State Tourism Development, Heritage, Culture and Arts committee chairman Yeoh Soon Hin, AirAsia Malaysia Head of Commercial Spencer Lee and Penang Global Tourism chief executive officer Ooi Chok Yan were present at Penang International Airport to receive the inaugural flight from Hanoi.

Lee, in his speech said the two new flight routes enhance Air Asia’s Penang.

“Since 2015, Air Asia has flown more than 11 million passengers in and out of Penang. Up till April this year, the Penang market made up of 68% of our direct flight routes,’’ he said.

He is looking forward to Air Asia connects Penang with more international destinations in northern region.

In a press conference later, he said Air Asia hopes to increase the number of flights for the two routes and considers more direct flight routes from other countries to Penang, provided it has the hardware support such as airport expansion.

Yeoh said Air Asia’s plan to have more new international routes is in line with the state government’s plan to attract more tourists to Penang.

“This means Penang will have more tourists from Vietnam and Thailand in future,’’ he said.

Air Asia started flying directly to Ho Chi Minh from Penang on January 2016. It had planned to increase the number of flights from four to seven in a week since last year.

Air Asia is currently having promotion on the two new international flight routes from 2 to 8 July. Departure date is from 2 July this year to 31 January 2019.

The public can purchase the air tickets online by visiting airasia.com.

The company said the corporate realignment also fits with the ambitions for the Asean Digital Hub and would support the private and state sectors in adopting innovations that will ultimately improve living standards in the country.

Dhanant Subbhadrabandhu, executive vice president of CAT, said the transition involves a shift from the company’s status as a telecom infrastructure provider covering national and international services to an integrated digital service provider. By using its capabilities, CAT aims to drive forward Thailand’s development and bring new technology to improve performance and increase convenience and speed while lowering costs – results that the support Thailand 4.0 policy. Dhanant said.

“CAT is confident in the quality service that we provide and this has been continuously developed in different areas,” Dhanant said.

“We have four underwater cable stations that recently were certified ISO 9001:2015. CAT has been certified ISO in several areas such as the security operations centre, the Nontaburi satellite station, the data centre, and the CAT contact centre.

“Moreover, it received the Frost & Sullivan Thailand Excellence Awards from Frost and Sullivan, a world-class research and consultancy firm, continuously in the IT security services, cloud, and smart city fields. We take pride in being able to continuously develop and maintain our standard and variety of our services.”

Dhanant said that CAT, as an integrated digital provider, uses its strength as a national service provider to prepare for technology development and bring new technology to serve both public and private sector.

“Apart from telecom infrastructure, including national and international communications services as well as Internet connection, CAT has been preparing government agencies for readiness to serve the people – such as with the smart city projects. CAT has finished a smart city project for Phuket province by a creating high-speed communications network for 1,000 free Wi-Fi stations and 2,000 beacon stations as well as using Long Rang Wide Area network to provide Internet of Things (IoT) services.

In addition, Dhanant said Smart Phuket 4.0 was created to serve residents and tourists with convenience for them to receive important information.

“There is also a telecom infrastructure for new innovation for the development of the province and become the model of smart city for other provinces. CAT is also providing a Big Data sandbox for data analysis on the cloud for government agencies to increase efficiency, convenience, and speed of services for the people.

“CAT is ready to provide applications and to join hands with private sector to support and create new innovation and services rapidly to serve country development.

“The most important thing is confidence and trust as technology can bring cyber crimes, which can create losses, such as from data loss and a lowering trust. We emphasise on knowledge and protection via the security operation centre, which has experts to look after the network system and ready to respond to emergencies 24 hours. CAT is confident that we will be able to serve both public and private sectors and use technology to serve more effectively,” said Dhanant.

The company said the system encourages managers to coach employees on their strengths, and supports the company’s digital transformation to a more project-based way of work. The system aims to produce higher engagement and self-motivation among employees.

Strengths-based development represents a radical departure from traditional annual reviews, which rate employees based on key performance indicators (KPIs), and remain the most commonly used performance management system in Thailand’s large corporations.

“DTAC is a leader in redefining performance management. For a company of our size to drop traditional annual performance reviews based on KPIs is very new in Thailand,” said chief people group officer Nardrerdee Arj-harnwongse.

“And I think most of our employees are cheering the end of the old ‘meets, below, exceeds’ performance ratings. The new strengths-based development is much better suited to an agile, digital and cross-functional workplace.”

Nardrerdee said strengths-based development enables ongoing, 360-degree feedback from every level of the organisation. It also focuses on finding and developing employee strengths rather than the KPI model which divides employees into three arbitrary buckets: below, meets and exceeds expectations.

“Strengths-based development allows us to focus on how each employee can add more value to the company. It’s forward looking and it’s positive. We’re looking for what’s right, not what’s wrong, in our employees,” said Nardrerdee. “The feedback has been really good. It makes the conversation between managers and employees easier and more constructive.”

Nardrerdee said the benefits of strengths-based development are that it: focuses on individual employees’ rather than ranking them against one another; promotes ongoing feedback and coaching that can be provided quickly; provides a 360-degree view, not just the opinion of one manager; and focuses on growing in the future, rather than dwelling on how employees behaved in the past.

“Of course, we still review employee performance when determining compensation and promotions. But that view will now be based on regular feedback from a number of people, rather than a one-off assessment by a single person,” said Nardredree. “It’s fairer, and it’s more motivating.”

DTAC began this system early this year.

Nardredree said over 2,000 employees, including over 500 line managers, have received training on the performance management system and more than 3,600 employees underwent training to identify their strengths.

New system

The new system is part of a wider transformation effort undergone by DTAC. In 2017, the company introduced its employees to “agile” workflows through the Flip It Challenge, a competition for disruptive ideas to “remove customer and employee pain points” by using digital tools. In 2018, employees were given a new objective, the 40-hour Challenge, to encourage them to grow their digital skills via the learning resources at their disposal, such as the DTAC Academy and Telenor Campus.

KPIs have existed in various forms since the beginning of the industrial era. In 1992, the Balance Scorecard became the golden standard of performance management. But the acceleration of change and the emergence of new work models, such as “agile teams”, is making KPI-driven performance reviews obsolete. Google has used OKRs (objectives and key results, also in use at Twitter and Linkedin) for nearly 20 years.

The trend is now spreading beyond tech companies. In 2015, major consulting firms Accenture and Deloitte joined Microsoft, Adobe, Gap, Medtronic and others in abandoning their old review systems. Large local offices of global organisations in Thailand have not yet followed suit, meaning KPIs are still the standard in the country’s leading companies.

“Strengths-based development is a key enabler of digital transformation,” said Nardredree. “It’s good both for DTAC and for our employees, who can continuously grow in their careers despite the industry’s rapid changes.”

Thanpuying Chanut Piyaoui, Founder and Honorary Chairperson of Dusit International, one of Thailand’s foremost hotel and property development companies, has received the prestigious SHTM Lifetime Achievement Award from the School of Hotel and Tourism Management (SHTM) of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU).

Ranked among the top 3 “Hospitality and Leisure Management” institutions globally in the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2017 and 2018, the SHTM is a symbol of excellence in the field.

Established in 2016, SHTM’s annual awards are designed to honour outstanding personalities who have contributed substantially to the development of hospitality and tourism in Hong Kong, the region and around the world.

This year, the recipient was selected in accordance with the theme ‘Celebration of Women in Leadership.’

Thanpuying Chanut established Dusit International in 1948 and opened her first property in Bangkok, Princess Hotel, in 1949. It was one of the first properties in the city to feature a swimming pool, an elevator, and air conditioning.

Determined to open a five-star hotel offering luxury hospitality with a distinctively Thai touch, in 1970 she achieved this aim with the opening of the flagship Dusit Thani Bangkok – then the city’s tallest, grandest building – which has been a true icon ever since.

Building on the success of this property, Thanpuying Chanut opened more five-star hotels in major tourism destinations in Thailand and overseas, and branched out into hotel and culinary education with the Dusit Thani College in 1993, and Le Cordon Bleu Dusit Culinary School, a joint venture with Le Cordon Bleu, in 2007.

Incentives surge for plastic bag reduction

Tesco Lotus accelerates plastic bag reduction by offering five times more rewards to incentivise customers; donates 1 baht for every bag saved on International Plastic Bag Free Day to Royal Thai Navy towards marine animal rescue efforts

Tesco Lotus is accelerating plastic bag reduction by enhancing its reward programme, offering five times more points to customers who do not take plastic carrier bags every day for the rest of the year. On July 3, 2018, which is the International Plastic Bag Free Day, the retailer will also donate one baht for every plastic bag refused by customers. The proceeds will be donated to the Royal Thai Navy to purchase medical equipment for marine animals.

Salinla Seehaphan, Corporate Affairs Director, Tesco Lotus, said: “Throughout the past five years, we have been able to cut more than 100 million plastic bags and rewarded our customers with more than 3 billion Green Points as part of our effort to encourage customers to say no to plastic bags. We have found that customer participation has steadily increased, thanks in part to the heightened awareness in Thailand about environmental issues. Our goal this year is to accelerate the amount of plastic bag reduction by increasing incentive amount for customers.

“From July 3, 2018 until end of the year every time a customer refuses a plastic bag at any Tesco Lotus store, they will receive 100 green points instead of the current 20 points. In addition, on July 3rd which is International Plastic Bag Free Day, Tesco Lotus will donate one baht for every plastic bag customers refuse. The proceeds will be given to the Royal Thai Navy to purchase medical equipment for sea turtles and other marine animals.”

“We believe that continuous positive reinforcement coupled with increasing awareness in Thailand about the impact of single-use plastics will pave the way for a sustainable shift in behaviour amongst Thai shoppers. Throughout the year, we will be offering a variety of privileges redeemable with green points to further reinforce benefits of foregoing plastic bags among our customers.

In addition to carrier bags, Tesco Group has made a commitment to halve packaging weight by 2025 using the 2007 baseline,” Salinla said.

Revival of Tsunahiki, the 1982 tug of war shoe

Onitsuka Tiger yesterday re-launched the Tsunahiki, the shoe designed for tug-of-war competitions, first introduced in 1982. The Japan Tug-of-War Union was created in 1980, and the first nationwide Tug-of-War competition was held in 1981.

The original unique design – a wide, wrapped rubber outer sole, has been left intact. The revival model offers improved cushioning with the addition of an Ortholite mid-sole.

The original piping, stretching from around the shoelace holes to the collar and the eyelet design have also been left intact.

The new model is true to the original lava orange and oatmeal colour scheme. Four more new colors are also available.

ITD hosts regional trade and development forum

Marking its 18th anniversary this year, the International Institute for Trade and Development (ITD) is hosting the Trade and Development Regional Forum 2018 under the theme of “Transformation towards Innovative Trade and Development Agenda for Regional Integration”, from 2-3 July 2018, 8.30 am-5.00 pm at Shangri-La Hotel in Bangkok.

The forum is honoured by the presence of Dr Mukhisa Kituyi, Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), who delivers a keynote address on the topic “Towards Innovative Trade and Sustainable Development Agenda for Regional Integration” and congratulates ITD on its 18th anniversary. On 3 July, Dr Supachai Panitchpakdi, former director-general of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and former UNCTAD secretary-general, will give a keynote speech on the topic “Global disorder and Its Impact on Trade Regime”.

As an organisation established by an agreement between the Thai government and UNCTAD to promote trade, development and other activities in line with the agreement, ITD last year held the Trade and Development Regional Forum with the theme of “Linking Trade and Development for Inclusive and Sustainable Growth”. Kamalinne Pinitpuvadol, ITD Executive Director, says this year’s forum continues the discussion in a new theme, “Transformation towards Innovative Trade and Development Agenda for Regional Integration”, to promote communication, knowledge sharing and brainstorming on emerging issues and challenges related to regional trade, investment and development, in order to encourage Asian countries to jointly formulate a trade and investment action plan which is responsive to the modern world and sustainable development.

At present, hyperglobalisation, the 4th industrial revolution, and digital economy are bringing both opportunities and threats to trade, development and investment for now and the foreseeable future. Science and innovation are progressing fast thanks to digital technology, rendering some bilateral trade and investment agreements and regulations obsolete and increased unemployment.

But at the same time, such progress offers a great deal of opportunity to new entrepreneurs. Therefore, the linking of trade, investment and development to achieve sustainable development goals requires a new paradigm and mindset in terms of policymaking and partnership.

This necessitates a platform for the public and private sectors as well as other relevant parties in Asia to discuss, share experiences and contribute suggestions that lead to sustainable development in the future.

Thai start-up BUILK plans to improve the service with AI-blockchain technology before expanding the business from five countries to all ten Asean nations, whilst Addventures believes the investment will be beneficial for BUILK, SCG and some 80,000 small to medium-sized contractors, said BUILK’s chief executive officer and co-founder, Patai Padungtin.

To boost competitiveness to another level, BUILK has joined forces with AddVentures by SCG and become a strategic partner under the concept of “UNITED WE BUILK” in order to enhance Thailand’s construction industry to catch the global digitisation trend and fully utilise a technological platform, Patai said.

In the future, it aims to develop a B2B (business-to-business) purchasing-buying process, to enhance the country’s construction industry and to expand the platform to all Asean markets.

BUILK ONE GROUP, a Thai start-up, has been in operation since 2009.

To date, BUILK.COM has served over 25,000 small and medium-sized contractors in five countries: Thailand, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia.

Joshua Pas, managing director of AddVentures by SCG, said the contractor and construction-material business was continuing to expand in Thailand and Asean.

Last year, the total market value of construction materials among Thai contractors was estimated to be worth more than Bt68 billion, he said.

More than 75 per cent of the value was generated by small-to-medium-sized contractors that still run their business with an inefficient procurement and cost-management system, he added.

BUILK’s technology can help solve these pain points and enhance the efficiency of procurement and cost management for an estimated 80,000 contractors in Thailand alone, the MD explained.

The service uses DHL’s digital platform to allow Thai online retailers to offer consumers with same-day delivery, real-time tracking and flexible rescheduling of deliveries, whilst keeping last-mile delivery affordable and easy for retailers.

Designed for cities and metro areas, DHL Parcel Metro complements DHL’s drive to improve last-mile deliveries in urban environments and meet the ever-changing demands of the urban consumer, the company said.

“Megacities around the world are seeing rapid urbanisation and strong growth in e-commerce. The resulting surge in parcel deliveries and the growing urban consumer’s demands for same-day and instant gratification calls for innovative solutions – like DHL Parcel Metro – to enable faster and smarter deliveries, and relieve last-mile pressures faced by retailers,” said Charles Brewer, chief executive officer of DHL eCommerce.

DHL Parcel Metro allows retailers to ship parcels up to 20 kilograms with a late cut-off time of 12pm for same-day delivery within greater Bangkok, while consumers can enjoy real-time tracking and rescheduling of deliveries.

“Demand for same-day delivery is expected to increase by over 43 per cent per annum, according to McKinsey 2018 research, and retailers that offer same-day delivery will see significant advantage in e-commerce. Increasingly, we already see urban, time-constrained and on-demand consumers expecting instant and same-day deliveries for their online purchases,” said Kiattichai Pitpreecha, managing director of DHL eCommerce Southeast Asia.

The debentures are fully guaranteed by TTL’s parent company in Japan, Tokyo Century Corp.

The ratings of the guaranteed debentures issued by TTL are based on the credit quality of the guarantor and the unconditional and irrevocable guarantee of the debentures, TRIS said on Monday.

The rating upgrade reflects Tokyo Century’s consistent improvements in profitability and leverage.

Tokyo Century is rated “A+/Positive” by Japan Credit Rating Agency, and “A/Stable” by Rating and Investment Information.