ศาสตร์เกษตรดินปุ๋ย : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/news/business/corporate/30301815
Siam Piwat is the owner and operator of Siam Paragon, Siam Centre and Siam Discovery shopping malls.
As the festive season is a time when people send their love and good wishes to others, the company has launched the “Citizen of Love: It’s Time to give Good Love” campaign in Siam Discovery. The shopping centre is expected to welcome some 80,000-100,000 both local and foreign shoppers daily.
The promotion, which will run until January 15, 2017, aims to offer shoppers a unique experience. Shoppers who spend Bt35,000 in one day will be eligible for a Siam Gift Card worth Bt1,200, and if they purchase specific brands, they will get an additional gift voucher worth up to Bt20,000.
VIZ cardholders and members of the Siam Discovery Mobile Application will enjoy additional benefits. Customer-centric marketing focuses on capturing people’s interest, and Siam Discovery is hoping that offering deals that have sentimental value for consumers will not only boost sales by 15-20 per cent, but will also make holiday shopping more meaningful.
ศาสตร์เกษตรดินปุ๋ย : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/news/business/corporate/30301795
Nick Walton, the company’s head of Asean markets, said the Thai office was opened in April this year as AWS witnessed strong growth momentum in Thailand and other Asean markets.
For the Thai market, the focus is on media, entertainment, healthcare, agriculture, start-ups, SMEs and large enterprises moving from on-premises data-storage facilities to cloud services. The Asean growth trend is consistent with the global outlook for cloud computing services, as evidenced by AWS’s staggering growth rate of 55 per cent over the past year, bringing revenues to a total of US$13 billion (Bt463 billion).
Asean clients are currently serviced by AWS’s data centre in Singapore, one of the company’s seven data centres in Asia-Pacific, Walton said.
Besides private-sector clients, governments in the region are another target group as some have already moved their data-storage facilities to the cloud to benefit from the latest technology, which makes storage and management of data more efficient and effective.For example, the government of Singapore’s Mytransport.sg service is now on the cloud, serving 2.2 million users.
Regarding Thailand, the government is preparing to launch the PromptPay e-payment platform for welfare recipients and money transfers involving all commercial banks in the country, making cloud computing services a suitable option, he said.
Toyota Tsusho Electronics (Thailand) is also using the AWS cloud computing service to manage data from 60,000 trucks and taxis equipped with GPS in the Kingdom, so as to help drivers avoid traffic congestion.
In e-commerce, Ascend Group uses AWS’s cloud service for its Weloveshopping platform, while e-payment gateway 2C2P is another user of cloud services to serve customers of Thai Airways International and others.
AWS provides an elastic service, so there is no need to sign up for peak capacity, while charges are based on an electricity utility model allowing users to access to thousands of servers instantly if needed and pay as they use, the Asean markets chief explained.
Users also have access to more than 70 services and a diverse range of analytic tools to capitalise on so-called big data, as well as voice recognition and other artificial-intelligence products for better customer experience in e-commerce and other business areas.
For Thailand, cloud technology also has huge potential to uplift the agriculture sector and facilitate the government’s initiative on Thailand 4.0 covering healthcare, the Internet of Things, and financial services, Walton said.
To prepare the country for the cloud technology, AWS also has worked with several Thai universities to develop local skills for cloud services that are replacing on-premises data storage and management facilities.
Besides Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam also have huge business potential for digital and mobile services, he added.
Myo Zaw, chief technology officer of 2C2P, said the e-payment platform’s Thai customers include Central department stores, Lazada, Thai Airways International and low-cost carriers, while it also as hotel clients in Myanmar and other Asean countries.
The platform, which uses AWS’s cloud computing service, allows customers to pay for goods, hotel rooms, airline tickets and other services or products via mobile banking and counter payment.
For those not choosing to use credit cards or cash, 2C2P has emerged as the platform for alternative payment, with an average of 100,000 transactions per day in nine Asean markets, Zaw said. He described the Thai government’s PromptPay service as another interesting platform for easier fund transfers, allowing users to move money just by entering the mobile-phone numbers of recipients.
Such a platform will help facilitate e-commerce and other digital businesses in the future, since it is suitable for making payments for e-commerce, airline tickets or hotel rooms, he added.
In most Asean countries, credit-card use is not widely popular, with a relatively low penetration rate of only 20-30 per cent, so alternative e-payment services will likely be more popular options.
2C2P also serves vendors and customers on Facebook shops with about 100,000 now in operation as social-media commerce gains traction, the chief technology officer said.
Goragot Wongpaisarnsin, assistant general manager of Toyota Tsusho Electronics (Thaialnd), said the company uses AWS’s cloud service to facilitate navigation planning for a network of 10,000 taxis in Bangkok and another 50,000 trucks using GSP equipment.
ศาสตร์เกษตรดินปุ๋ย : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/news/business/corporate/30301816
B Grimm Power has announced new solar power plants for four provinces, with total generating capacity of 114.2 megawatts. It also confirmed that its plans for future expansion were proceeding as projected.
Company president Preeyanart Soontornwata said power generation from renewable sources such as solar energy, wind energy, biogas and biomass had increased significantly in Thailand over the past two to three years.
As of March, Thailand was producing 4GW of electricity from renewable sources, of which approximately 1.5GW was solar power. Solar generation is expected to reach 3GW by the end of the year, accounting for more than 5 per cent of the country’s total power supply.
NEW STAR ALLIANCE CHAIRMAN
Pedro Heilbron, chief executive officer of Copa Holdings and Copa Airlines, Panama’s flag carrier, has been elected chairman of the Star Alliance’s chief executive board (CEB).
He succeeds Calin Rovinescu, president and CEO of Air Canada, who held the post for the last four years. Heilbron said he was looking forward to working with the board over the next two years in fostering further commercial cooperation among Star Alliance’s member carriers.
His role involves conducting two annual board meetings and acting as the designated spokesman for the board.
“We will continue to focus on delivering a seamless travel experiences and maintaining the loyalty of customers through superior service and convenience,” he said.
All 28 member airlines are represented by their respective CEOs on the CEB, which acts as the controlling body of the alliance and provides the overall strategic direction.
ศาสตร์เกษตรดินปุ๋ย : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/news/business/corporate/30301813
On forecast total revenues of $736 billion, that represents a 4.1-per-cent net profit margin. This would be the third consecutive year (and the third year in the industry’s history) in which airlines would make a return on invested capital (7.9 per cent) that is above the weighted average cost of capital (6.9 per cent).
IATA revised slightly downward its outlook for 2016 airline-industry profitability to $35.6 billion (from the June projection of $39.4 billion) owing to slower global growth of gross domestic product and rising costs. This would still be the highest absolute profit generated by the airline industry and the highest net profit margin (5.1 per cent).
“Airlines continue to deliver strong results. This year we expect a record net profit of $35.6 billion. Even though conditions in 2017 will be more difficult with rising oil prices, we see the industry earning $29.8 billion. That’s a very soft landing and safely in profitable territory,” said Alexandre de Juniac, IATA’s director-general and chief executive.
He added that these three years had the best performance in the industry’s history irrespective of the many uncertainties. Indeed, risks are abundant – political, economic and security among them. And controlling costs is still a constant battle in a hyper-competitive industry.
“We need to put this into perspective. Record profits for airlines means earning more than our cost of capital. For most other businesses that would be considered a normal level of return to investors. But three years of sustainable profits is a first for the airline industry.
“And after many years of hard work in restructuring and re-engineering the business the industry is also more resilient. We should also recognise that profits are not evenly spread, with the strongest performance concentrated in North America,” de Juniac said.
Next year is expected to be the eighth in a row of aggregate airline profitability, illustrating the resilience to shocks that have been built into the industry structure, the IATA said. On average, airlines will retain $7.54 for every passenger carried, it forecast.
It said expected higher oil prices would have the biggest impact on the outlook for 2017. In 2016 oil prices averaged $44.6 a barrel (Brent), and this is forecast to increase to $55 in 2017. This would push jet-fuel prices from $52.1 a barrel in 2016 to $64.90 next year.
Fuel is expected to account for 18.7 per cent of the industry’s cost structure in 2017, which is significantly below the recent peak of 33.2 per cent in 2012-2013.
IATA said demand stimulus from lower oil prices would taper off in 2017, slowing traffic growth to 5.1 per cent (from 5.9 per cent in 2016).
It said industry capacity expansion was also expected to slow to 5.6 per cent (down from 6.2 per cent in 2016). Capacity growth would still outstrip the increase in demand, thus lowering the global passenger load factor to 79.8 per cent (from 80.2 per cent in 2016).
IATA said the negative impact of a lower load factor was expected to be offset somewhat by a strengthening of global economic growth. World GDP was projected to expand by 2.5 per cent in 2017 (up from 2.2 per cent in 2016).
ศาสตร์เกษตรดินปุ๋ย : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/news/business/corporate/30301709
“This is the biggest deal for our maintenance work. Cooperation is a proper strategy for budget airlines, as the deal can help reduce the cost of repair and maintenance,” Tony Fernandes, group chief executive officer of AirAsia, said yesterday.
Under the agreement, the AirAsia fleet of Airbus A320neo models will be serviced for 10 years from this year onwards.
Tony said the pact would create business worth Bt37 billion over the next decade.
AirAsia is scheduled to have a total of 304 Airbus A320neo planes by 2028, and took delivery of its first new aircraft on September 7 in Hamburg.
AFI KLM E&M will also provide tailor-made services for the low-cost carrier and has an experience with large-scale support for parent airlines or third-party airline clients.
The partnership will help AirAsia meet with large-scale requirements for adaptive and world-class support, since the Air France-KLM affiliate firm is a major multi-product maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) provider.
AFI KLM E&M offers comprehensive technical support for airlines, ranging from engineering and line maintenance to engine overhaul, aero structure and fan thrust reverser (FTR) support, as well as management, repair and supply of aircraft components, structured around a powerful logistics network.
The firm provides support to almost 1,500 aircraft operated by 200 major international and domestic airlines.
AirAsia has already tested the effectiveness of the MRO solutions, which currently provides component support for the fleet of A330s operated by AirAsia X, AirAsia’s budget long-haul subsidiary.
Franck Terner, chief executive officer of Air France, said: “AirAsia’s extending service and solution for the brand-new A320neo fleet has been given to us.”
AirAsia Group flies to more than 120 destinations across Asia, Australia and New Zealand, the Middle East and Africa. It is also the only airline that flies to all 10 countries in Asean, with operations in Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, India and Japan.
The airline uses a 100-per-cent Airbus fleet of more than 200 aircraft, with orders for a further 300 A320neo and 100 A321neo planes, along with A330neo and A350 aircraft.
According to Tony, AirAsia will |continue expanding its network in the region as well as between mainland China and Thailand despite the drop in arrivals due to the crackdown on zero-dollar tours.
“We will create more business to regain tourists by adding more routes, doing more marketing, launching a free-seat campaign and boosting individual tourists. We now have a team working specifically on the China market,” he said.
AirAsia also plans to develop Langkawi in Malaysia as a new hub in order to link it with other cities in the region, and is also eyeing the fast-growing Philippine market.
AirAsia also recently completed its new Bt1.26-billion head office called Red Q right next to the low-cost terminal in Kuala Lumpur.
ศาสตร์เกษตรดินปุ๋ย : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/news/business/corporate/30301719
The move is an acknowledgement of an increase in natural-gas demand and a projected increase in LNG imports.
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, who chairs the supreme energy body, said energy was important for the country now and in the future, so every relevant party has to make society understand the need to increase the procurement of energy to serve demand.
He said that demand included the government’s “Thailand 4.0” scheme, which would involve several mega-projects and special economic zones.
The NEPC has acknowledged a revision of the National Gas Plan 2015 that will increase projected demand for natural gas in 2036 from 4,344 million cubic feet per day to 5,062mcfd, and LNG imports from 13.5 million tonnes to 17.4 million tonnes in 2022 and 31 million tonnes to 34 million tonnes in 2036.
The Energy Ministry cited a decline of domestic natural-gas supply as a reason for the revision, although delays of projects to build coal-fired power plants and a decision on the expired natural-gas fields in the Gulf of Thailand are also factors in the rising LNG imports.
Concerning the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand’s delayed coal-fired power plans in Krabi province and Thepha, Songkhla province, Energy Minister Anantaporn Kanjanarat said the NEPC would have to make a decision at its meeting next month on how the country could ensure sufficient electricity supply for the Southern region.
The NEPC has given the nod to a long-term LNG supply contract that will result in PT|T purchasing 1 million tonnes per year of LNG from Petronas next year and in 2018, and 1.2 million tonnes per year thereafter.
PTT earlier inked long-term LNG contracts with BP, Shell and Qatar Liquefied Gas for a combined volume of 4 million tonnes per annum.
The NEPC also approved PTT building its second LNG receiving terminal in Rayong with a total investment of Bt38.5 billion and to study an LNG floating terminal in Myanmar.
It also approved Egat building an LNG floating terminal at an upper part of the Gulf of Thailand for Bt24.5 billion.
Energy Ministry spokesman Twarath Sutabutr said the LPG import quota would be lifted after the import liberalisation that would start next month. To encourage local refineries to produce more LPG, the ex-refinery price will be adjusted from the Saudi Armco contract price (CP) minus US$20 per tonne to the CP price.
Energy Regulatory Commis-sion spokesman Viraphol Jirapraditkul said the new gas-tariff formula would be applied to new pipeline projects as well as LNG terminal developers. Unlike the existing formula, which offers a fixed rate of return during an entire life span of a pipeline, the new formula will be revised every five years.
Meanwhile, Anantaporn explained the Cabinet’s approval this week to extend the exploration and production concession for the B8/32 block in the Gulf of Thailand to a consortium led by Chevron Offshore (Thailand) by 10 years, after 20 years of operations, without opening up the block for a bid.
He said the contract allowed the extension if the contractual terms were met.
ศาสตร์เกษตรดินปุ๋ย : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/news/business/corporate/30301713
Under the restructuring plan, the advertising-media agency will stand on three legs – Initiative, UM and Ensemble. Initiative and UM provide media planning and buying services, while Ensemble is a provider of branded content and activation and digital services.
Tharaputh Charuvatana, newly appointed group chief executive officer of the company, said there would be a lot of Ensemble changes due to the expansion of digital activities in response to new demands from clients who wanted to explore more opportunities in the digital era – leading to increased e-commerce.
“After the revamp, Ensemble will be a growth driver of the company,” he said.
Along with this strategy, IPG Mediabrands has established a new team of 15 digital scientists to work on data analytics and research to support other units.
Fresh approach
Tharaputh explained that media planning and buying in the digital era were totally different, as advertisers tended to demand more from online advertising via various forms such as online video sharing on top of paid commercials on TV channels.
To strengthen its media buying and planning parts, the company appointed Malee Kittipongpisal as chief executive officer of the “Initiative” leg. Before joining the company, Malee had been group managing partner at Mindshare Thailand for 17 years.
Malee said today’s advertisers did not only want effectiveness or a return on their investment in their spending but also needed to boost their sales revenue.
Wannee Rattanaphon, chairwoman of IPG Mediabrands, said that after the change, it was forecast that the Initiative arm would contribute 60 per cent of the company’s total revenue while UM and Ensemble would represent 20 per cent each.
The company acknowledged that the media industry faced a tough situation this year so the planned revenue target of 15 per cent year-on-year growth could not be delivered.
However, the company is optimistic that next year’s revenue will grow 20 per cent, mainly driven by the new restructure and new digital assignments, both from new and existing clients.
ศาสตร์เกษตรดินปุ๋ย : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/news/business/corporate/30301711
Narong Kamondetdecha, sales director of Commtiva Technology, said Sharp Japan had appointed the company as executive and strategic partner to provide Sharp smartphones to the Thai market. The firm therefore has introduced two new models, the Sharp M1 and Sharp Z2, to support the high-potential mid-range market, priced between Bt7,000 and Bt15,000.
The company says the M1 is designed for selfie lovers, with 13-megapixel front and rear cameras. It comes with an in-built back-illuminated sensor that enables photos taken at night to be just as sharp as those captured in a normal lighting environment. The device comes in either white or pink and is available for Bt8,990.
Meanwhile, the Z2 smartphone features fingerprint scan, a 2.3-gigahertz deca-core processor with 5.5-inch full high-definition display. The retail price is Bt9,990 and it comes in silver or gold colours.
“The smartphone segment in the Bt7,000-to-Bt10,000 price range still has growth potential, since telecom operators and brands will be more co-promotion to sales devices with [offer] promotional packages. The firm therefore will drive the smartphone market via telecom operators such as TrueMove H and create promotional campaigns via retail partners including TG Fone, Com7 and Jaymart,” Narong said.
However, Commtiva will primarily distribute its phones via True Shops nationwide.
The company will also announce more than six new smartphones, both mid-range and high-end or premium models, early next year.
He said that by the end of next year the company expected to ship around 60,000 smartphones, 70 per cent of which would be mid-range smartphones and the rest high-end models.
The total smartphone market in Thailand this year will distribute around 16 million units, down by about 12 per cent in term of units and 5 per cent in value compared with last year.
ศาสตร์เกษตรดินปุ๋ย : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/news/business/corporate/30301724
Introduced under the Prisma YunOS system, the new smart TV line-up promises a premium experience, thanks to Cybo’s manufacturing expertise and the built-in YunOS TV operating system, which is making its international debut in Thailand.
The company says it features an intuitive user interface, versatile device connectivity and abundant content offerings, including unlimited access to thousands of TV shows, movies and more, available on Southeast Asia’s Internet TV service iflix.
YunOS, a business unit of Alibaba, operates a cloud-based, data and service-oriented operating system for the Internet of Things, Cybo Co managing |director Sittikorn Chitpedakorn said.
He added that the partnership reflected the commitment of both YunOS and Cybo to set a new standard for smart TV in Thailand.
“Therefore, we are able to scale up production volume to meet rising demand for both domestic and international markets, and pave the way for us to become a preferred TV supplier for customers around the Southeast Asia region,” he said.
Jacky Jia, general manager of Alibaba Digital Entertainment Business Division, said YunOS TV was a leading home-grown smart TV operating system in China, and the firm was excited to bring the platform beyond its homeland for the first time.
“With the Thai smart TV market now taking off, we believe that the launch of the Prisma YunOS TV lends us considerable potential to help drive the market forward and enable local market players with our open platform.
“We know that everyone wants the best smart TV experience that is fast, convenient, user-friendly and hassle-free, and YunOS TV was designed to provide exactly such an experience for consumers.”
The Prisma YunOS TV will launch in Thailand with a size range of 32, 40 and 50 inches, with 55- and 65-inch models in both full high definition and 4K resolution available in the near future.
According to Euromonitor International, the penetration rate of smart TV in Thailand is currently 40 per cent of households, and it is estimated that sales of smart TV will reach 900,000 units in 2017, compared with the overall TV market of 2.6 million units.
It is believed that smart TV will continue to be a key driver of the Thai TV market as consumers spend more time online and the trend of multi-screen consumption behaviour grows.
The rising prominence of smart TV in Thailand mirrors the popularity of on-demand entertainment and consumers becoming more savvy in their media viewing.
ศาสตร์เกษตรดินปุ๋ย : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/news/business/corporate/30301715
Parinya Patanaphakdee, senior executive vice president and head of KTB’s credit-restructuring and asset-management group, said yesterday that the bank’s proportion of SSI’s NPL was Bt10 billion, which will be eliminated if the court approves the steelmaker’s rehab plan.
KTB has gross NPLs of Bt98.42 billion, representing 4.24 per cent of total outstanding loans. Once SSI’s debt is eliminated from that figure, KTB’s gross NPL rate could improve to between 3.7 and 3.8 per cent.
Three lenders have reserved provisions for SSI debt totalling Bt22 billion.
Parinya said SSI debt accounted for 10 per cent of total NPLs in the Thai banking industry, which has had a meaningful impact on the sector. In the third quarter of this year, total NPLs in the banking industry were Bt390 billion out of total lending of Bt13 trillion.
The decline in NPLs from the SSI rehab will have a positive effect on KTB’s coverage ratio, but it will maintain a high reserve during the final quarter in order to increase its coverage ratio close to that of top-tier banks.
The coverage ratio at KTB as at the end of this year should increase to 118 per cent from 104 per cent as of the third quarter.
Parinya said SSI in Thailand had sufficient cash flow to run its operations because of the recovery of the price of steel and the bright prospects for demand from upcoming government infrastructure projects and private investment.
If the government can prevent steel dumping from China, SSI’s prospects will be even brighter.
Under liquidation
Meanwhile, SSI’s upstream plant in Britain is in an ongoing liquidation process. The Thai lenders have written off the debt of SSI in the UK.
Accounts receivable officers in Britain are seeking investors to buy the assets of SSI in that country, the most valuable of which is likely to be a port.
“We have followed the performance of SSI in Thailand, whose operating account is in KTB, meaning we can track the cash flows. However, we will not inject new lending until the steelmaker can control its business well,” Parinya said.
He said that if the court agrees with the SSI plan, it would be the first time a corporate borrower could exit from its NPLs only one year after submitting a rehabilitation plan.
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