was selling its shares because it needed funds to invest in a new company that promised higher returns.

The Singapore-based group sold the shares through Aspen Holdings and Anderton Investments. Aspen no longer holds any shares in Intouch, though Anderton still holds a 9.9 per cent stake.

Pisut Ngamvijitvong, director of Kasikorn Securities, said Temasek was still the second largest stakeholder in Intouch, after its own subsidiary Singtel Global Investment, which means the Temasek group still holds a 31-per-cent stake in the company. Pisut added that he believes Temasek will shift its investment to Vietnam and hope for high returns on long-term investments.

The printer is designed for both office use and on-demand printing with speeds of about 10 per cent faster for postcard printing compared with the previous model, Note2.

“With the high durability and high quality printing capabilities of its predecessor Note2, DocuPrint C5155 d can serve as a printer for picture postcard printing for special occasion in photo printing shops as well as office on-demand printing for various other media,” the company said. “The printer can handle various types of papers including heavy business card paper and long papers for banner and poster printing. The printer can hold up to 5,105 sheets by adding optional trays.

In addition to the capability for shared printers for general document printing in offices, it can add finishing options such as stapling, hole punching, and saddle-stitch binding. As well, in-house publishing of leaflets and newsletter can be produced by the machine.

Central Group has become a big strategic partner with Grab Thailand after a Bt6-billion investment to connect and maximise both companies’ resources.

Recently, Tops Online, an online supermarket which offers more than 15,000 items, has partnered with Grab, a so-called super app in Southeast Asia and Thailand, to expand both parties’ ecosystem through GrabExpress, an express delivery service to deliver Tops Online’s products to customers within two hours, to address pain points of customers who purchase food and grocery products online and want the items to be delivered quickly and reliably.

Stephane Coum, CEO of Central Food Retail Group, has joined with Tarin Thaniyavarn, country head of Grab Thailand, to introduce an express delivery service from Tops Online with GrabExpress to meet the changing needs of consumers who have shifted from offline to online shopping for more convenience. This service addresses pain points of urban consumers who do not want to go through heavy traffic.

The partnership uses Tops Online’s strength in product offerings, which include consumer goods, fresh food, ready-to-eat meals, fruits and vegetables, organic products, local produce from communities nationwide, and imported products from around the world, to offer a new online shopping experience thanks to GrabExpress’s speedy delivery.

This will help Tops Online expand its ecosystem, allowing it to reach more customers and increase brand awareness, while also increasing purchase frequency as there’s no minimum spending for the service. It will attract customers who want fast and convenient options, as the delivery is done hourly, 12 rounds per day, from 10am to 10pm. “Customers can be assured that they will receive their order within two hours. The service is now available in Bangkok, with plans to expand to other provinces in the near future,” the company said.

Red Hat, a major provider of open-source solutions, is making major inroads into Thai and Asean markets with a focus on future-proofing today’s business with digital refinement.

Damien Wong, Red Hat’s vice president and general manager for Asian Growth and Emerging Markets, said at an interview that a growing number of businesses are fighting against digital disruption spearheaded by technology start-ups around the world.

He cited the Marriot hotel chain as an example, as it is taking on AirBnB and other home-sharing start-ups by introducing Marriott Homes and Villas that combine both traditional and new features to better satisfy customers. Marriott has introduced this concept in a few markets.

Based on this approach, customers can gain points in a reward programme by using hotel services for access to a home and villa sharing platform.

This is one of the examples of a traditional business adopting a new strategy to disrupt the disruptors. According to Wong, brick-and-mortar businesses can adopt such strategies to better respond to challenges posed by disruptive tech start-ups.

Apart from Marriott, he said, other multinational firms such as BMW have also adopted new strategies, combining existing strengths with new features highlighted by new competitors with ride-sharing and electric-vehicle ownership platforms.

In Thailand’s case, he said, the digital transformation journey has also gained momentum with Malaysian bank CIMB, Thailand-based Ascend fintech group, and ride-hailing platform Grab among customers of Red Hat.

According to Wong, success in the digital age requires businesses to sustain a constant innovation momentum rather than innovating on an ad-hoc basis.

“Since digital refinement can help organisations to proactively and continuously innovate, organisations that embrace it will be able to not only avoid being disrupted, but also better compete by capturing new opportunities before their competitors.”

Wong said Red Hat remains unchanged following its recent acquisition by IBM as it continues to focus on open-source software for innovation, with a global community participation.

Used by Facebook, Google and the like, Red Hat is strong in multiple areas of open-source coding – which is just like regular water being processed into branded bottled water.

Today’s artificial intelligence, machine learning, big data, blockchain and cloud applications mostly come from open-source coding as the global community can better share their ideas to drive innovation, he said.

At present, Red Hat OS Linux platform and container Openshift platform are among the major products.

According to Wong, many new-use cases of digital technology in finance, telecom, public sector, healthcare and automation have emerged, making it necessary for customers to innovate quickly.

For example, Grab, which operates ride-hailing and related platforms, needs to deploy new apps regularly and quickly, while CIMB needs to deliver quicker banking services both online and offline while making transaction and other costs cheaper.

Japan’s Rakuten, a leading online shopping platform, is another example as it enters the 5G telecom market in Japan to benefit from the synergy of online shopping and super-fast telecom for better shopping experience and retail effectiveness.

With the software-based 5G network, tracking, AI, virtual reality, augmented reality and other features are being made possible in real time. In addition, the greater 5G bandwidth will facilitate IoT (internet of things) applications, telemetering, edge computing, healthcare, tele-surgery, and autonomous driving, among others.

According to Red Hat’s global customer tech outlook for this year, more enterprises recognise the need to become digital and have plans to transform digitally within the next two years.

Some of the key drivers of digital transformation include increasing operational efficiency and improving customer experiences.

In the case of Hong Kong flag carrier Cathay Pacific, it employed enterprise-grade open-source solutions to develop its cloud platform as part of its digital transformation efforts. In doing so, it was able to standardise and centralise management, as well as quickly deploy applications to better support its overall business strategy that puts customers at its core.

The new development is set to be Thailand’s first “world-class logistics campus”, the company said, and it will equipped with state-of-the-art facilities to serve the needs of their logistics operations in the digital era. This facility will also be next to the existing more than 30,000-sq m Power Buy distribution centre, which was also delivered by FPT in 2018. This facility is poised to be the largest logistics campus for Central Retail group in Thailand, aimed at enhancing the efficiency of the group’s logistics and distributions operations.

Sopon Racharaksa, president of Frasers Property Thailand, said that the company is delighted to with partner Central Retail to develop the new omnichannel distribution centre.

“The project is considered a flagship project that will transform warehousing development in the logistics industry – a true reflection to FPT’s expertise and commitment in industrial property development through operations that adhere to the needs of customers and our customer-centric and human-centric approach. By offering services and solutions that create valuable experience for our customers, the company continues to gain trust and confidence from our leading partners in all industry sectors,” Sopon said.

“In addition to environmentally-friendly focus, the hybrid layout design will allow for future business expansion with high storage zone of 25-metrer clear height area that can support up to 10 tons per square metre, which will facilitate automated storage and retrieval systems (ASRS) or other automation technologies and innovations according to the customer needs.”

Piyapong Thanyasrisung, chief operating officer of Central Department Store, said: “Central Retail Corporation, as Thailand’s leader in retail business, is committed to bring about the next level of superior customer experience in order to inspire their lifetime loyalty. To invest in such an advanced omnichannel distribution centre is one of the key elements in delivering services that creates better customer satisfaction. It also prepares the company with greater aptitude to support the rapid growth of the omnichannel platform. Central Retail Group’s total sales have shown strong growth in all of its retail categories.”

Omnichannel contributions to fashion, hardline and food sales increased by 16 per cent, 28 per cent and 48 per cent, respectively, in 2017, by 72 per cent, 75 per cent and 31 per cent, respectively, in 2018 and by 104 per cent, 50 per cent and 26 per cent in the three months ended March 31, 2019. Central Retail is considered the first company to execute the long-term plan for e-logistics, in line with the business aspiration to become Thailand No.1 customer-centric omnichannel platform.

This omnichannel distribution centre is aimed at creating efficiency in logistics management for Central Retail’s multi-category products and to cater the extensive coverage for multi-channel distribution through both physical and digital platforms while implementing cutting-edge operational technology such as e-ordering, ASRS and automation voice-picking system. Additionally, this project would help creating over 1,000 jobs in Bangplee area,” Piyapong said.

Central Retail commissioned FPT to design and develop an environmentally-friendly facility as a commitment to sustainable development and energy-saving. The campus will also feature sustainable and wellness features such as solar rooftop, co-working space, running track, and multi-purpose fitness court that will uplift quality of life for the staffs who work inside the facility.

Central Retail aims for the new logistics campus to become a distribution hub shared by affiliated companies of Central Retail such as Central Department Stores, Robinson Department Stores, Supersports, B2S, OfficeMate, Central Marketing Group (CMG) stores and Power Buy.

The company has poached high-profile executive Chanvit Khieonavavongsa to become its managing director and aims to be Thailand’s No. 1 fine jewellery store. It also snapped up Bella-Ranee Campen to be its first presenter to build brand awareness, hoping to expand the customer base with a sales target growth of 20 per cent in the second half.

Chanat Sorakraikitikul, director of Prima Gold International, said Prima is a worldwide leader in 99.9-per cent pure gold jewellery, diamond jewellery and gold handicrafts and comes with a long history.

“With high quality as well as a designer team and masterful gold craftsmanship, the brand has been trusted and accepted throughout the past 27 years. At present, the company has more than 70 stores nationwide. But with a rapid change in trend and new innovations, together with more variety of consumer needs, the company has poached a new executive to join and made a major rebranding with a marketing budget of over Bt50 million to revamp the brand, build brand awareness and create a bond between the brand and various target group,” Chanat said.

“The company also launches Bella-Ranee Campen, the first brand ambassador of Prima, to represent an image of a new age woman who creates value with capability, confidence and success in accordance with Prima’s essence, Precious Moment.”

Chanvit Khieonavavongsa, managing director of Prima Gold International, said that fine jewellery in Thailand currently has market value of more than Bt72.3 billion. The gold and diamond jewellery segment is valued at around Bt5.2 billion, of which Prima represents a market share of about 15-20 per cent.

Prima is a subsidiary of Pranda Jewelry Public Company Limited, the world’s leading designer and manufacturer of fine jewellery.

Prima Gold’s marketing plan will focus on building the brand under “Prima, to be a trustworthy leading jewellery brand and enhancing customer services with points of sale in a wide coverage, together with after-sale services in response to consumer needs”.

The company will also aim to expand customer base to cover new generations with brand communications and products that meet the lifestyle of new generations.

The highlighted jewellery sets this year comprise four collections of 99.9-per cent pure gold jewellery: Mono Chic, Siam Panarai, Vandeae and Queen Cattleya; three collections of diamond jewellery – Twist, The Love Facets and Elite; and three collections of 99-per cent pure gold handicrafts gifts and decorative artworks – Luxe Collection, Noble Collection and Deluxe Collection.

An extension of the BTS concession to the BTS Green Line will not repeat the decades-old problems experienced between Hopewell and the Thai state railway, said Kittisak Aramrueng, the president of Krungthep Thanakom, a public utilities operator.

Kittisak made the comments during the Komchadluek programme on Nation TV channel 22.

The company had filed documents as required under the government regulations, he said and analysed the economic impact of the Green Line’s future operation, such as cost and income per line.

Under the previous BTS concession from Mo Chit station to On Nut station, and from National Stadium station to Saphan Taksin station, the company was granted a 30-year concession allowing them to operate until 2029.

The Bangkok government authority would take on the burden of debt if it invested in the construction of extensions. The contract mandates an investment in the system. The transfer of the rail system’s infrastructure from the MRTA would total Bt73 billion (excluding interest burden), which caused Bangkok to employ BTS as the Green Line operator for the whole system.

For the renewed concession of Mo Chit-On Nut line and National Stadium-Saphan Taksin, BTS received a total investment concession for 30 years ending in 2029 and then extended for a further 30 years to 2059, granting BTS a concession totalling 60 years.

He gave three reasons for extending the concession.

First, the national government has not directly supported infrastructure investment, and the Local Administration Department has a poor track record in infrastructure investment. If the BMA does not extend the BTS concession, city hall should shoulder all responsibility to operate the Skytrain. The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) was responsible for the Mo Chit-On Nut line and the National Stadium-Saphan Taksin line operated by BTS operation under a base Bt15 fare, but that fare is not sufficient to make further extensions worth the investment.

Second, the BMA has held market sounding sessions for other private companies, but it had failed to attract much interest from the private sector. Third, the Bangkok administration will have to find a way to manage the Green Line train fares that support public transportation without having to dip into the city’s budget to subsidise the fare.

“Transportation infrastructure investment should be government’s duty,” said Kittisak. “However, the government saw the potential for the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration to manage and invest in a way that exempted them from using their budget to build the infrastructure in Bangkok.”

Slated to open in June 2023 on Si Phraya Road, a vibrant thoroughfare which runs parallel to Silom and Sathorn Roads in Bangkok’s central business district, the new hotel is designed to meet the needs of business and leisure travellers alike and offer easy access to major business and lifestyle hubs in this key area of the city.

Comprising 181 guest rooms set over 23 floors, the family-friendly property will feature a sleek, modern design reflecting the upscale nature of the dusitD2 brand. Rooms and public areas will provide the utmost in comfort and convenience, while Dusit’s unique brand of Thai-inspired gracious hospitality will enrich the stay experience.

Among the hotel facilities will be a stylish lobby bar, a swimming pool with children’s pool, and a fully-equipped fitness centre. An all-day dining restaurant will offer daily buffet breakfast and a large selection of international cuisines.

For business travellers, dusitD2 Samyan Bangkok will offer a large meeting room equipped with the latest audio-visual equipment.

Charoen Krung Creative District, a major cultural and lifestyle hub which houses numerous art galleries, various museums, traditional local eateries, innovative restaurants, historic Buddhist temples, and a daily fresh market, can be reached in just five minutes by car.

“We are delighted that Tian Teck Property Company Limited has selected us to manage this special property and bring our upscale dusitD2 brand to the heart of Bangkok for the first time,” said Lim Boon Kwee, chief operating officer for Dusit International. “With its strong connections to major business, cultural and lifestyle hubs, Si Phraya Road is the ideal location for our deluxe dusitD2 brand. We now look forward to delivering a vibrant, modern hotel experience that delights on all fronts and seamlessly links with everything this burgeoning neighbourhood has to offer.”

Dusit International’s property portfolio now comprises 271 properties (nine owned and 260 managed) operating under six brands across 13 countries. The company has more than 50-Dusit branded hotels in the pipeline and expects to open at least 10-12 hotels per year in key destinations from 2019.

The drop was mainly related to conditions in the petrochemical and refining businesses, as well as the oil business from higher stock loss in the second quarter of this year. That followed a lowering of the crude oil price from US$67.2 per barrel at the end of the first quarter of this year to $64.9 per barrel at the end of the second quarter.

Additionally, most petroleum crack spreads and petrochemical spreads, both olefins and aromatics, decreased in the second quarter. Nevertheless, performance of the gas business group increased when compared with the last quarter, mainly from PTT’s natural gas sales and marketing businesses (S&M) and the gas separation plant (GSP) business following higher sales volumes. Also contributing was the performance of petroleum exploration and production business, which improved with the rise in both average sales volumes and selling prices.

As well, the performance of technology and engineering businesses increased mainly from the better performance of Global Power Synergy Plc (GPSC) from the full recognition of Glow Energy Plc (GLOW)’s performance in the second quarter of this year.

In this quarter, PTT and its subsidiaries incurred additional compensation from the new Labour Protection Act for its affiliates. In this regard, net income in the second quarter of this year was Bt25.93 billion, an 11.5 per cent or Bt3.37 billion decrease from the first quarter of this year’s Bt29.31 billion in line with the drop in EBITDA as aforementioned. In the meantime, depreciation and amortisation of technology and engineering businesses, and income tax expenses of petroleum exploration and production business also rose.

In addition, there were higher gains on derivatives from PTT Exploration and Production Plc (PTTEP), PTT International Trading Pte Ltd (PTTT) and affiliates in petrochemical and refining businesses, as well as higher unrealised gains on foreign exchange rates from foreign currency loans due to higher Baht appreciation when compared to the previous quarter.

In the First half of 2019, PTT and its subsidiaries reported EBITDA of Bt154.32 billion, a 19.1 per cent drop of Bt36.48 billion – or 19.1 per cent from the first half of 2018 of Bt190.81 billion. This was primarily due to the softened performance of petrochemical and refining businesses from the decline of most petroleum crack spreads, especially gasoline spreads, as well as lower stock gains that resulted from the rise in the crude oil price in the first half of 2018 compared to the first half of 2019.

Olefin and aromatic spreads also decreased. Likewise, the gas business group recorded softened performance due to lower gross profit of PTT’s GSP business following lower selling prices referenced to a significant drop in petrochemical prices and higher natural gas costs. Nevertheless, the recurring profit improved from the performance of petroleum exploration and production businesses, which increased from the rise in average sales volume and selling prices, as well as, in technology and engineering businesses’ performance, mainly from GPSC’s acquisition of GLOW in March 2019.

In the first half of this year, PTT and its subsidiaries recorded higher selling and administrative expenses. In this regard, net income in the first half of this year was Bt55.25 billion, a Bt14.56-billion drop, down 20.9 per cent from the same period of last year of Bt69.81 billion. This was in line with the decline of EBITDA as aforementioned and higher depreciation and amortisation expenses from PTTEP and GPSC.

Nonetheless, there were lower income tax expenses following decreased net incomes, a loss on derivatives, as well as higher foreign exchange rate gains. Those gains were due to the appreciation of the Thai Baht against the US Dollar in the first half of 2019 when compared with the depreciation of the Thai Baht in the first half of last year, according to the company reports to the Stock Exchange of Thailand on Wednesday.

Those smart farmers will then play an important role in communicating the information to their community, thus helping to safely maximise the yield and support sustainable agriculture in Thailand, say proponents.

“Nowadays, the rice farming process is confronted by the challenges of high production costs and excessive factors of production, especially the misuse of crop protection which endangers humans or the environment,” said Prasong Prapaitrakul, director-general of the Rice Department. “Therefore, it is important to encourage knowledge sharing and awareness of safety in growing rice.”

The result was a decision to work with Bayer to launch the Rice Safe Use Ambassador Project.

“The Rice Department has a major mission to enhance knowledge for farmers to increase rice productivity. We organised the Smart Farmer Training to ensure that farmers received the essential information and to generate smart farmers which will be the key success in developing their community through passing on the knowledge in GAP certification and safety in agriculture.”

Under the programme, 200 farmers were selected from across the country and closely trained by experts from the project partners.

Agrochemical company Bayer has joined experts in the joint training programme, entitled “Safe Use Training”. The experts also shared assertive communication tips for farmers to draw on while passing on the information to their community as Rice Safe Use Ambassadors.

Ricky Ho, who specialises in regulatory science within Bayer’s crop science division, said the project “attaches great importance to farmer safety, and we really believe that the contribution from our experts can raise the farmers’ confidence to pass on the knowledge to their community as well as create a smart farmers network. Moreover, we believe that the success of this project will help promote and support sustainable agriculture in Thailand”.