Lamoon Baby has entered its 8th year strongly, targeting Bt30 million in market value this year through an increase in distribution channels both locally and overseas. After penetrating the organic products market in Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Cambodia and Laos, Lamoon Baby is ready to enter China, Indonesia and Vietnam with a plan to earn Bt200 million income.

The company aims to gain Bt70 million in three years with Bt50 million from international markets and Bt20 million locally. The target was set after the company became a leader in the organic mother-and-baby product category in leading department stores, including Central, Robinson and The Mall Group.

Netnaphit Rungtanakiat, managing director of Lamoon Baby Co Ltd, said “the brand was inspired by my son’s allergic reaction to general baby products in the market. There is no information on what kind of chemicals should not be used in children’s products, so I took my son to see a doctor. The doctor prescribed steroids, which helped ease the symptoms, but they did not fully disappear. As a result, I started to study and learned that chemicals and preservatives cause allergies, but failed to find any such products.” That’s when Lamoon Baby began.

All Lamoon products are made from natural ingredients and have passed allergenic tests.

Eurobike rolls out new trade show in Thailand

NEO is cooperating with Meese Friedrichshafen, the organiser of Eurobike in Germany, to hold an international bike exhibition in Bangkok.

Thailand is expected to soon become a bicycle hub in Asean and Asia, given its potential, basic structure, communication and logistics.

Sakchai Pattarapreechakul, president of NCC Exhibition Organisation Co Ltd (NEO), said the “Aseanbike Powered by Eurobike 2019” will be held on October 3-5 next year in Impact Muang Thong Thani. The expo is expected to attract more than 55,000 participants from across the world with total sales expected to go beyond Bt4 billion.

Ready Boott targets the new generation

TCP Group, manufacturer and distributor of “Ready”, has reinforced its leadership in the energy drinks category with the launch of “Ready Boott” today. It is suitable for men who want to look good and stay fit.

The drink contains zinc and L-Arginine and comes with the “Ready Boott: ready to roll…in any situation!” tagline to attract working-age consumers. A full-scale marketing communication campaign, budgeted at Bt100 million, will be undertaken with popular actor Jirayu “Got” Thantrakul as the brand spokesmodel. Ready is the first premium energy drink to clearly target white-collar workers.

The launch of Ready Boott was built on the success of Ready Pink and Ready Black launched last year, which contributed to 20 per cent growth of the brand, leading Ready to control more than 50 per cent share in the premium energy drinks segment.

Tanyapong Thamavaranukt, president of Ascend Money, a fintech company providing financial services under TrueMoney, said it is providing TrueMoney services in Cambodia, Myanmar, Vietnam, Philippines and Indonesia. The firm has more than 21 million users with Bt140 billion in e-transactions. It also has more than 50,000 agents outside Thailand and expects to have another 20,000 by the end of this year.

TrueMoney has 7 million active users in Thailand, posting more than Bt70 billion in total processing value (TPV) from January to August this year.

It plans to proceed with a link-up with more than 100,000 payment acceptance points, covering individual shops, retail establishments and branches to support the move towards a cashless society.

It has around 500,000 top-up points nationwide including FreshMart, Family Mart and 7/11, as well as True shops.

TrueMoney targets 10 million Thai active users by the end of this year, and 14 million by the end of 2019.

“TrueMoney is a collaboration platform between customers and shops who want to receive and settle transactions via online payment, offline payment and financial services,” Thanyapong said.

Monsinee Nakapanabt, co-president of Ascend Money, added that the company will adopt biometric technology and offer personal loans to users through its platform next year.

He is a younger brother of Malaysia’s former prime minister, Najib Razak.

He will also resign from all other positions within the CIMB group of companies.

He has served CIMB since 1989, including as group chief executive officer for 15 years and as group chairman since 2014.

The group has not yet revealed who will be his successor.

The “negative” outlook reflects concerns over the listed company’s abated competitive and financial strengths, which result in a weak resilience, TRIS said.

The rating continues to take into account Tirathai’s long track record and its capability in producing both power and distribution transformers with a wide range of capacities and system voltages.

These strengths are however considerably weighed down by high competitive pressure, a streak of eroded performance, and high leverage, the ratings firm added.

It also affirmed the rating on the listed company’s existing senior unsecured debentures at “BBB”.

At the same time, TRIS assigned the same rating to TTA’s issuance of up to Bt1.5 billion in senior unsecured debentures.

TTA will use the proceeds from the new debentures to procure new dry-bulk vessels, and for working capital.

According to “Internetworldstat 2017”, Internet penetration Myanmar stood at 33.4 per cent, but an International Telecommunication Union report that same year put fixed broadband subscription penetration at just 0.76 per cent.

“This means most Internet users are relying on the limited reliability of mobile Internet,” Sunti said.

General manager Passakorn Hongsyok said MIH secured rights-of-way for its fibre-optic network from Yangon Electricity Supply Corp in 2017 and approval from the Yangon City Development Committee earlier this year.

The company’s objective is to provide broadband Internet and data communication services, initially for corporations and dense residential areas.

“MIH has become the provider that can offer the fastest fibre-optic Internet broadband in Yangon,” said Passakorn. “With global technology partners, we are ready to support leading corporations to operate effectively in Myanmar.”

At present, MIH broadband covers 23 townships of Yangon – Ahlone, Bahan, Botahtaung, Dagon, Hlaing, Insein, Kamayut, Kyauktada, Kyimyindaing, Lanmadaw, Latha, Mayangone, Mingala Taungnyunt, North Okkalapa, Pabedan Pazundaung, Sanchaung, Seikkan, Shwepyithar, South Okkalapa, Tamwe, Thingangyun and Yankin.

AWN was one of two bidders in the licence auction held in August.

The company, a subsidiary of Advanced Info Service, has already paid the first instalment on the licence.

Darian McBain, global director of sustainability for the Thai Union Group, will address the panel on the topic of “Stepping up Action to End Forced Labour, Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking”.

“Thailand has made a number of advances on human rights, which should be commended, but there is more work to be done and I believe Thailand has the opportunity be a leader on the human rights agenda,” McBain told The Nation.

For instance, Thailand’s Depart-ment of Fisheries has been very supportive of an innovative digital traceability pilot project that Thai Union implemented last year. The project utilises mobile applications and satellite connectivity to track Thai fishing vessels.

Traceability – the ability to track a product in detail from its place of origin all the way to the consumer – is a key component that benefits producers and consumers by bringing transparency to the entire system.

Looking ahead, Thai Union aims to help Thailand find solutions to the industry’s greatest sustainability challenges, she added.

Since April 2015, the European Commission has given Thailand a so-called “yellow card” for illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

Also, Thailand’s status in the latest US Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report was upgraded to Tier 2 in June this year for its efforts to combat modern slavery.

The director also raised concerns over the issue of modern slavery, human trafficking and labour rights in both the Thai and global fishing industries, saying it was a critical issue and more work needed to be done.

“Meaningful, collective action is needed to ensure the slavery that stains some modern-day supply chains is abolished,” she urged.

Another key message McBain will deliver at the session is a warning to agencies that pay no attention to sustainable development.

Companies and governments that ignore sustainable development or use it as a window dressing and greenwashing [deceptive promotion that a company is environmentally friendly], do so at their own peril, said McBain.

“They risk the long-term viability of their products and workforce, as well as the potential loss of access to global markets,” she added.

Thai Union’s compliance noted

Thai Union, the world’s largest producer of shelf-stable tuna products, was invited by the United Kingdom to participate in the assembly in recognition of being the first firm to comply with the UK Modern Slavery Act.

According to McBain, this is the first time a Thai business has been given a chance to be present at the UN General Assembly thanks to its efforts in successfully combating modern slavery and human trafficking in supply chains.

In 2015, the international community decided to work on eradicating forced labour, modern slavery and human trafficking by 2030 as per Target 8.7 of the 2030 Agenda’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).

Today at the UNGA, a cross-regional group of countries will convene to demonstrate the actions they have taken and will continue to take to achieve Target 8.7.

McBain is focused on implementing change that will drive sustainability through the entire global seafood industry. She is the main person behind the establishment and implementation of Thai Union’s SeaChange sustainability strategy launched in 2016. She said the initiative was contributing to broader societal change by helping the world meet the SDG.

The key factors for achieving sustainability in the seafood industry is focusing on the reduction of potential abuse and extortion of legal economic migrant workers, the director pointed out.

“For instance, in Thailand, not only are migrant workers susceptible to discrimination, but they can be coerced into paying high recruitment fees on the way from their home countries to secure a job,” she explained.

This means migrants seeking lawful employment might find themselves deeply in debt before arriving at the job, but debt bondage, she said, has no place in her operations.

Thai Union, a company with a global workforce that welcomes legal economic migrants, has eliminated recruitment fees for all workers in its factories and processing plants.

McBain added that there are a lot of challenges that the industry, and the world as a whole, is facing – from environmental issues such as ocean health and resilience to social challenges surrounding forced labour, modern slavery and human trafficking that are being discussed at the UNGA.

Hence, she said, the industry, civil society and government need to work together to genuinely address these issues in a sustainable manner.

“Businesses are a significant agent for change and we should harness the power of business to bring about environmental, social as well as economic change for the good of people and the planet,” she said.

“At Eaton, we have a global marketing intelligence team to collect information on markets around the world. Interestingly, we have found out that only 30 per cent of Myanmar people have access to electricity the reliability of which is not that good. That is why we decided to enter Myanmar to better optimise power,” he said in an exclusive interview with The Nation.

Kidsada has noticed Myanmar’s growing demand for power and energy solutions as the country races towards electrifying 100 per cent of its households by 2030, the primary goal set out in the Myanmar National Electrification Plan.

He said infrastructural constraints could bring substantial challenges to the nation’s economic growth, despite abundant energy resources. This motivated the company’s expansion to Myanmar where efficient power solutions are urgently needed to support local businesses and attract foreign investors.

“Many businesses here need better power solutions. They are all facing the same challenges of reliable power. If businesses are able to utilise power more efficiently, their production capacity will increase, thereby the country will develop further,” he said.

“We focus only on power management, not on power generation. Our vision is to ensure that with the power you have, the people here can have access to the most reliable power by saving costs through the use of our products and solutions.” According to Kidsada, the company has a very sustainable investment plan for Myanmar, as it pledges long-term commitment in a country widely considered as Asia’s last frontier.

“Myanmar offers immense potential for exponential growth, particularly in the power and energy market. There are challenges of course, but we believe in its potential. So, we are here to find out what should be the right solutions for our customers in Myanmar to address their challenges,” he said.

“We need to consider the solutions very carefully. The requirements and problems of customers here are different from other countries. The main challenge here somehow is electricity. But, as a multinational company, we have experienced some cases in other countries that are quite similar to that of Myanmar.”

Though Kidsada was not explicit about the company’s investment plan owing to business confidentiality, he said investing in Myanmar could be direct as well as through its partners.

“When we look at a market, we mainly focus on sustainability. We foresee long-term sustainable growth here, so we need to collaborate with the right partners to deliver our solutions to the people of Myanmar. Part of our investment is to build up the competence of our partners. In the longer term, we will continue to invest more and more to ensure that businesses enjoy sustainable growth,” he said.

The company started its cooperation with MGR last year. Before it signed the partnership agreement, Eaton Corporation conducted several discussions and training for MGR staff, including sales executives and service people, to ensure that they are ready to support the customers in Myanmar.

“The signing of this agreement is a strong signal that we are now ready to serve our customers here. We expect closer relations with end users through our expansion into this market, so if they have any problem we can support them effectively,” he said.

“Collaboration is something that we believe in. We need local people to help us understand more about customers’ problems and needs because every country is different. Local partners play an important role in understanding the challenges of local customers and we can help address them for mutual benefits. We will do anything that matters to the customers.”

Kidsada said the partnership with MGR reflects the next level of Eaton’s commitment to growth in Asia. By forming strategic and meaningful relationships with partners and organisations, the company aims to support and empower Myanmar’s businesses and communities as they grow and evolve.

Together with MGR, Eaton will bring its global expertise to the data centres as well as the healthcare, utilities, banking and commercial building segments. Customers in Myanmar will be able to leverage the company’s key power management solutions, |including UPS (uninterruptible power system), automation and monitoring systems to improve the reliability of existing and newly developed power generation as well as transmission and distribution infrastructure.

“The cooperation helps. In every market we enter, we prioritise local requirements and local customers. In this regard, we need to have local partners that can help us minimise the challenges, including cultural differences and language barrier, to better understand what exactly is the need of our customers. Then, we can grow together with our partners,” he said.

The rising gross domestic product and increasing urbanisation are changing the lifestyles of people, said Laurent Troger, president of Bombardier Transportation. He was speaking last week at InnoTrans 2018 in Berlin.

“We will maintain our market share among the top three in the Asean market by providing more technology, innovativeness, service, and also customise our products to serve demand in this region,” Troger said.

He added that the company believes in growing strong local roots in key growth markets and sees potential in Asia Pacific for development of urban mass transit and advanced railway networks. Its long-standing presence in Asia began over 50 years ago and continues with 28 offices and production sites established across the region.

Currently, Bombardier’s expertise is evident in the supply of metro cars in cities like Shanghai, Shenzhen, Beijing, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, New Delhi, Yongin in Seoul, Manila, Taipei, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore. Bombardier has also delivered mainline and mass transit rail control systems in China, India, South Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand.

In Thailand, Bombardier supplies both rail system, control system, trains, and other business related to train systems.

At present, the company is ranked second for train providers in the Thailand market.

“Thailand’s politics is now stable and the country’s economy is still growing, driving strong and aggressive demand to develop infrastructure projects compared with others countries in this region,” he said.

Bombardier entered Thailand in 1964 by delivering products to the State Railway of Thailand (SRT) when the first diesel locomotives were supplied. Bombardier and SRT have had a long relationship in both rolling stock and signalling systems.

In 2007, Bombardier Transportation was awarded the contract for the resignalling of the full BTS Skytrain route. Bombardier is delivering its CITYFLO 450 communications-based train control (CBTC) solution, which enables rail traffic headways to be reduced, increasing passenger capacity.

Currently, the company has also signed a turnkey agreement with BTS Group to build two monorail systems – Pink and Yellow lines – worth more than Bt20 billion.

In Singapore, the company was awarded an asset renewal contract to upgrade the Bukit Panjang LRT line with 19 new Bombardier Innovia APM 300 as well as 15 years of maintenance and spare parts contracts this year. In addition, another contract was awarded to Bombardier Transportation to supply 396 Moviametro for the North-South and East-West MRT line. The new order brings the number of Movia vehicles in Singapore to 672, making it one of Bombardier’s largest metro fleet in the world. To date, Bombardier has received orders for more than 3,900 of these Movia metro cars worldwide, he said.

The company also ranks second in terms of value in providing rail system in Singapore, the company’s president said.

In Malaysia, Bombardier Transportation and Taylor Woodrow International were lead sponsors in the Kuala Lumpur Sri Petaling and Ampang lines, formerly known as STAR (Sistem Transit Aliran Ringan). STAR was a special-purpose, limited-recourse project company, which was awarded a 30-year concession to finance, design, build and operate both phases of the Kuala Lumpur Light Rail Transit. The 27-kilometre system is now operated by RapidKL.

Bombardier Transportation has established an operations office in Kuala Lumpur to deliver these fully integrated turnkey transportation systems and harness a dedicated specialist team of 148 people to manage the entire scope locally.

Philippines and Indonesia are also seeing aggressive investment to develop the country’s infrastructure to serve the rising population. Rail system is integral to driving the country’s economy growth and supporting an urban lifestyle, he said.

He added that Bombardier is dedicated to become a strategic supplier to operators and authorities in Southeast Asia. The rail market in the Asia-Pacific region represents a dynamic growth of 2.5 per cent, according to analyses from the UNIFE 2010 market study. Transport authorities have announced several upcoming projects at the moment, including new metro lines and extensions of existing lines in Bangkok, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Manila, Jakarta, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, all of which Bombardier sees great potential in.

“We expect to maintain our market share among the top three in Asean countries this year, and if we can become market leader that will be okay,” he said.

At the end of 2017, Bombardier Group reported total revenue of US$16.2 billion, with Bombardier Transport accounting for $8.5 billion.