Jas could also fail to come, or ask the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission for a postponement.

A source on the board of Jasmine International, parent of Jas, said executives reported to the board on March 7 that the company had obtained funding from financial sources in China with the support of Chinese telecom equipment vendor Huawei Technologies.

However, the picture will become clearer today.

Jas quoted Bt75.65 billion to win the licence in the December auction.

The other winner, TrueMove H Universal Communication (TUC), paid the fee on March 11 and picked up its licence on March 14.

The NBTC gave the two winners 30 days to pay the first instalment of Bt8.04 billion and place bank guarantees.

If Jas fails to make the deadline, the Telecom Committee will encash Jas’ Bt644-million guarantee placed before the licence auction. Jas might also face a legal claim from the watchdog for damage in the case. It might also be banned by the NBTC from pitching for its telecom development projects.

Takorn Tantasith, secretary-general of the NBTC, said the Telecom Committee plans to open another round of bidding for Jas’ 900MHz spectrum lot in three to four months if Jas fails to pay the instalment. The starting bid will be Bt75.65 billion.

If Jas makes the instalment payment, it will have to wait until April 15 to be able to use the licence.

The Central Administrative Court on March 15 accepted a petition from Advanced Info Service to order the Telecom Committee to delay the end of AIS’ 900MHz service from March 15 to April 14.

AIS had told the court that it needed to give more time to its 900MHz customers to port their mobile phone numbers to another network.

The 900MHz spectrum lot assigned to Jas had been used by AIS until its concession expired in September. It was reallocated via the auction last December.

Even if Jas can pay the first upfront-fee instalment, industry observers believe the new player will have to face many challenges, including intense competition from the three incumbent players.

Another main challenge will be the time it takes to roll out the network and to integrate the network with Clearinghouse Co, which was founded by five telecom operators to facilitate mobile-number porting.

The system lets subscribers transfer their existing mobile phone numbers to another network so they can continue to use the same number.

Last December, Pete Bhodaramik, chief executive officer of Jas, said Jas would roll out 15,000 base stations nationwide to cover 90 per cent of the population this year.

It will not invest in its own 2G network, just on a 4G network. It will lease the 2G networks of state telecoms to provide 2G-900MHz service.

A telecom industry pundit believes that Jas will compete mainly with the No 3 player, TUC, not the market leader like AIS. This suggests that True is expected to be sandwiched by AIS and Jas.

As of last year, AIS’ market share was 52 per cent, DTAC’s 28.6 per cent and True’s 19.4 per cent.

TOURISM authorities and businesses in the upper North are teaming up to cash in on the booming border tourism business as visitors from China and Laos are expected to surge at the Chiang Khong checkpoint.

Lerdchai Wangtrakoondee, director of the Tourism Authority of Thailand’s office here, said last week that tourism in the northernmost province of Chiang Rai and other provinces would increase.

More Chinese and Laotians will be crossing into the Kingdom at the friendship bridge located nearly 10 kilometres from Chiang Khong town.

The bridge would help develop a logistics system linking together three countries – Thailand, Laos and China – in the long term.

Chiang Khong is one of three special economic zones being promoted in Chiang Rai.

“We have seen more cars, trucks and recreational vehicles from China coming to Thailand.

“Private car and RV numbers passing Chiang Khong bridge increased from 1,400 in 2013 to 4,000 in 2014 and 9,000 in 2015,” he said.

However, tourism in Chiang Khong district is going downhill since the bridge opened as travellers now just go straight to other provinces like Chiang Mai. The opening of the bridge has led to the original river-crossing checkpoint closing down. That is a major cause of the decline in tourism in the area.

To reclaim visitors from both local areas and third countries, TAT and the private sector are planning to organise many events and activities, such as parking lots for RVs coming from China.

The authority is talking with stores to provide parking space for overnight stays.

Thunwa Liamphan, owner of the Day Waterfront Hotel in Chiang Khong, said about 40 hotels and travel operators in the district would open a 400-500-metre-long cultural road at the old town of Chiang Khong twice a month.

Besides morning alms and merit-making in the morning, the group is also planning a cycling route along with cruises. A new circle route through Thailand, southern China and Laos is also in the pipeline.

“More importantly, we want authorities to reopen the river checkpoint at Chiang Khong town, which was closed since the new bridge opened.

“If this checkpoint is reopened, tourism will be reborn, as local tourists and those from third nations will cross the Mekong River to Huay Xia in Laos,” he said.

Nongkhran Onkhamlueang, manager of the Chiangkhong Teak Garden Hotel, said hotels need more customers to fill their rooms. Many hotels have already shifted their focus to Chinese tourists. The hotel opened its new wing three months ago, increasing rooms to 140. Foreign customers are 40 per cent of all guests.

More hotels and service businesses would open soon including the Fortune Riverview and Kasemrad Hospital, she said.

According to TAT’s data, 3 million tourists travelled into Chiang Rai last year, up from 2.9 million in 2014. About 60 per cent of visitors were local and 40 per cent were foreigners mostly from China, France, the US, Malaysia and Japan.

Average spending in 2015 was Bt2,980 per head per day. Airlines operate 48 flights per week including one international flight by South Eastern China.

Chiang Khong is home to 610 hotels and resorts with 17,000 rooms.

The four sectors are: food business; medical equipment; health service; and nursery and home-care services for seniors, TDRI research fellow Boonwara Sumano Chenphuengpawn said.

Speaking at the forum entitled “Ageing Society Business” held recently by Chandrakasem Rajabhat University, Boonwara said that the transition into an ageing society is recognised as a mega-trend.

In 2015, the ageing population around the world reached 901 million. It is anticipated that this number will reach 1.4 billion in 2030, and 2.1 billion in 2050.

The birth rate of women around the world started a big decline since the industrial revolution – from 5:1 in 1960 to only 2.5:1 in 2014.

Ageing society has been defined as particular societies where the ratio of senior population aged 60 and above has reached 10 per cent or more of the total population, or where 7 per cent and more of the total population are people aged 65 and above.

An aged society has been defined as a society where people aged 60 and above represent 20 per cent or more of total population, or people aged 65 and above represent 14 per cent or more of total population.

In Thailand, the ratio of senior citizens increased at a faster pace than in the rest of the world, up from 10.99 per cent in 2005 to 12.38 per cent in 2010, and up to 14.02 per cent in 2014, according to the World Bank. This is higher than the world’s rate for the increase in the senior population, which surged from 11.25 per cent in 2005 to 11.62 per cent in 2010, and to 12.34 per cent in 2014.

Over the past 10 years, the rate of ageing population in Thailand was at 2.7 per cent on average, which means Thailand is becoming an ageing society faster than the world average.

Boonwara said that food, medical equipment, health services, and nursery and home-care service for seniors will have high potential to cash in on the transition into an ageing society in Thailand and other countries around the world.

“The world population has increased dramatically, leading to greater demand for foods. People are enjoying longer life and are more health conscious. There is also greater demand for health foods and supplements,” she said.

“Thailand is quite strong in terms of resources and has a good landscape, which allows the country to produce a variety of agricultural products like rice, vegetables, fruits, herbs, and meats,” said Boonwara.

She noted that Thailand’s market for medical equipment had increased significantly from Bt25.92 billion in 2010 to Bt38 billion last year. However, 80 per cent of total medical equipment being used in Thailand needed to be imported from abroad, which led to a trade deficit of about Bt5 billion a year. “Complemented by other industries, such as rubber, Thailand is quite ready in terms of raw materials to be one of the production centres for medical products in order to supply the global market in the future,” she said.

Boonwara said that for the health-service business, Thailand is well prepared in terms of human resources and medical service institutes. There are currently about 529 private hospitals and medical clinics with Hospital Accreditation in Thailand, and another 29 with Joint Commission International standard, which works to improve patient safety and quality of healthcare in the international community.

“Thailand had the highest number of foreign patients in Asean in 2013, which was as high as 2.25 million. In 2011, the Kingdom earned up to US$2.03 billion from the health tourism sector, which is also the highest in Asean,” said Boonwara.

She said the Thai government should have a concrete policy towards senior citizens. They include granting support regulations, such as extending the retirement age of salaried workers, which is currently 60.

China’s manufacturers should aim to become global corporations, said Wang Zhile, research fellow of Chinese Academy of International Trade & Economic Cooperation of the Ministry of Commerce at the China Insights Forum last week.

“We are now facing the challenge of rules of the game and China is not prepared to yet face that challenge so we need to think carefully about our position in the world,” he said.

The forum, themed “Implications of China’s Economic Restructuring: From Made in China to Made by China”, was organised by China Daily and co-hosted by IngDan, and held in Shenzhen IngDan Space.

The forum comes at a crucial time for China, as 2016 marks the start of the 13th Five-Year Plan, as well as the first stage of the “Made-in-China 2025” strategy initiated by Premier Li Keqiang to transform China into a smart and innovative world manufacturing power by 2025.

Wang singled out the significance of compliance for judging global corporations, noting such firms must follow international rules in the age of globalisation.

Denis Depoux, Asia deputy president of Roland Berger, said that Manufacturing China 2025 is part of a global competition, in which major countries share the goal to reinvent their manufacturing in the industrial supply chain.

“Chinese manufacturing companies should follow a gradual approach to avoid pitfalls in this transformation,” he warned.

Depoux saw valuable implications in Europe’s “Industry 4.0” initiative to China’s transformation.

He pointed out that the Industry 4.0 is not only about modernisation, but to simply make China’s manufacturing fit for higher quality, higher efficiency, more connection with the end-user market, simply because the world is in a volatile and uncertain situation.

Zhang Jing’an, former member of the leading party group at the Ministry of Science and Technology, agreed that it was difficult and challenging for China’s plan to turn “Made in China” to “Made by China”.

“To achieve that, they must target high-end products. China is currently producing only low and middle level products,” he said.

It is also faced with challenges including the disruptive innovation of US manufacturing and the ‘Industry 4.0’, he added.

Zhang pointed out that the relationship between the government and the market will be the most important problem for China’s reform down the road.

In the past, reform largely relied on administrative ways, in which the government might not have been in the right place, Zhang said.

“That’s why we need to innovate from the corporate side in the future,” he said.

Xu Hongcai, director of economic research at China Center for International Economic Exchanges, urged Chinese corporations to export their manufacturing sector abroad to help developing countries form a “complete industrial chain”, and not just build infrastructure.

“China has such capability…. It will inject new energy into the global economy,” he added.

He said China’s economic development is resilient, with the manufacturing sector as a significant driving force.

“The most important thing is that our manufacturing is complete, and this is quite unique,” he said.

However, KCIC, still needs to secure the overall construction permit before it can begin building the railway track in earnest.

KCIC is a consortium consisting of China Railway Corporation and four Indonesian state-owned companies.

During the signing of the agreement, which gives KCIC a fixed concession period of 50 years, on Wednesday, Transportation Minister Ignasius Jonan promised to issue the necessary permit this week.

Hermanto Dwiatmoko, the Transportation Ministry’s director-general for railways, was reported to have had a private, lengthy discussion with Jonan before the announcement of the signing.

KCIC president director Hanggoro Budi Wiryawan confirmed the news, stating that the permit had been signed by Jonan. He said the construction permit for the first 5 kilometres of the project would be signed shortly afterward.

He said all of the necessary documents had been submitted but he could not confirm whether construction work would start right away next week or whether the company would need to make more preparations.

Also, the company has not retrieved the loans from China Development Bank, which make up roughly 75 percent of the US$5.1 billion (Bt177 billion) slated for the project. The delay in the signing of the concession agreement was blamed for the delay in the loan.

The project’s groundbreaking ceremony was conducted in January and was attended by Indonesian President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo.

The two-month vacuum between January’s groundbreaking and the commencement of the project was blamed on the failure of KCIC to submit the necessary documentation.

Meanwhile, Hanggoro said KCIC had started preparing the necessary documents to get the construction permit for the full project. He planned to submit the documents next month at the latest.

Based on the concession agreement, KCIC gets the right to operate the Jakarta-Bandung railway line for a span of 50 years, starting from May 31, 2019.

The company estimates that it will break even within 40 years.

The ministry has also set a three-year time limit for the construction of infrastructure from the issuance of the construction permit.

The flagship project between Jakarta and Bandung spans 142.3km and will stop at four stations, namely Halim, Karawang, Walini and Tegalluar.

In one point of the concession, the ministry also granted KCIC the authority to approve or disapprove of other high-speed-railway operators that intend to use its track.

The ministry also decided to give KCIC the exclusive right to operate the railway track. The ministry will allow other rail operators to use the track and build stations as long as the stations are about 25km away from a station belonging to KCIC. Previously, KCIC wanted the distance to be 50km.

Hawkers and Petty Traders Association chairman Ang Say Tee said many shops would be closing down in the coming months as they could no longer cope with rising operational costs and diminishing profits.

“There are about 500 shops on this street, and I have learned that many are prepared to close if business does not improve soon.

“All types of businesses are affected ranging from food and clothing to computer services and stationery.

“Business has not been good in the last two years and has turned for the worse now for many of the proprietors here.

“Many have been holding on, hoping for better times, but it is only getting worse, so they have decided to call it a day before they lose more money,” he said.

He added that some did not want to disclose that they were closing down as they were afraid of being harassed over unsettled loans.

A trader who refused to be named said operational costs were too high to sustain in the present slow economy.

“Manufacturers set a minimum limit for orders. Small retailers are forced to purchase in big numbers to get a lower rate, but then we struggle to sell these items over a long period of time. As manufacturers do not entertain small orders, we are forced to resort to buying from other retailers at a higher price, which will reduce our profit margin. Traders are caught in this tight situation.

“Other challenges include increasing costs of raw materials and higher salaries demanded by the workers. All these add up to the increased price of the item for sale, and the consumers are not happy,” he said.

Another business owner, who also declined to be named, said the poor business was also partly due to the relocation of the buses from Pudu Sentral to Terminal Bersepadu Selatan, which had a huge impact on the number of visitors to the area.

“Some in transit or have time to spare upon arriving at Pudu Sentral or before their bus leaves, will do some shopping at the nearest attraction ‘Petaling Street’. With fewer long-haul buses here, the movement of people in the area also reduced,” he said.

Traders along the neighbouring Jalan Sultan (Sultan Street) are also feeling the pinch.

Steven Ng, whose computer-services shop has been open for 10 years, said he had been thinking of relocating.

“Business has not been good. There was a time when I was making 2,000 ringgit a day and it went down to 1,000 ringgit. Now it is only about 500 ringgit [Bt4,300]. The shop rent is between 10,000 and 15,000 ringgit, and with the additional goods and services tax [GST], operations have become very expensive.

“With reduced revenue, a lot of traders here are finding it tough to cope with the high rent. The electricity bill has increased too.

“I am now in negotiation with a neighbouring business to see if it is feasible for us to share space to reduce our overheads and continue our businesses in Jalan Sultan,” he said.

Another trader, who only wanted to be known as Low, said he had been thinking for the past couple of months about closing down,

“Numerous other shops have already shut down. I have also thought about moving out, but I am bound by my tenancy agreement. I will have to access the situation when the time comes. I have been doing business for over three years now and the biggest burden is the rental and GST.

“There are fewer customers and they are less willing to spend money,” he added.

Tan Paen Sim, secretary-general of the Malaysian Garment Wholesale Association, acknowledged that many in the clothing industry were closing down because of online shopping.

“Online shopping poses the biggest challenge to traditional clothing stores. If one cannot sustain, it is better to close shop now than incur debts. Some still hope to come back to the business when the economy improves.”

“Some of them who have temporarily halted their businesses are either taking time off or seeking other jobs to supplement their income,” he said.

A famous art-supplies shop in Petaling Street, which has been around since 1969, Venus Art and Stationery, is pulling down its shutters for good at the end of May. The store is currently clearing its stock by giving big discounts.

Owner Yap Chin Fatt, 84, said the decision to close shop was made at the end of last year.

“The shop is open from Monday to Saturday from 9am until 5pm, and I am here every day overseeing the operations. If business was good, I would have continued. But it is not. It has become a struggle to sustain this business.

“But I have no debts and I am not afraid to inform the public.

“We are very grateful for all the support that we have received over all these years from the art fraternity that has kept us going,” he said.

The family is also in the business of manufacturing art supplies under the brand names Fairbro and Fairbreno, so they will focus on that for now.

Yap said that ever since the computer age in the new millennium, his retail business had seen a slowing trend.

“It has come to a point that many do not emphasise or appreciate manual work any more.

“In our early years, schools and universities gave us a lot of business. Students were required to do illustrations and other artwork by hand back then, but now everything is done with the click of a mouse. As such, various items have become obsolete.

“For example, the demand for technical pens, widely used for architectural, engineering and technical drawings, which were priced at between 200 and 400 ringgit a set, has dropped overnight because of the computer age and sudden shift to digital drawing.

“I still have these sets, which I bought in bulk four years ago. Few people want to buy it even if I give them a 50-per-cent discount. Even the manufacturers have stopped producing them.”What am I going to do with these pens?” he said.

“We are mulling the idea of going online to sell our products.

“When I started this business, my friends were sceptical of its success. Art stationeries were said to be a very difficult thing to sell. But I saw the potential in it as it was very versatile.

“I travelled a lot and sourced the latest art supplies from all over the world, which gave my shop an edge over the others. My business flourished.

“But with the advance of computer technology, which came on fierce and strong, we have foreseen this outcome,” he conceded.

So after nearly five decades of hard work, the father of three and avid traveller said he was ready to retire.

“It is a little sad and emotional, but it is time to move on. It is time to stretch my wings,” he said.

Hiranya Sujinai, secretary-general of the BoI, yesterday put the year-on-year increase down to the agency’s measures for targeted businesses and clusters, and its activities aimed at attracting investment.

Of the roughly Bt200 billion-worth of investment applications expected in the first half, around Bt100 billion is expected to be for targeted industries.

This year is expected to see Bt450 billion-worth of applications for BoI privileges, she said.During the first two months, 187 projects valued at Bt32.44 billion were the subject of applications for investment promotion.

The value nearly doubled from the same period last year, when applications worth Bt16.5 billion were received.

Of the 187 projects, 120 were foreign direct investment totalling Bt12.5 billion, up fivefold from the same period last year.

About 68 per cent of the projects were in the government’s 10 targeted industries, particularly digital, agricultural products, and petrochemical and chemical products, Hiranya added.

To attract foreign investment and explain the country’s investment-promotion measures, the BoI will join Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak’s team on its visit to South Korea on March 24, she said, adding that at least 500 Korean investors are expected to attend the event.

South Korea’s leading industries include digital, information and communications technology, software and steel.

“Most investors have responded [positively] to Thailand’s [revamped] policy, and a large number insist on investment or expanded investment in the country,” the agency chief said.

Logistical improvements are part of the Laotian government’s strategic development plan, Viengsavath Siphandone, director-general of the Transport Department, said at the launch of Savan Logistics Company.

The government has set aside a massive budget for developing and improving infrastructure in order to link with neighbouring countries, Viengsavath said.

“For such legislation,” he explained, “we successfully signed bilateral agreements with almost all the neighbouring countries including Cambodia, Vietnam and Thailand, but we are still in negotiations with Myanmar. “Moreover, we have signed contracts in collaboration with multilateral parties such as Laos-Vietnam-Thailand, Laos-Vietnam-Cambodia, the Greater Mekong Sub-Regional Cross-Border Transport Agreement and the Asean Framework Agreement.

“In actual implementation, we only practise bilateral agreements of transport contracts; the majority of them are related to renting transport vehicles from neighbouring countries, because Laotian vehicles lack the capability to transport over long distances to the seaports of neighbouring countries,” Viengsavath said.

“Previous development and improvement of infrastructure, especially roads, bridges, seaports, and so on, have aimed to facilitate transport, travel and trade only to some extent. It still does not endorse and guarantee such a policy of transforming Laos completely from a landlocked to a land-linked country.”

Because Laos has infrastructure in place without providing services in logistics, the logistics operators in the regions and neighbouring countries gain the most benefits in this area while Laos reaps only minor benefits but has a massive and costly responsibility for maintenance of the transport infrastructure, it has been noted.

To address the situation, the ministry adopted a strategic development plan for transport and logistics in Laos, and this plan was officially approved by the government last year, Viengsavath said.

Laos has also become a member of United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia Pacific’s Intergovernmental Agreement on Dry Ports, which sets aside nine locations that are assigned for international logistics parks in the country.

They are Huoayxai in Bokeo, Nateuy in Luang Namtha, Xay in Oudomxay, Luang Prabang province, Thanalaeng in Vientiane, Lak Xao in Borikhamxay, Thakhaek in Khammuan, Xeno in Savannakhet, and Vangtao in Champassak.

Logistics improvements are under way in those nine locations, including Thanalaeng, which is in negotiations for investment collaborations with Japan under a private-public partnership, while Savannakhet recently opened for service, Viengsavath said.

Implementing these logistics services in line with the strategic development plan for transport and logistics in Laos as well as various international agreements is urgently important to consolidate goods-cargo distribution, he said. This will integrate transport services for both inbound and outbound cargoes and lower transport costs and help solve illegal parking of container trucks along public roads, which damages road conditions and road safety.

The global research firm polled 30,000 online respondents in 61 countries, including Thailand, to gain a better understanding about viewers’ perspectives on TV viewing habits and advertising methods.

The survey found that 61 per cent of respondents in Thailand had no plans to cancel their traditional television service in favour of an online-only service, while 39 per cent said they planned to cut the cord.

In the Asia-Pacific region, 44 per cent of respondents indicated that they planned to cancel their cable or satellite service in favour of an online-only service.

Nielsen Thailand country leader Somwalee Limrachtamorn said the growth of video-on-demand programming, which lets viewers download or stream content, regardless of whether it is available through a traditional television package or online, opens up a world of choices for consumers. Now, anything can be accessed at any time, and via any means.

“The more important thing is that we have seen viewership expand in the context of platform utilisation in media consumption,” she said. “This includes the number of various media used by viewers.

“At any rate, the content services, whether online or via original means, can become more consistent with and complementary to one another, rather than just allowing users to choose one form or the other.”

Asked about online advertising, the survey found that nearly two-thirds of Thai respondents (62 per cent) preferred only to see ads for products that they already liked, while 61 per cent of those who watched video-on-demand confessed that online ads displayed before, during or after the programming were distracting, and 59 per cent wished they could block all ads.

However, more than half of respondents in Thailand who watched video-on-demand (58 per cent) somewhat or strongly agreed that ads in such content gave them good ideas for new products to try, and 60 per cent said they did not mind ads if they could view free content.

Megan Clarken, president of Nielsen Product Leadership, said today’s media landscape was complex, but the growth of video-on-demand could create opportunities for all players in the media ecosystem.

“Content will always be king, and consumers will continue to demand greater control and customisation of the viewing experience. Providers who exceed standards on both fronts will have an advantage,” she said.