The issuer rating is based on TRIS Rating’s assessment of RHB’s business position, capital and earnings, risk position, funding and liquidity position in comparison with its peers within the Malaysian banking industry.

The rating takes into consideration RHB’s relatively stable business profile supported by diversified earnings, a strong capital position, and improved funding profile.

These strengths are, however, constrained by modest profitability and below-industry average impaired loan coverage, as well as high reliance on wholesale funding due to its moderate deposit franchise, relative to its peers.

As RHB’s main business operation is in Malaysia, the rating also takes into consideration the strengths and risk profile of Malaysia’s economy and banking industry.

Owned by Charoen Pokphand Foods Public Company Limited or CPF, Chester has been serving grilled chicken and Thai rice for more than 30 years with 200 branches in Thailand.

Rungthip Prommachat, Chester vice president, said the firm had served reusable melamine plates, stainless forks, spoons and glass tumblers to customers at the outlet for more than 30 years since its opening.

This practice is based on CPF policy to reduce waste disposal to landfill by 25 per cent in 2020, compared to the base year of 2015.

“We are proud to be the first Thai fast-food restaurant to continuously determine to serve meals with reusable plates, cutlery and glasses at all 200 outlets. This initiative surely serves our customers’ needs and helps Chester to be a part of a world that reduces waste,” added Rungthip.

She said Chester is also considering the use of more biodegradable packaging for delivery instead of single-use plastics.

The company’s targets are to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse-gas emissions by 15 per cent. It also wants to reduce water consumption and waste disposal to landfill by 25 per cent and 30 per cent respectively from 2015 levels.

It said between 2015 and 2017, the average transaction increased by 21 per cent from US$39.7 million to $48.2 million while transactions larger than $400 million also increased by the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.5 per cent, signifying a surge in M&A deals in Thailand.

In terms of industry breakdown, consumer discretionary and staples represented the largest sector for both deal volume and value, followed by industrial and material sectors between 2015-17 and are still seen as promising and potential sectors to grow in 2018.

As of 1Q18, 37 per cent of M&A transaction value occurred in consumer discretionary sector, followed by energy (34 per cent) and real estate (14 per cent), respectively.

TCC Group Holdings led the wave of acquisitions last year with a total value of $1.3 billion through a variety of acquisitions such as:

● Assets of Thai Hotel Investment Freehold and Leasehold Property Fund for $874.13

million

● 252 existing KFC stores from Yum! Restaurants International Co Ltd for $342.55 million.

Solidiance partner Mickael Feige said: “We expect that the consumer sector will be the key growth sector in the Thai M&A market given the increasing regional consumption spending and the recovery of Thailand’s exports.”

Thai AirAsia has targeted carrying around 23.2 million passengers this year, up from about 19.8 million last year. Of this estimate, around half are expected to be Thai fliers.

The revamped scheme is more aimed at maintaining passenger loyalty than helping the carrier to significantly boost revenue, Thai AirAsia chief executive officer Santisuk Klongchaiya said yesterday at the official launch of the overhauled programme in Thailand.

“Our guests are the core of what we do, and we want them to be able to reap greater rewards from travelling,” Santisuk said. “This brand new programme gives our guests more opportunities to enjoy privileges as they fly around the world with us, while making it more attractive to travel with AirAsia.”

AirAsia BIG Loyalty country head Ba-wornpak Wachirawarakarn said the programme has targeted securing a total of 3 million Thai members before the end of this year, up from about 2 million now.

AirAsia BIG Loyalty was established in November 2011 and is owned and operated by Think BIG Digital Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of AirAsia Bhd, in collaboration with Aimia Inc.

The restructured loyalty programme features a unique membership status system based on how often passengers fly, regardless of how much they spend on the fares or how far they fly.

The more the members travel with airlines in AirAsia network, the faster they will be upgraded up from Red to Gold, Platinum, and, ultimately, Black status. Every member starts with Red status.

The loyalty programme has more than 160 partners worldwide, including Central, Lazada, Konvy, Looksi, and Tesco Lotus.

This year, Thai AirAsia has targeted a load factor of 87 per cent. In the first quarter, the airline carried 5.6 million passengers, up 16 per cent year on year. In that quarter, Thai AirAsia added three aircraft, bringing its total fleet to 59 aircraft.

For this year, the company expects to see a flat rate of growth in revenue, taking in around Bt3 billion.

Siriwat Vongjarukorn, chief executive officer at MFEC, a system integration (SI) and software development company, said that the five new areas included data science related to Big Data to support the needs of a data-driven economy, as well as a security platform and a social network, covering social commerce. The other new areas relate to blockchain and machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI).

Siriwat said the company’s expansion into these areas would help the company to transform its organisation and its existing business into digital platforms in order to support what it calls the three dimensional changes in the digital era – relating to customer behaviour; products and services such as software as a services (SaaS); and human resources.

He said that the firm expects that it will reach a return on investment in the new business areas in the next couple of years.

The firm is corporating with partners to provide services to support the new business model. The firm has joined with J Ventures, a corporate venture capital provider under JMart Group, to develop payment gateway services for the JFIN Decentralised Digital Lending Platform (DDLP). The collaboration is based on revenue sharing,

“Under the collaboration with J Ventures, MFEC will develop payment gateway services to support JMart Group. It will boost the potential of both companies and strengthen their businesses, while also supporting government policies that are aimed at paving the way for a full cashlesss society,” Siriwat said.

Thanawat Lertwattanarak, chief executive officer at J Ventures, said that the partnership with MFEC is just the first step. The firm also plans a merger and acquisition (M&A) deal with PraIn FIntech, which is the company under MFEC that developed the payment gateway service. The M&A deal will involve a stake of around 25 per cent in the future.

The company expects that it will able to provide Digital Lending Platform services in October.

Saha Lawson Company Limited, the operator of “Lawson 108” premium Japanese convenience store chain in Thailand, kicks off the new flavors of soft serve “Hojicha” and “Hojicha – Hokkaido Milk” at affordable price, 30 baht/cone.

Hojicha is a Japanese-style green tea originated in Shizuoka, the biggest province near Fuji Mountain. It is roasted with the premium process which makes it distinctive from other green tea. Hojicha presents the mild, slightly toasty because of its low amount of caffeine.

Hojicha and Hojicha – Hokkaido milk soft serves are available now until July 31, 2018 at 108 Lawson stores nationwide.

FIRST FLAGSHIP STORE OPENS AT BANGKOK’S SHOW DC

Puma, one of the world’s leading sports brands, has opened its first flagship outlet store at Bangkok’s Show DC. Located on the third floor, Puma maintains a prime space in Show DC’s sports zone and offers a full Puma-branded experience for shoppers.

Puma designs, develops, sells and markets footwear, apparel and accessories in more than 120 countries around the world, and their flagship outlet store at Show DC is the first of its kind in Thailand. The store is open on weekdays from 11:00 to 21:00 and on weekends from 10:00 to 22:00.

In photo, from left: Katawut Kochchawat, executive marketing manager, German Sport & Lifestyle Co Ltd, Dennis Hufschmidt, director of German Sport & Lifestyle Co Ltd, Regina Loo, chief marketing & merchandising officer of Show DC, Sue An Ong, vice president marketing & events of Show DC, and Jirath Pahonpipat, vice president – merchandising & leasing of Show DC.

A330NEO UNDERGOES FUNCTION & RELIABILITY TESTS

The A330neo, Airbus’ newest widebody aircraft, has embarked on a worldwide tour to demonstrate its readiness for airline operations. As final step in the aircraft certification phase, these function & reliability tests, also known as route proving will include ETOPS missions, landing at diversion airports and testing airport handling services. After a fly past over Airbus’ European sites, the A330neo will head for 15 major airports worldwide over five continents, aiming at achieving 150 Flight Test Hours in three trips.

The route proving tests are performed with the first A330-900 production aircraft, fully equipped with an Airspace by Airbus cabin and flying in launch operator’s Tap Air Portugal colours. The aircraft first flew on 15th May 2018 launching flight-tests to check cabin systems such as air conditioning.

The route proving tests form part of the last trials required for aircraft Type Certification scheduled for summer 2018.

The company plans to refresh its brand to get closer to end users, said Kunsara Sonakul Na Ayudhaya, managing director, Pool & Spa Products Co Ltd.

The company claims to be the leader in the swimming pool business with over 45 years of experience. The company provides services for swimming pools, from design and system installation to selling related equipment, in Thailand.

“We expect the sales to rocket and reach Bt240 million within the first six months of this year, or 15 per cent growth compared to the same period of last year,” said Kunsara.

“Target customers are the younger generation who seek smaller pools with water exercise equipment. For the rest of the year, our modern showroom in the heart of the city and online marketing will be the main vehicles for the sales drive.”

She said Pool & Spa has its own manufacturing plants that produce high-quality equipment and chemicals for swimming pools and then distributes them both domestically and internationally. In addition, the company also imports quality swimming pool and spa technologies as well as equipment from various countries across the world.

“With more than 45 years of experience in the business, we have a full team of experienced experts who can provide a wide range of services with full understanding of the swimming pool construction, from designing, constructing, installing systems, and providing after-sale services,” said Kunsara.

“Therefore, over the years, we have become the top-of-mind swimming pool company with the most comprehensive services for customers in Thailand. Our customers are also very diverse – hotels (15 per cent), condominiums and residential complexes (15 per cent), schools (5 per cent), private pools at homes (15 per cent), and representatives for equipment such as filters, electrical system, water sanitation, and chemicals for swimming pools (50 per cent).

“In the first half of 2018, we have pursued targeted marketing for both B2B customers – such as leading real estate development companies, major chain companies, and dealers – and B2C customers – such as luxury home owners and new generation with purchasing power who plan to have their own homes. The strategy helps us register more than Bt240 million in income or about a 15 per cent increase from the same period of last year,” Kunsara added.

From the company’s studies and surveys, the most popular pools are concrete pools with tiles, overflow system, and sanitation system with salt and Nano UV Tech, and Swim Jet swimming pools. Contributing factors include an increase in awareness for health and exercise, safety, and limited space, Kunsara said.

“The latter makes building large swimming pools with sufficient length for exercise less feasible, making the Swim Jet pools a new alternative for people who prefer to work out by swimming. Even in smaller pools, counter-current swimming can be a great exercise and help save costs in building them as well,” she said.

“Generally, most people view swimming pool business as a niche-market business with few competitors. However, the swimming pool industry is a fast-growing business with intense competition. Therefore, swimming pool trends ceaselessly develop to respond to the needs of digital-age generation who prefers dynamic decision-making and changes, while being highly individualistic.”

Kunsara said that is why Pool & Spa is “focused on customer-centric strategies in order to create the best customer journey”.

“This starts from our unique individualistic design for each user, with construction by trusted experts, which reduces time wasted on overseeing the job, and the installation of systems, technologies, and accessories for the customers’ needs and use cases, as well as after-sale services that help customers on maintenance and care for the pools. Topping it off, we also help them save costs in the long run,” Kunsara said.

“Moreover, the company emphasizes training on technologies and equipment for swimming pools for our partners, including our dealers and architects, to build a network of strong service providers who in turn will provide better services to their customers. This is our efforts in building systematic collaboration, developing skills, and updating information for swimming pool industry players.

“On the same note, in the second half of this year, we plan to launch a new modern showroom in Soi Sukhumvit 51, our new website, and social media for communication with both partners and end users.”

Kunsara said the company is targeting new generation customers.

“These people are tech-savvy, work in the city, have high purchasing power, and want to own swimming pools for their family members to exercise in,” she said. “We hope that our direct marketing strategies and the expertise of Pool & Spa team will help our company to achieve a total of Bt600 million revenue by the end of this year.”

Line Man was launched in June 2016 as a delivery service for food and convenience items before branching out into mail and parcel deliveries in April last year. The Line Taxi service was added in March as part of an overall offering that includes messenger services.

Ariya Banomyong, managing director of Line Thailand, said that Line Man, as an online-to-offline platform (O2O) platform, is a bridge between users of the Line messaging service and offline businesses, such as restaurants, social enterprise sellers, taxi drivers, convenience stores, and other small businesses.

“To be an O2O platform connecting users to SMEs supports the government’s Thailand 4.0 policy because we care for and understand Thai users,” said Ariya, referring to small and medium-sized enterprises.

Ariya said that now is the time to expand the offerings under Line Man and to achieve higher growth – as much as 500 per cent this year.

Ariya describes Line Man as a local innovation for Thai users, with the service attracting 1 million users a month. The number of orders it is handling has surged 489 per cent from 2017.

In all, Line Man comprises delivery services for food, convenience goods, mail and parcels, as well as the messenger service.

The messenger and postal services, including for packages, can be delivered within a day. There is also a nationwide door-to-door parcel delivery service.

Ariya said Line Man is designed to take advantage of the huge potential of e-commerce, specially social commerce, which is valued at around US$1.6 billion – or 51 per cent – of the US$3.1 billion e-commerce market. Marketplace services account for US$ 1.4 billion, or 49 per cent of the total.

“The role of Line Man is to support social sellers to grow their business, since Line Man offers door-to-door pick-up, cost savings, flexible pick-up times, and status alerts on Line,” Ariya said.

“The messenger service has covered 14 million kilometres, or 18 round trips to the moon, while the postal and parcel service has saved 300,000 hours worth of trips to the post offices.

“The food delivery service covers 40,000 restaurants, thanks to our service partner Wongnai.”

According to the KBank Analysis 2017 report, the food delivery market is worth Bt27 billion, representing 7 per cent of Thailand’s total restaurant market, which is valued at Bt397 billion. “It is an unmet consumer need, offering the largest restaurant choice for users and helping restaurants to grow their businesses,” Ariya said.

“We are out to grow the food delivery market. We bring traffic and business to restaurants without any investment.

“We have been the No 1 provider in the food delivery market since last year, which covers over 40,000 restaurants. This makes us 10 times bigger than our closest competitor.”

“Among the interesting data is that the most popular menu is Gyoza with 2 million pieces delivered since the launch. And the two most popular items ordered via Line Man’s convenience store delivery are ice and soda and sparking water.”

Regarding Line Taxi, Ariya said the service is designed to address consumers’ pain points, “even though there are six taxi applications in Thailand existing in the market, offering time efficiencies, experience and safety”.

“The service also helps taxi drivers make a better living, and helps to solve their pain points – including earnings that had amounted to less than the minimum wage. Also, it is costly to become a taxi driver and there is a negative public image with the job.”

Ariya said the most popular pick-up point is Siam Paragon.

“The goal for this year is to expand the e-payment service, Rabbit Line Pay, to all of Line Man’s users. Line Man’s revenue comes from transaction fees and advertising.” Ariya said.

“Strategic partners behind the success of Line Man are Lala Move, Wongnai, Alpha, Ninja, and Siam Taxi Co-operation.”