Creative Talk Conference 2022 (CTC2022), featuring the theme “The Future of Everything” is being held at BITEC Bangna during June 25-26 to share knowledge on creativity, innovation, marketing, entrepreneurship, and people skills.
Held by AP Thailand in collaboration with Creative Talk, the two-day conference will be packed with panel discussions, debates and workshops on more than 60 topics by leading speakers with expertise in various fields covering creativity, marketing, innovation, entrepreneurship and people skill.
Founder Sittipong Sirimaskasem: 109 speakers, 61 sessions, and five stages are set for the two-day conference.
Creative Talk founder Sittipong Sirimaskasem said that CTC is not an event, but a community-oriented meeting to bring like-minded people who want to look into the future together.
The event also offered Creative Business Awards for the years 2021 and 2022 for the following brands: 2021, 1. Wendays 2. Laika 3. Moreloop; 2022, 1. Vulcan Coalition 2. Qualy 3. Jones Salad 4. Nanyang Marketing.
Apichat Khanthavithi, Managing Director, QGEN Consultant, an HR practice provider, gave a speech on ‘Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging Are the Future of Work Environment.’
A panel discussion on creative with Darisa Karnpoj (Riety) and Damisa Ongsiriwatana of SOUR Bangkok explored the topic of ‘Being Creative is for Everyone.’
On entrepreneurship, Pitchayen Hongpakdee of Samart ID Group and Dhazzaphak Lertsavetpong of The Trade Co. jointly talked about understanding ourselves and consumers need to clarify your purpose.
Bangkok, Thailand. June 24, 2022 — Cloudsec Asia today announced its partnership with BlueVoyant, a Silicon Valley-based developer of an industry-leading defense platform against internal and external cyberattacks.
This partnership in advanced technology is aimed at empowering any business enterprise in Thailand with third-party risk management (TPRM), an intelligent solution purpose-built to identify, manage, and mitigate cybercrime risks arising in supply chains from trade partners, contractors, and service providers. TPRM reinforces an organization’s security posture and provides proactive defense against cyber threats in the age of data-driven business.
BlueVoyant delivers cybersecurity services and platforms purpose-built to proactively defend business ecosystems of all sizes against threats by leveraging large, real-time datasets with industry-leading analytics and technologies. The company also specializes in third-party cybersecurity, which involves detecting and mitigating risks to which the computer network of a client is exposed through its connection with supply chains. BlueVoyant’s threat intelligence data detects an organization’s most potent cybersecurity risks, while intuitive automations mitigate threats against its attack surface effectively and efficiently, providing the business and technical outcomes it needs to stay secure and support business objectives.
Cloudsec Asia is a leading provider of comprehensive cybersecurity services, and driven to democratize cybersecurity for all organizations and people. As a cloud-security company, our services cover all aspects of cybersecurity for both public and private cloud, with three service divisions: Cloud Security Solution, Managed Detection and Response (MDR) SOC, and Cyber Security Services.
Bangkok, June 24, 2022 – Bitkub Blockchain Technology, Bitkub Chain developer and Blockchain Total Solution Provider together with Enter Corporation, a leading software company agree to develop blockchain technology as strategic partners to maximize efficiency on Bitkub Chain.
With 10 years experience, Enter Corporation is the company specialized in developing blockchain technology along with software application for both public and private sectors. Furthermore, Enter Corporation also acts as consulting firm in accordance with IT and telecommunication aspect.
Under this strategic alliance, Enter Corporation and Bitkub Blockchain Technology will together develop smart contract and digital asset wallet (Bitkub NEXT), which will be fully optimized for both android and IOS soon. In addition, to maximize efficiency on Bitkub Chain, Enter Corporation will also involve in token business development on Bitkub Chain ecosystem.
There are several projects developed by Enter Corporation, as follows: 1. Design and consult on user experience improvement on application 2. Blockchain based peer to peer electricity trading platform 3. Dam measuring with Internet of Things (IoT) 4. Web application security 5. Organization innovation development 6. Cyber security for SME 7. P2P lending development with blockchain technology
Nong Nooch Landscape & Garden Design on Wednesday joined forces with the Cuban National Botanical Garden on education, conservation and scientific research in a step towards more environmentally friendly operations.
The cooperation covers capacity building for planning, design and management of botanical gardens, setting up mechanisms to support the exchange of expertise, knowledge, tools and plant resources, build genetically diverse ex-situ populations of plants, conservation education and propagation of endangered plants.
Both entities will also join forces to improve education and conservation in two botanical gardens.
The agreement is a non-commercial one based on conservation and capacity building between the two.
Two species of Cuban native trees were planted at Nong Nooch Tropical Garden’s arboretum in Pattaya to celebrate the occasion.
DTAC and True executives promise their merger will usher in better, cheaper services for customers amid fears that the tie-up would lead to market dominance.
Telenor’s DTAC and CP Group’s True Corporation guaranteed their merger would benefit telecommunication industry competitiveness while customers would in fact be offered cheaper, better services and not the other way round.
The two companies aim to meet increasing customer expectations and capture new growth opportunities in a fast-changing digital world, but many are worried the merger would naturally mean less competition, resulting in fewer innovations in technology and services and rising costs caused by a limited market.
Telenor Group senior vice president for Asia Jon Omund Revhaug tried to lay some fears to rest, telling a seminar that after the merger, his company would continue to invest on the continent, including Thailand, as the firm has been operating in Asia for the past 25 years and more than 60 per cent of its revenue has come from Asia.
He was speaking at the seminar titled “The Disruption of Business, Competition and Transformation, Ready Now for the Future” at Centara Grand at Central Plaza Ladprao in Bangkok.
For Thailand, Telenor expects strong growth in data consumption and mobile and internet users. The company says it is committed to investing in Thailand for several decades to come.
Telenor believes the DTAC-True merger would create a telecom-tech company with the necessary strength and financial capability to innovate cutting edge technology with respect to 5G and other digital transformations in a step to drive Thailand’s digital economy forward and provide customers with better experiences.
DTAC would also make sure data protection and reliable connectivity will be the top priority as more customers rely on operators to keep their data safe, Revhaug said.
Regarding worries that the mega merger would lead to market dominance and customers would have to pay higher prices, True Corporation president Natwut Amornvivat guaranteed the tie-up would benefit True and DTAC customers as both firms have their strong points in strengthening the new company without incurring fresh debt. This means better service experience for customers, he said.
Natwut Amornvivat,True Corporation president
As for service prices, Natwut explained that the telecommunications business in Thailand is governed by several laws and the National Broadcasting and Telecommunication Commission (NBTC) is making sure the business is strictly regulated under the trade competition law. Therefore, even though DTAC and True will have access to a massive 54 per cent of customers in Thailand after the merger, they would still have to follow price regulations set by the NBTC.
Natwut claimed the merger would actually allow the new giant firm to offer a wider range of products and services to customers at cheaper prices because the company will have access to more customers without incurring extra debt.
Currently Advance Info Service, or AIS, is the number one telecommunication provider in Thailand with 43.7 million subscribers followed by True with 32 million and DTAC with 19.3 million.
By joining forces, the new company will replace AIS as the top service provider, but this will mean the country’s major service providers would be reduced from three to two. And without proper, strict regulations, this could lead to market dominance, with none other than the customers paying the price.
Thai Airways International (THAI) said on Tuesday it may exit its rehabilitation period sooner than the 2025 deadline granted under bankruptcy protection.
THAI’s head of finance Chai Iamsiri said the national carrier’s performance has improved following restructuring of the organisation and costs.
“The company may be able to exit the rehabilitation programme sooner than initially planned. But I can’t tell how soon because there must be steps to be taken first,” Chai said.
The Cabinet gave the green light for THAI to undergo rehabilitation under the Bankruptcy Act in May 2020, while the airline’s protection filing was granted by a court in June last year. Chai said THAI’s initial five-year rehab plan can be extended twice by a year each time, meaning a maximum rehab period of seven years.
He added that the airline may not have to seek a new loan of up to Bt25 billion as earlier expected because its cashflows have increased.
THAI filed for bankruptcy protection after reporting total debts of 245 billion baht at the end of 2019. The rehabilitation programme requires the airline to halve its 30,000-strong workforce and cut costs to 53 billion baht this year.
The Stock Exchange of Thailand has suspended trading in THAI shares, with the airline handed a deadline of 2025 to resolve the problems that triggered suspension.
Chai said the airline was committed to improving performance so that trading could resume before the 2025 deadline.
Property giants Raimon Land, Nava Nakorn and Ratch Group have joined forces to explore the fast-growing market of sustainable data centres.
This follows Raimon Land’s recent tie-up with US-based Nautilus Data Technologies, a world leader in green and environmentally sustainable data centre technology, Raimon Land’s COO Stephane Michel said on Friday.
“Upon signing the memorandum of understanding between the three parties, the foundations are set for smoother and more cohesive collaboration, and utilisation of each party’s key expertise,” he said.
He added that the data centres, set to be completed next year, will be able to reduce energy consumption by 20 per cent.
“The data centre market is one of the fastest-growing in the new economy, with advancing cloud services and steady adoption of working from home permanently among a multitude of market drivers,” he said.
“This joint agreement is a significant first step toward penetrating the nascent data centre market in Thailand as well as the Asean region.”
Nava Nakorn CEO Suthiporn Chandawanich, pointed out that people have started consuming a large amount of data thanks to digital transformation, while businesses are paying attention to preserving the environment.
He added that data centres built under this cooperation will focus on using renewable energy and will help businesses tackle digital transformation.
“Nava Nakorn will support Raimon Land on infrastructure, utilities and telecom network,” he said.
Meanwhile, Ratch Group CEO Choosri Kietkajornkul added that data centres will become critical to businesses in the next normal.
Metropolitan Electricity Authority (MEA) recently held its sixth annual awards ceremony for buildings that demonstrate excellent energy efficiency.
“In 2021, 110 buildings from 145 entries passed MEA energy-efficiency standards, while MEA also provided a fund of 10.67 million baht for 50 winners to further improve their energy efficiency,” said MEA deputy director Wilas Chaloeysat. “Over the six years of our campaign, buildings certified with the MEA Energy Award have helped save electricity worth 26 million baht or 6.87 million units per year, as well as reducing carbon dioxide emission by 2,954 tonnes per year on average.”
MEA launched the campaign in 2012 to encourage businesses to invest in highly energy-efficient equipment to save energy and reduce operational costs in the long term.
“To be certified with the MEA Energy Award, buildings must pass the Management of Energy Achievement Index developed by MEA, and the Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) standard – an international standard that of air quality across different parameters including CO, CO2, PM2.5, PM10, TVOC, and formaldehyde,” he said.
The MEA Energy Awards are organised in collaboration with King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi (KMUTT), which offers guidance on criteria for energy efficiency.
The 110 establishments that received MEA Energy Awards in 2021 comprised of 41 office buildings, 28 shopping malls, 19 convenience stores, 11 hospitals, four hotels, three hypermarkets, two schools and two universities. Their names and locations can be found at https://www.meaenergyawards.info/about/m-mea-energy-awards.
MEA also provided a fund of 10.67 million baht to 50 selected winners to use in upgrading their buildings with energy-efficient equipment. The fund is capped at 20 per cent of the costs or 1 million baht per building. MEA calculates that the reduced electricity cost will pay for the investment in 3.32 years.
Award winners will also be entitled to special training by MEA, installation of EV charging stations, and discounts on the MEA Better Care service and air-conditioner cleaning.
“We believe the campaign will help promote Thailand’s energy stability and reduce carbon emissions in the business sector, catapulting Thailand towards the government’s goal of carbon neutrality in 2050,” said Wilas. “Furthermore, it will promote the use of innovations and technology that reduce energy consumption and minimise environmental impact, while winners of the MEA Energy Award will also serve as a model for smart buildings for future businesses.
Telecom operator AIS and the Digital Economy Promotion Agency (DEPA) have jointly established the first 5G innovation centre and laboratory in Thailand Digital Valley in the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) with the aim of strengthening the country’s 5G ecosystem and improving workforce skills.
To make Thailand the digital hub in Asean, Asst Prof Nuttapon Nimmanphatcharin, president/CEO of the DEPA, said the agency has built a network of partners with 5G technology competence in Thailand. This will lead to 5G innovation/use case development and 5G adoption to strengthen competitive advantage and growth in various industries such as manufacturing and service. Thailand Digital Valley in the EEC at Sri Racha, Chonburi province is one of the key action plans.
“DEPA and AIS will establish 5G NEXTGen Centre in the second building to enable Digital Tech cluster to test their 5G use cases with AIS 5G network and platform to enhance new digital solutions or innovative business models in the future,” the DEPA president said.
According to the DEPA, Thailand Digital Valley consists of five buildings and the second building is the “Digital Startup Knowledge Exchange Centre” where 5G NEXTGen Centre will be located. With an area of 4,500 square metres, this building is designed for collaboration and exchange of digital technology and innovation, digital business networking, and residence for digital developers and Thai startups to become the largest startup community in Thailand.
Tanapong Ittisakulchai, AIS chief enterprise business officer, revealed that the centre will be ready to provide 5G technology development ad testing services in the fourth quarter of this year. AIS will utilise 100 per cent 5G network coverage there to generate business opportunities by learning, idealisation, and realisation to develop 5G use cases or solutions together, which is crucial to completing the 5G ecosystem in Thailand’s digital economy.
“AIS has collaborated with various industries to enable and accelerate their digital transformations effectively to gain more competitive advantages and the DEPA is one of our partnerships.The 5G ecosystem with the concept of ‘AIS 5G NEXTGen for Business’ aims to bring innovative solutions and services to enable and accelerate the digital transformation of businesses in Thailand,” said Tanapong.
He added that in order to provide complete digital transformation and solutions to Thailand business owners and entrepreneurs, AIS has launched the country’s first industry 5G and MEC (Multi-access Edge Compute) platform which aggregates 5G network, network slicing capability, edge compute, leading cloud hyper-scalers, and application altogether in an automated fashion, making it easier, faster, cheaper, and more efficient for enterprises, government departments, application providers, solution providers, and system integrators to integrate and deploy end-to-end 5G solutions with low latency.
“AIS 5G NEXTGen Platform will also be used as a testbed tool at AIS NEXTGen Centre to facilitate 5G solution development by customers and solution co-creation between AIS and customers and partners,” said Tanapong.
To completely deliver end-to-end solutions to the enterprise as well as government customers, AIS also announced a new partnership with leading world-class partners like Singtel, NCS Telco+ and Siemens to jointly develop 5G and MEC platform capabilities, 5G Transformation Solutions, and Siemens Smart Manufacturing for industrial solutions. Besides, this collaboration will allow AIS and its partners to share their resources and application so that Thai customers, entrepreneurs and developers would find the right digital solutions, he said.
“We are ready to enable and accelerate digital adoptions of businesses in Thailand to transform and create competitive advantages by leveraging 5G technology and ecosystem from us and our partners in various verticals, both locally and globally. This will foster Thailand’s digital economy to keep growing sustainably,” Tanapong said.
A new study by SAP, one of the leading enterprise application software firms, has found that 98 per cent of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Thailand face workforce volatility, including the “Great Resignation” phenomenon, directly impacting their digital transformation plans.
About 80 per cent of SMEs say digital transformation is very important to their survival over the next year.
The new SME research released on Thursday explores the impact of the “Great Resignation” on Thailand’s SMEs under the topic “Transformational Talent: The impact of the Great Resignation on Digital Transformation in APJ’s SMEs” commissioned by Dynata. There are 1,363 small and medium business owners and decision-makers across eight countries in the region, including 207 in Thailand that participated in the survey.
The report found that as the world economy recovers from the pandemic, businesses now face another challenge which is the Great Resignation. First mentioned in 2021, the phrase refers to a worldwide trend of millions of employees across the world leaving their jobs.
SAP’s research found the Great Resignation is real and impacting SMEs in Thailand today. Almost half (47 per cent) of respondents agreed that more employees are resigning now compared to just 12 months ago, while 67 per cent of SMEs said they are not finding it easy to cope with the impact of the Great Resignation.
The talent crunch is also impacting organisations’ ability to digitally transform their businesses. In fact, lack of skilled talent ranks as one of the top challenges to achieve successful transformation for Thai SMEs, trailing understanding of digital solutions and balancing priorities, but ahead of traditional obstacles like cybersecurity or lack of budgets.
Atul Tuli, managing director, SAP Indochina, said this latest study revealed how the Great Resignation could be seen as an existential threat to many organisations. Digital transformation is a fundamental way SMEs not only build resilience, but how they create agile, innovative paths to growth.
“Without the right people, any transformation will struggle. Investment in talent must match investment in innovation to ensure SMEs in Thailand both survive and thrive,” said Tuli.
Meanwhile, to mitigate the impact of the Great Resignation, investing in talent and training is required. The survey found that SMEs in Thailand are investing in their workforce to mitigate the effects of the Great Resignation and to bolster their organisations’ ability to deliver digital transformation.
Survey respondents said they were focusing on boosting digital literacy (39 per cent) to boost talent retention over the next 12 months – as well as investing in more traditional employee priorities like financial incentives and flexible working arrangements (both 39 per cent).
The focus on training can’t come too soon. More than seven in ten (71 per cent) of SMEs say upskilling to support digital transformation is urgent, leading to 77 per cent of Thai SMEs focusing on digital training throughout this year.
“The Great Resignation has often been misconstrued as employees leaving to pursue their purpose. That’s not the whole story. Talent requires the right remuneration, flexibility, and a clearly communicated progression journey. Prioritising upskilling and career progression, and supporting it with access to the right technology and partners is proven to be a win-win for employees and for SMEs here in Thailand,” said Tuli.
Furthermore, 78 per cent of APJ SMEs say their organisation is neutral, highly, or fully resilient in weathering the pandemic’s impact. Just six per cent believe they are not resilient at all.
That confidence in their ability has resulted in a feeling of optimism about their growth prospects. About 85 per cent of SMEs in Thailand said they are moderately, very, or extremely confident in their growth over the next 12 months. “Our small and medium-sized businesses are a bellwether for the wider economy, making up 97 per cent of businesses in Asia and employing 50 per cent of the workforce. I firmly believe that when SMEs thrive, economies grow, and Asia prospers”, said Tuli.
He insisted that by harnessing this optimism and putting it together with great innovation, a commitment to talent, and a strong partner ecosystem, they can chart a course to the next decade of SME success in Thailand.
Founder Sittipong Sirimaskasem: 109 speakers, 61 sessions, and five stages are set for the two-day conference.
Natwut Amornvivat,True Corporation president
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