NTT Data offers firms blockchain-based system to develop loyalty program
MONDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2022
NTT Data (Thailand) Co Ltd, a subsidiary of NTT Data Corporation and a global digital business and IT service leader, is suggesting the use of blockchain technology to tide over the problem of many organisations stumbling in developing a loyalty program.
The company said the use of blockchain technology would streamline the complex work process, reduce operating costs and securely link data. It would provide prompt solutions to customers, and create a seamless experience with the use of smart contract on a blockchain ecosystem to establish a centralised platform. Such a platform would help connect allies and partners directly in one ecosystem without going through a medium, and it would provide a seamless key touchpoint communication system to maintain a sustainable customer base.
Hironari Tomioka, President and Chief Executive Officer of NTT DATA (Thailand) Co., Ltd. reveals that the loyalty program will maintain good relations between the brand and customers in the long run and become part of the brand’s main strategy to create good customer relations that will lead to brand loyalty and new marketing opportunities by providing a seamless, convenient, and real-time experience as much as possible through a Blockchain ecosystem to connect various allies and rapidly exchange data via a highly secured platform with high flexibility to meet various customer demands.
The Global Loyalty Programs Market Intelligence Report 2022 of the first quarter indicates that the loyalty program market is expected to grow 12.6% with 142,636.8 million U.S. dollar value by the end of 2022, and the global market is expected to grow 12.2% during 2022-2026 with 225,907.9 billion U.S. dollar in 2026.
NTT DATA have has been developing Blockchain ecosystems widely to combine business, technology, and security together including loyalty programs that integrate back-end systems from allies in various industries such as finance, banking, insurance, and retail through Blockchain API (Application Program Interface) to allow users to access the loyalty programs on their registered platform.
They may also collect and use points earned from the allies on one platform where the system automatically calculates the points of the allies. The data on the platform may also be applied to ongoing business developments, services, and customer relations.
Loyalty Program with Blockchain-based ensures good customer relations that will lead to sustainable brand loyalty through the Key Touchpoint consumer communication platform. Allies and partners under the same ecosystem may analyze and understand customer needs, develop demanded products/services, and enhance the experience overall.
“Recently, NTT DATA provides a loyalty program with Blockchain-based to a major Australian ticket booking company. The program is integrated with a digital wallet platform to enhance the user experience by counting the points automatically when a user pays with a credit card and coupons on the platform in real time. It combines the payment experience, point collection, and discount claims offered by many providers on one platform that leads to repurchases, new product offers, and better image”. Hironari concluded.
Gartner Identifies the Top 10 Strategic Technology Trends for 2023
MONDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2022
Gartner, Inc. announced its list of 10 top strategic technology trends that organizations need to explore in 2023.
“To enhance their organization’s financial position during times of economic turbulence, CIOs and IT executives must look beyond cost savings to new forms of operational excellence while continuing to accelerate digital transformation,” said Frances Karamouzis, Distinguished VP Analyst at Gartner. “The Gartner strategic technology trends for 2023 are built around three themes — optimize, scale and pioneer — where technologies can help organizations optimize resilience, operations or trust, scale vertical solutions and product delivery, and pioneer with new forms of engagement accelerated responses or opportunity.”
“However, in 2023, delivering technology will not be enough. These themes are impacted by environmental, social and governance (ESG) expectations and regulations, which translate into the shared responsibility to apply sustainable technologies. Every technology investment will need to be set off against its impact on the environment, keeping future generations in mind. ‘Sustainable by default’ as an objective requires sustainable technology,” said David Groombridge, Distinguished VP Analyst at Gartner.
The top strategic technology trends for 2023 are:
Sustainability
Sustainability traverses all of the strategic technology trends for 2023. In a recent Gartner survey, CEOs reported that environmental and social changes are now a top three priority for investors, after profit and revenue. This means that executives must invest more in innovative solutions that are designed to address ESG demand to meet sustainability goals. To do this, organizations need a new sustainable technology framework that increases the energy and material efficiency of IT services, enables enterprise sustainability through technologies like traceability, analytics, renewable energy and AI, and deploys IT solutions to help customers achieve their own sustainability goals.
Pioneer
Metaverse
Gartner defines a metaverse as a collective virtual 3D shared space, created by the convergence of virtually enhanced physical and digital reality. A metaverse is persistent, providing enhanced immersive experiences. Gartner expects that a complete metaverse will be device-independent and won’t be owned by a single vendor. It will have a virtual economy of itself, enabled by digital currencies and non-fungible tokens (NFTs). By 2027, Gartner predicts that over 40% of large organizations worldwide will use a combination of Web3, AR cloud and digital twins in metaverse-based projects aimed at increasing revenue.
Super apps
A super app combines the features of an app, a platform and an ecosystem in one application. It not only has its own set of functionalities, but it also provides a platform for third parties to develop and publish their own mini-apps on. By 2027, Gartner predicts that more than 50% of the global population will be daily active users of multiple super apps.
“Although most examples of super apps are mobile apps, the concept can also be applied to desktop client applications, such as Microsoft Teams and Slack, with the key being that a super app can consolidate and replace multiple apps for customer or employee use,” said Karamouzis.
Adaptive AI
Adaptive AI systems aim to continuously retrain models and learn within runtime and development environments based on new data to adapt quickly to changes in real-world circumstances that were not foreseen or available during initial development. They use real-time feedback to change their learning dynamically and adjust goals. This makes them suitable for operations where rapid changes in the external environment or changing enterprise goals require an optimized response.
Optimize
Digital Immune System
76 % of teams responsible for digital products are now also responsible for revenue generation. CIOs are looking for new practices and approaches that their teams can adopt to deliver that high business value, along with mitigating risk and increasing customer satisfaction. A digital immune system provides such a roadmap.
Digital immunity combines data-driven insight into operations, automated and extreme testing, automated incident resolution, software engineering within IT operations and security in the application supply chain to increase the resilience and stability of systems. Gartner predicts that by 2025, organizations that invest in building digital immunity will reduce system downtime by up to 80% – and that translates directly into higher revenue.
Applied Observability
Observable data reflects the digitized artefacts, such as logs, traces, API calls, dwell time, downloads and file transfers, that appear when any stakeholder takes any kind of action. Applied observability feeds these observable artefacts back in a highly orchestrated and integrated approach to accelerate organizational decision-making.
“Applied observability enables organizations to exploit their data artefacts for competitive advantage,” said Karamouzis “It is powerful because it elevates the strategic importance of the right data at the right time for rapid action based on confirmed stakeholder actions, rather than intentions. When planned strategically and executed successfully, applied observability is the most powerful source of data-driven decision-making.”
AI Trust, Risk and Security Management
Many organizations are not well prepared to manage AI risks. A Gartner survey in the US, UK and Germany found that 41% of organizations had experienced an AI privacy breach or security incident. However, that same survey found that organizations that actively managed AI risk, privacy and security achieved improved AI project results. More of their AI projects moved from proof-of-concept status into production and achieved more business value than did AI projects in organizations that did not actively manage these functions.
Organizations must implement new capabilities to ensure model reliability, trustworthiness, security and data protection. AI trust, risk and security management (TRiSM) requires participants from different business units to work together to implement new measures.
Scale
Industry Cloud Platforms
Industry cloud platforms offer a combination of SaaS, platform as a service (PaaS) and infrastructure as a service (IaaS) providing industry-specific sets of modular capabilities to support specific industry business use cases. Enterprises can use the packaged capabilities of industry cloud platforms as building blocks to compose unique and differentiating digital business initiatives, providing agility, innovation and reduced time to market, while avoiding lock-in.
By 2027, Gartner predicts that more than 50% of enterprises will use industry cloud platforms to accelerate their business initiatives.
Platform Engineering
Platform engineering is the discipline of building and operating self-service internal developer platforms for software delivery and life cycle management. The goal of platform engineering is to optimize the developer experience and accelerate product teams’ delivery of customer value.
Gartner predicts that 80% of software engineering organizations will establish platform teams by 2026 and that 75% of those will include developer self-service portals.
Wireless Value Realization
While no single technology will dominate, enterprises will use a spectrum of wireless solutions to cater for all environments, from Wi-Fi in the office, through services for mobile devices, to low-power services and even radio connectivity. Gartner predicts that by 2025, 60% of enterprises will be using five or more wireless technologies simultaneously.
As networks move beyond pure connectivity, they will provide insight using built-in analysis and low-power systems will harvest energy directly from the network. This means the network will become a source of direct business value.
This year’s top strategic technology trends highlight those trends that will drive significant disruption and opportunity over the next five to 10 years. Gartner clients can read more in the Gartner Special Report “Top Strategic Technology Trends for 2023.”
PTTEP sells off its Angola operations to Somoil Bloco
MONDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2022
PTT Exploration and Production (PTTEP) has informed the Stock Exchange of Thailand that it is selling off its operations in Angola.
PTTEP CEO Montri Rawanchaikul said his company had informed SET on Friday that it has decided to sell all its investments in the deep offshore Block 17/06 in Angola to Somoil Bloco 17/06, a subsidiary of Sociedade Petrolifera Angolana.
The sale is being overseen by PTTEP (Angola) Corporation and will be completed by mid-next year, Montri said.
PTTEP’s Block 17/06 in the west of Angola is at development stage. Once the block has been sold off, all PTTEP’s operations in Angola will come to a halt in line with the company’s strategy, Montri added.
CPF to buy back 200 million shares in 3rd go at stabilising its stock price
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2022
Charoen Pokphand Foods (CPF)’s board of directors has resolved to buy back 200 million more shares for the third time in two years to prevent its stocks from falling.
The board announced that CPF will start buying back 200 million shares or 2.32% of its paid-up shares from Monday to June 18, and will pay no higher than 115% of the average closing price of the stock over five working days.
Between October 31 and December 13, the average price of CPF shares was 24.36 baht apiece.
The board said it has decided to carry out another round of buyback because it believes the stock market value is lower than the stock’s book value.
The board is also confident that the buyback will result in an increase in CPF’s return on equity (ROE) and earnings per share.
Before the board announced the latest round of buybacks, CPF’s stocks closed at 23.80 baht, marking a 6.67% drop year to date (YTD). The shares’ price vs EPS ratio is at 10.60 and price to book value ratio of 0.79, the board said.
CPF insists that it has enough cash to carry out the new round of buybacks. As of September 30, the CPF had 2.23 billion baht in cash and said it expects to receive another 9.5 billion baht in dividends from its subsidiaries in the fourth quarter for profits earned in the first half of this year.
Hence, the company said it is confident it will have enough cash to buy back shares.
CPF has bought back its shares twice before to stop its price from dropping in the fallout of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The first buyback was launched on March 13, 2020, when the company said it would buy back 400 million shares or 4.65% of all paid-up shares for 10 billion baht. The first buyback round lasted from April 1 to September 30.
CPF’s shares had dipped to the lowest in four years, below the resistance line of 20 baht to 18.70 baht per share on the day the board resolved to buy back the shares.
As of September 30, CPF had bought back 197.673 million shares or 2.30% worth 6.084 billion. The programme drove up CPF’s shares to gradually peak at 35.25 baht on July 20, 2020, before sliding back to 28 baht per share at the end of the programme.
Then on September 30, 2021, the board resolved to spend another 10 billion baht to buy back more shares from October 15 to April 14, 2022. During this period, CPF’s share price fluctuated in the 25.75 to 23.50 range.
Brokerage firm CGS-CIMB said the actual value of CPF’s shares was about 30.65 baht per share and recommended that people buy up to sell at a profit when the price rises to 33 baht.
Funeral homes and crematoriums busy amid Covid-hit Beijing
MONDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2022
Mourners were seen at a funeral home in Beijing on Monday as the city battles a continuing wave of Covid-19 infections amid the easing of curbs.
Hearses were also seen queueing at a crematorium in the Chinese capital on Sunday. Reuters could not immediately establish if the deaths and increased demand for cremation were due to Covid-19.
“After you’re infected, it depends on the individual’s health to decide if you are well or not. We try as far as it’s possible to not spread it to the elderly and children,” one Beijing resident told Reuters.
China reported two new Covid-19 deaths for Sunday, compared with none the previous day, increasing the nation’s fatalities to 5,237, the National Health Commission said on Monday.
China carries out door-to-door Covid vaccinations for elderly
Chinese authorities scaled up door-to-door vaccinations for the elderly, as the country struggles to reopen amidst a surge of Covid-19 cases, state media reported on Sunday.
Vaccinating the vulnerable has long been seen as a crucial requirement in China’s plans to open up after disruptive and economically damaging zero-Covid restrictions.
Officially, China’s vaccination rate is above 90%, but the rate for bolstered adults drops to 57.9%, and to 42.3% for people aged 80 and above, according to government data, prompting warnings that the country could see over 1.5 million deaths after lifting curbs such as lockdowns and mass testing that held most virus spread at bay.
State broadcaster CCTV showed footage of health workers administering vaccine doses to the elderly at their homes in parts of southwest Sichuan and Guizhou provinces.
Chinese cities close schools and set up makeshift clinics
Major Chinese cities remained quiet on Monday as people stayed home to protect themselves from a surge in Covid-19 cases that have resulted in two deaths.
In Shanghai, traffic was sparse and schools were closed after authorities said most classes should be online. Beijing’s Guang’an Gymnasium had also been converted into a makeshift fever clinic, housing blue tents where people sought treatment for their symptoms.
China reported its first Covid-related deaths in weeks amid rising doubts over whether the official count was capturing the full toll of a disease that is ripping through cities after the government relaxed strict anti-virus controls.
Monday’s two deaths were the first to be reported by the National Health Commission (NHC) since Dec. 3, days before Beijing announced that it was lifting curbs which had largely kept the virus in check for three years but triggered widespread protests last month.
S Korea’s export growth to drop to 0% range in 2023: poll
MONDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2022
South Korea’s export growth is expected to fall to the zero-per cent range in 2023 amid high raw material prices and slowing major economies, a poll showed Monday.
The survey of 150 companies in the country’s 12 key export industries showed overseas shipments are forecast to expand by 0.5 % in the coming year from 2022.
By sector, exports of electric and electronics products are predicted to sink 1.9 % on-year, with those of petrochemicals likely to fall 0.5 %.
Outbound shipments of biopharmaceutical and health products are projected to grow by 3.5 %. Comparable growth rates are 0.2 % for steel, 0.9 % for cars, and 1.7 % for general machinery and ships.
Of the total firms, nearly 40 % projected outbound shipments of Asia’s fourth-largest economy to shrink in 2023 from this year due to weakening export competitiveness stemming from high costs and slowing demand from major export destinations.
Local pollster Mono Research conducted the survey, which was commissioned by the Federation of Korean Industries, the lobby for South Korea’s family-controlled conglomerates known as chaebol.
Exports, the mainstay of South Korea’s economic growth for the past two years, has been losing steam in recent months due to such external negatives as the US Fed’s rate hikes and the war in Ukraine.
The country’s overseas shipments shrank 14 % on-year in November, marking the second consecutive month of on-year decline.
It marks the first time since early 2020 that exports have dipped for two months in a row. South Korea last reported declining exports for more than two months from March through August 2020.
Major economic think tanks in South Korea, including the Korea International Trade Association, predict the country’s exports to increase by around 7 % in 2022 from a year earlier.
The survey also showed 53.3 % of the respondents predicting their 2023 export profitability to be similar to that of this year, with 28 % expecting a worsening condition. Some 19 % forecast an improvement.
As to the ways of strengthening the country’s export competitiveness, 38 % replied the government should put top policy priority on providing tax breaks regarding raw material purchases.
Winter storm blasts Sea of Japan coast, with heavy snow expected to continue
MONDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2022
A winter storm barraged across the nation along the Sea of Japan coast, hitting those areas hard on Sunday with heavy snowfall.
Heavy snow is expected through Monday on the Sea of Japan side of western and northern Japan. The Japan Meteorological Agency warns of severe snowstorms and icy road surfaces.
The snowfall as of Sunday evening in the village of Okura, Yamagata Prefecture, was 1.89 meters. In Aomori, it was 1.83 meters, and in Horokanai, Hokkaido, it was 1.47 meters.
Kanazawa Castle Park is covered with snow on Monday morning in Kanazawa. Courtesy of Shinji Kamoya
The heavy snowfall caused suspensions and delays on sections of the Yamagata Shinkansen line, which runs between Tokyo and Shinjo, Yamagata, according to the East Japan Railway Co.
In Kyushu, snow was also observed, accumulating 4 centimetres in Saga and 1 centimetre in Nagasaki, causing some expressways to temporarily close.
China makes first overseas delivery of homemade ARJ21 jetliner
MONDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2022
China on Sunday completed the first overseas delivery of its homemade regional ARJ21 jet, making a stride in fulfilling its ambitious goal to make inroads into the overseas aviation market.
At a handover ceremony held in Shanghai, the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) issued the export airworthiness certificate to the state-owned Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (Comac), the manufacturer of the jetliner. Later, Comac handed over the commemorative keys to Indonesia’s TransNusa, marking the official delivery of the aircraft.
The ARJ21 aircraft has successfully handled more than 5.6 million passenger trips so far across an operation network that includes 300 routes between 100 cities.
The ARJ21, the country’s first turbofan regional jet, started development in 2002, made its maiden flight in Shanghai in 2009 and went into commercial service with Chengdu Airlines in June 2016.
By July 2022, a total of 68 ARJ21 aircraft had been delivered to nine operators including Air China, China Southern and Chengdu Airlines.
“This is the first time for a Chinese regional jet to enter the overseas market, which is of great historical significance for constructing the country’s new development paradigm based on the Belt and Road Initiative, and also important to the new economic development pattern of ‘dual-circulation’ that takes the domestic market as the mainstay while domestic and foreign markets complement each other. Comac will strive to integrate into the global civil aviation market, and adapt to the global operation philosophy, management philosophy and operating environment, so as to accelerate our construction of a world-class aviation enterprise,” said Zhang Xiaoguang, director of Comac Marketing Committee.
The ARJ21 is a self-developed short- and medium-range regional airliner with a range of 2,225-3,700 kilometres, featuring outstanding high-temperature resistance, cross-wind resistance and night flight operation performance. These characteristics will make it competitive in island-dotted Indonesia, where the broad market potential for regional aviation is still to be explored. ARJ21 can well meet the demand of branch routes from central cities to surrounding small and medium-sized cities, according to Comac.
“To our company, the management team, including all specialists, it’s full of enthusiasm, anticipation and confidence in ARJ21-700. Everyone is ready to meet her on the scene in Jakarta,” said Shazam, captain of TransNusa.
Buddha statue on Bokor will be world’s tallest, promises Cambodian hotelier
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2022
Cambodian businessman Sok Kong, who owns the Sokha Hotel Group, has said that his company plans to build a 108-metre-tall Buddha statue on Bokor mountain.
The statue covering 500 rice fields will be one of the tallest in the world.
“It will serve as a shrine for all Cambodian people and we will pray for happiness, prosperity and lasting peace for the region and across the kingdom,” Sok Kong said.
He added that apart from being a religious icon, it will also contribute to cultural tourism, attracting millions of local and international tourists.
“The company is seeking permission from the Environment Ministry to build this statue. We are also working with the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts on architectural design to ensure the huge Buddha statue is properly constructed according to our Cambodian style,” he said.
He said the project is expected to cost up to US$40 million (1.4 billion baht) and construction will begin as soon as the permits are received and the design finalised.
“We will continue working with the inter-ministerial committee to ensure the size and style of the statue represents Cambodian culture. Construction has not yet started, as we need to revise and redesign the statue and ask the committee for approval. We will accelerate this work as quickly as possible, and hope to begin construction soon,” Sok Kong said.
Prayut praises resilience of Thailand’s tourism industry
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2022
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha praised all agencies involved in the revival of Thailand’s tourism industry, which earlier this month won the top spot in the 14th annual Agoda Gold Circle Awards (GCA), government spokesman Anucha Burapachaisri said on Sunday.
Anucha said Prayut was overjoyed that Thailand topped the list, which goes to the country that has the highest number of hotels receiving awards from the Asia-based online booking platform. Agoda selects the winning hotels based on reviews of travellers using its service, value, price, services and flexibility.
A total of 246 properties in Thailand won GCA awards, followed by 209 properties in Taiwan and 198 in Japan.
Anucha said the winning Thai hotels and resorts can display the GCA logo on their website and will also earn Agoda Growth Express credits, which will help them receive prominence and priority on Agoda’s booking platform.
Agoda also donated 5,000 trees to the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) in the name of Thailand, the spokesman added.
Anucha quoted Prayut as saying that tourists kept visiting the kingdom after the government ended the Covid-19 restrictions, prompting the government to reach the target of 10 million foreign arrivals on December 10.
“The prime minister is pleased with the potential of the tourism industry and the hard work of all relevant agencies as well as hotels, resorts, aviation and land transport industries, and tourism companies for cooperating with the government so that the country could survive the Covid-19 crisis,” the spokesman said.
“The fact that Thailand earned the top spot of the Agoda Gold Circle Award for four consecutive years shows that Thailand’s tourism industry has high standards, resilience and it is ready to adapt,” he added.
Kanazawa Castle Park is covered with snow on Monday morning in Kanazawa. Courtesy of Shinji Kamoya
Anucha quoted Prayut as saying that tourists kept visiting the kingdom after the government ended the Covid-19 restrictions, prompting the government to reach the target of 10 million foreign arrivals on December 10.
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