The world’s average was 11.2 subscriptions per 100 inhabitants in 2015. Leading in Asia and Pacific is South Korea, at 40.2. Japan’s subscription rate is 30.5, against China’s 18.6 (excluding Hong Kong and Macau).

The report titled “State of ICT in Asia and the Pacific 2016: Uncovering the Widening Broadband Divide” covers 53 countries in the Asia-Pacific region, which includes many small countries such as Kiribati and Micronesia.

The report showed that Thailand’s fixed-broadband subscriptions remained low despite a sharp increase in the past 15 years (2000-2015). Thailand had an average annual growth rate of 159 per cent during the period.

Thailand’s new spectrum auctions were mentioned in the report, being an example of attempts by telecom companies to cash in on increasing broadband demand.

Escap particularly showed concerns over some 20 low-income countries in the region where fixed-broadband subscriptions stayed below 2 per 100 inhabitants, warning that this would further widen the digital divide in the region and the world.

Higher prices continue to be a major deterrent for broadband adoption, it said. In a recent Escap study focusing on Southeast Asia, findings show that the lack of diversity in information and communications technology connectivity reduces competition and increases the cost of access to global networks, including via submarine cables.

The study found a varied level of costs for Internet transit connectivity, which is correlated with the cost of fixed-broadband subscriptions. Subscribers in Thailand and the Philippines pay US$80 (more than Bt2,700) per month for the service, against less than $10 in Singapore and $25-$30 in Malaysia. The monthly cost is more than $100 in Indonesia, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar.

The report shows that 74.89 per cent of total fixed-broadband subscriptions in the region are concentrated in East and Northeast Asia, followed by South and Southwest Asia (9.77 per cent), North and Central Asia (7.68 per cent), Southeast Asia (5.74 per cent) and the Pacific (1.93 per cent), according to the 2015 data.

“As a result of this digital divide, millions of people are shut out from transformative digital opportunities in education, health, business and financial services,” said Dr Shamshad Akhtar Escap under-secretary-general and executive secretary.

“In response to the widening gap, Escap is promoting the Asia-Pacific Information Superhighway initiative, to increase the availability and affordability of broadband Internet across Asia and the Pacific, by strengthening the underlying Internet infrastructure in the region.”

“Thailand has a very strong relationship with Japan, while Thai people still have high purchasing power to consume Japanese cultural and entertainment content – and they are keen on travelling to Japan. Those key factors are still supporting Japan’s entertainment industry to grow in this country,” Tomoko Masuda, director for the creative industries division and service industry department at Jetro in Tokyo, said yesterday.

In terms of business contracts inked between Japanese media and entertainment companies and overseas partners, the Kingdom’s entertainment businesses have sealed a total of 54 deals to date with Japan’s leading animation companies, ranking Thailand the No-6 overseas market for Japan’s animation content distribution.

The five leading country’s in this respect are South Korea and the United States, with 78 contracts each, Taiwan (76), mainland China (64) and Canada (57). When it comes to contracts landed by Southeast Asian countries, Thailand leads the way, followed by Singapore and Malaysia.

Masuda added that apart from animation, businesses related to character/merchandising and licensing were also still on the rise, in line with music distribution.

Jetro has therefore joined forces with the “Anime Festival Asia (AFA)” to organise the “J-POP Signature” event in Bangkok over this weekend.

Hiroki Mitsumata, president of Jetro Bangkok, described the event as the key business platform for Thai and Japanese entertainment companies to open a dialogue and engage in business-matching.

It is expected that 11 leading entertainment, music and animation companies will meet 50 local buyers at “J-POP Signature”, he said.

The event forms part of a series of marketing and promotional activities to encourage the international market to consume Japanese cultural and entertainment products under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s “Cool Japan” initiative.

The Japanese government aims to generate ฅ18 trillion (Bt6.22 trillion) annually from exporting its entertainment to the world by 2025, representing 3 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product.

The survey on “the public’s media-exposure behaviour and trust towards the press” was conducted in July on 800 participants in the Bangkok metropolitan area.

The participants were 44 per cent male and 56 per cent female. About 52.8 per cent had bachelor’s degrees, and 22.8 per cent had secondary-school education.

There were four age ranges, with 65.1 per cent Generation Y (aged between 19 and 36 years), 21 per cent Generation X (aged 37 to 51), 7.5 per cent baby boomers (52 to 70), and about 6.4 per cent Generation Z (aged between 12 |and 18).

Mana Treelayapewat, dean of the School of Communication Arts at UTCC, revealed the findings of the survey.

The findings indicated that 32.6 per cent of the population of Greater Bangkok spend about one to two hours a day consuming news, and 24.1 per cent spend two to three hours a day taking in news.

The most frequently consumed news was about entertainment at 54.4 per cent, followed by key incidents at 52.3 per cent, sports 37 per cent, politics 34.9 per cent and crime 32.8 per cent.

Respondents reported that they most often got news from social media, with the score 4.13 out of 5, followed by watching television (3.81) and news websites or applications (3.15).

Most participants consume news from online sources through mobile devices, with an average score of 4.35 out of 5, more frequently than through a computer, with an average score of 3.12.

They choose to read news stories that are shared by other people close to them, with an average score of 3.53 out of 5, followed by reading items from official news agencies (average score 3.33) and unofficial news sources (3.28).

Once people see news stories, most click on the news sources (average score 3.33), followed by clicking “like” (3.03).

In the past three months, the most watched morning news programme was “Rueng Lao Chao Nee” on Channel 3HD (48.9 per cent), followed by “Chao Nee Tee Mot Chid” (26.4 per cent).

As for news programmes at noon, “Tieng Wan Tan Hade Karn” on Channel 3HD and “Hong Kao Park Tieng” on Channel 7 were the most watched, both with 23 per cent.

The most watched evening news programmes were “Rueng Den Yen Nee” on Channel 3HD and Channel 7’s “Evening News”.

In late evening, the popular news programmes included “Kao Sam Miti” on Channel 3HD at 46 per cent, followed by “Pra Den Ded Jed See” on Channel 7 HD with 31.5 per cent.

The most watched weekend news programme was “Rueng Lao Sao Artid” on Channel 3HD at 42.1 per cent, followed by Channel 7’s “Evening News” with 27.9 per cent.

“As we can see, the public’s media exposure behaviour mostly focuses on taking in news from social media,” Mana said. “Moreover, they are more exposed to news that is shared by those close them and peers than official news sources.

“Interestingly, the public follow news stories reported by unofficial news sources as often as the ones reported by official news agencies. Thus news agencies as professional journalists should keep raising the bar on their methods, forms and news content in order to differentiate their content from other online content to persuade the public to prefer to follow news content reported by official news sources more.”

Kanokkan Bunchabusabong, |a lecturer at the Strategic Communication Division, School |of Communication Arts, UTCC, revealed the findings on the public’s trust towards the press.

The key findings were that the most trusted news sources are official news agencies, with an average score of 3.67 out of 5, followed by news content shared by close peers (3.01) and unofficial news sources (2.97).

People trust television news reports the most, with an average score of 3.89, followed by newspapers with 3.66, radio with 3.22 and news websites and applications with 3.17. Social media are the least trusted news sources, with an average score of 3.06.

People think television news programmes (70.5 per cent) can report on political and social |issues with the most dimensions, followed by news websites and applications (56.9 per cent), newspapers (55.8 per cent), radio |(55 per cent) and social media |(54.4 per cent).

The element that creates |the public’s trust in news reporting the most is content (48.8 per cent), followed by affiliations (32.6 per cent), news anchors (10.5 per cent) and journalists (8.9 per cent).

The findings in relation to the public’s trust emphasise the changes in media-exposure behaviour with the increase in the use of social media, news websites and applications to take in news. However, people still trust mainstream media, especially television.

They believe that television news can report news stories with several views and dimensions.

Furthermore, the research team analysed the findings by generation.

Baby-boomers aged between 52 and 70, “Do not trust = Do not consume” is their concept of news consumption. They consume news from their trusted sources. “They like mainstream media, and they are likely to prefer new media.”

As for Generation X aged between 37 and 51, their media-exposure behaviour can be called “FOMO”, of fear of missing out. Therefore, they are more likely to take in news from online sources and their peers. However, they still say they trust mainstream media more than new media.

Generation Y (19-36 years old) “use new media but trust mainstream media” as well. Social media are used most frequently by Generation Y, followed by television, news websites, applications, newspapers and radio. Their most trusted news sources are television and newspapers rather than new media.

Finally, Generation Z (12-18 years old) “are addicted to new media but still trust mainstream media”. This generation consumes news from social media more than other age groups, but they still report that they trust television the most. “Interestingly, the overall findings show that the younger the generation, the more they trust news that they consume through social media. However, the public still trust the mainstream media, especially television. Thus in the era of modern news consumers, the media must adjust themselves to align with the changes by combining the mainstream media that are more trusted and new media that are becoming part of their lifestyles,” Kanokkan said.

Chattan Kunjara Na Ayudhaya Ayudhya, executive director of TAT’s advertising and public relations department, said Ratchaprasong Square was a strategic location that attracts considerable numbers of foreign tourists and businesspeople, especially during festive seasons such as New Year’s Eve.

The project is in line with TAT’s strategic plan focusing on female travellers, as this market has been growing rapidly.

The top sources of female tourist arrivals to Thailand in 2014 were China (2,283,100), Malaysia (1,503,499), Russia (828,803), South Korea (469,4940) and Laos (410,654).

According to TAT research, 75 per cent of females around the world plan to travel individually. About 32 million single females in the PANK (Professional Aunt, No Kid) category travel at least once a year and they tend to prefer near-luxury trips.

Last year’s statistics showed that female tourists loved trying Thai food, visiting beaches and seas, and getting spa and wellness treatments, in that order.

Thanakorn Kuptajit, corporate relations director at Diageo Moet Hennessy (Thailand), said the joint programme would focus on language training and communication skills.

The importer and distributor of premium wines and spirits hopes the project will fulfil part of its objective of empowering 2 million women from all socio-economic profiles in 17 countries across the Asia-Pacific region by 2017 under four core pillars: Our Company, Our Industry, Our Communities and Our Consumers.

Around 70 per cent of the 20,000 people employed in service and tourism industries in the Ratchaprasong area are women.

A series of incentives have been introduced by the Cypriot government to attract overseas investors.

Competitive deals over its EU counterparts include lower capital-gains tax and lower minimum capital, making it easy to migrate to Europe. Permanent residencies are going for 300,000 euros (Bt11.6 million) and citizenships for a minimum of 2.5 million euros.

It was a good time to boost investment opportunities and offer incentive programmes to Thai investors as Cyprus’ economy has diversified and prospered, he said.

The country has a modern, free-market, service-based economy.

Its competitive advantages include a strategic location in the EU and euro zone, a robust legal and regulatory framework, ease of doing business, incentives, and good infrastructure and quality of life.

Theophylactou, who is Cyprus’ high commissioner to India but is also accredited to Thailand, met with Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha to encourage trade and other cooperation.

Emerging from the 2013 financial crisis, Cyprus, according to the International Monetary Fund, has per capita income above the EU average and has been sought as a base for several offshore businesses because of its low tax rates.

The Cyprus Town Planning Department recently announced a series of incentives to stimulate the property market and increase the number of property developments in the country’s town centres.

Earlier measures

This follows earlier measures to give immigration permits quickly to third-country nationals investing in Cyprus property.

Overseas investors will be eligible to apply for the permanent residency scheme in Cyprus through a purchase of property with a minimum price of Bt11.6 million, while Cyprus citizenship requires a minimum investment of Bt100 million.

Investment options include the purchase of state bonds, a Cypriot company and real estate such as houses, offices, shops and hotels, or an investment in financial assets or a deposit in a Cypriot bank.

An attractive tax system is also offered to overseas investors.

The Cypriot government allows a tax exemption on investment returns, such as dividend income, profits from overseas permanent establishments and gains from the sale of securities. There is no withholding tax on dividends, interest or royalties paid from Cyprus.

Tax incentives are offered to start-ups and investors in innovation. A national interest deduction is also available for new investment.

Other incentives include an intellectual-property tax regime.

Over the past two decades, the Cypriot government has adopted a series of measures and introduced structural reforms to modernise and liberalise the state and its economy.

Cyprus has been a member of the EU since 2004 and the euro zone since 2008.

The country has applied to join the Schengen Visa Zone, which will soon make it even easier for citizenship-holders to travel between and to Schengen Area member states.

Cyprus’ key industries are tourism, professional services, banking and financial services, shipping, renewable energy, and oil and gas.

The existence of deep-water natural-gas reserves in Cyprus’ exclusive economic zone has attracted worldwide attention and significant investment from leading independent energy companies.

Among the key industries, tourism has a high direct contribution to gross domestic product, as the direct contribution of travel and tourism to GDP in 2013 reached 6.8 per cent.

The large-scale development of a single integrated casino resort is set to open soon. The recovery in the economy reached a turning point last year, following three years of contraction in real GDP.

CBRE recently released a “Viewpoint” report titled “The Rise of Co-working Space in Asia Pacific: Boon or Bane?”

According to the report, most co-working spaces in the Asia-Pacific region are in gateway cities including Hong Kong, Singapore, Shanghai, Tokyo, Sydney and Melbourne. CBRE Research estimates there are a total of 300 co-working spaces in these locations.

Cities in this region lag behind those in the West, such as New York and London, which each host at least 120 co-working spaces. Tokyo is home to roughly 100, while Hong Kong, Singapore and Shanghai host 40-60 each.

Local and regional co-working-space operators still dominate in the Asia-Pacific region, accounting for a 60-per-cent market share. However, several international players are expanding aggressively.

“Competition among co-working-space operators is intensifying as they open more centres, lease larger spaces and increase their presence in prime areas,” said Dr Henry Chin, head of research at CBRE Asia Pacific. “This will increase real-estate occupancy costs and squeeze profit margins.

“Co-working-space operators need to plan expansion carefully, keep costs in check and be aware of this increasing competition – as well as conducting thorough assessments of supply and demand dynamics.

“Operating a co-working space is not the same as straightforward office leasing or providing a space for people to work. The keys to running a successful co-working space [are] creating an experience, building a community, and facilitating business and learning opportunities for end-users.

“While the rise of co-working space in Asia-Pacific is by no means a disruptive threat to the traditional office format or leasing model, it does have a number of implications for occupiers and landlords alike, for example pointing to the need for a new approach towards office design to facilitate better collaboration and interaction between people.

“Landlords may want to consider whether to lease space to co-working operators or develop their own co-working platform following a detailed evaluation of the costs and benefits.”

Nithpat Tongpun, head of office services at CBRE Thailand, said: “It is undeniable that co-working space is a new rising trend in the Bangkok office market. However, it is necessary that co-working operators in Bangkok truly understand the demand level, all associated costs and investment returns so that they have a clear picture of the market, as the competition in co-working space has been increasing.”