Ronaldo poses with Al Nassr shirt after signing for Saudi club
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 31, 2022
THE NATION
Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo has joined Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr on a two-year contract, the club announced on Friday (December 30).
Ronaldo, 37, left Premier League giants Manchester United last month following an explosive television interview in which the forward said he felt betrayed by the Old Trafford club and did not respect their Dutch manager Erik ten Hag.
“I am eager to experience a new football league in a different country. Al Nassr Club’s vision is very inspiring,” the Saudi club quoted Ronaldo as saying.
He will arrive in Saudi Arabia with a vast collection of club honours after a glittering spell at Spanish giants Real Madrid from 2009-18 where he won two LaLiga titles, two Spanish Cups, four Champions League titles and three Club World Cups.
He went on to score a club record 451 times for Real and has more than 800 senior goals overall for club and country.
Ronaldo poses with Al Nassr shirt after signing for Saudi club
Ronaldo claimed two Serie A titles and a Copa Italia trophy in three years at Juventus before rejoining United with whom he had bagged three Premier League crowns, the FA Cup, two League Cups, the Champions League and Club World Cup.
He played for Portugal in Qatar, where he became the first player to score in five World Cups after netting a penalty in his side’s opening Group H game against Ghana. Portugal were knocked out in the quarter-finals by Morocco.
Ronaldo said Qatar would probably be his last World Cup as he plans to retire at 40, with a move to Saudi Arabia likely to mark the swansong in the career one of the game’s greatest current players alongside Lionel Messi.
VTubers emerge as new medium to connect with young generation
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 31, 2022
Jarupong Krisanaraj
Virtual YouTubers (VTubers) are playing an important role in boosting the growth of the digital content industry worldwide, including in Thailand.
Different from YouTubers, VTubers use animated characters as avatars to interact with audiences online, such as video game streaming, playing a joke or presenting video content.
The streamers’ avatars can move or express their feelings with applications called Motion Capture and Live2D.
The VTuber idea started to trend in 2016, inspired by a Japanese VTuber named “Kizuna Ai“. She is described as the “world’s first VTuber”.
Ai achieved enormous success, attracting some 2 million subscribers on YouTube by 2018, thanks to her friendly demeanour in line with her slogan: “I want to connect with everyone”.
Thanks to her popularity, Ai became a Japanese tourism ambassador under the campaign “Come to Japan” in 2018. The campaign was launched as a cooperation between Japan National Tourism Organisation and its New York Office.
Under the campaign, Ai was responsible for promoting foods, tourist attractions and culture to attract American tourists to visit Japan.
The idea of VTubers caught on rapidly in many countries worldwide, thanks to their potential to become influencers for agencies to penetrate the digital content market.
Meanwhile, products related to VTuber avatars can generate large sums in revenue for agencies.
There are many Thai VTubers nowadays, such as Aisha and Zona from virtual idol creator Polygon Official. As of Friday, Aisha and Zona have more than 500,000 and 100,000 subscribers on YouTube, respectively.
Meanwhile, Farmhouse, a brand under Thai bakery distributor President Bakery, launched a VTuber named “Fumi Hausu” on January 10 this year with the aim of promoting its products and drawing more engagement on social media.
A VTuber goes further in the development of a streamer and content creator, so private agencies are creating VTubers to boost their image, the Digital Economy Promotion Agency said.
“Meanwhile, government agencies can use a VTuber as an influencer to create awareness on culture and entertain the audience,” it said.
The agency added that a VTuber is considered a new pathway to connect government agencies and the young generation.
Beginning on January 3 of the next year, Krungsri bank will increase its lending rates by 0.40% per annum, said Chief Strategy Officer Pairote Cheunkrut on Friday (December 30).
The decision about the adjustment was made following a gradual economic recovery in Thailand and an increase in interest rates, added Pairote.
The rates are changing as follows:
– Minimum Loan Rate (MLR) is increased by 0.40% to 6.48% – Minimum Overdraft Rate (MOR) is increased by 0.40% to 6.725% – Minimum Retail Rate (MRR) is increased by 0.40% to 6.65%
He added that Since Thailand’s economy continues its gradual recovery, the decision to raise rates has been made following the current economic climate, rising global interest rates, and the change in contributions to the Financial Institution Development Fund (FIDF) at a normal rate of 0.46%.
Factors namely market conditions and economic factors were taken into account before making this decision. The Bank remains committed to offering timely and appropriate support to meet the needs of customers, aligning with the Thai Bankers’ Association (TBA)‘s practice, he added.
Bangkok Bank promotes world class technology research for Thais in the MIT Media Lab Southeast Asia Forum
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 31, 2022
Bangkok Bank recently co-hosted the MIT Media Lab Southeast Asia Forum to give tech enthusiasts the opportunity to learn from the MIT Media Lab, the research lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), said Executive Director Charamporn Jotikasthira.
Under the mission to create a space to share state-of-the-art research and the use of emerging technologies to solve problems and build positive social impact, the forum was hosted for the first time in the ASEAN region and Thailand was chosen to hold the event with an aim to become an innovation hub of ASEAN.
The key focus of this seminar was to take a macro view of situations or challenges in the future where technological evolution will play a role and have a wide impact such as extended intelligence, hybrid realities, augmented creativity, cyborg health, smart materials, digital currency, space exploration and sustainability.
The forum was organized around the theme of ‘Beyond the Elephant in the Room’ to address issues that are challenging for humanity yet often ignored. This event was a collaboration between Bangkok Bank, KBTG, MIT Alumni Association in Thailand, MQDC, True, Thaicom, SCG and MIT Media Lab. There were 13 professors and PhD candidates along with seven executives from leading organizations in the public and private sectors, who shared their vision and knowledge. In addition, eight executives from various Thai organizations took the role of moderators throughout the 3-day event. The forum attracted the attention of more than 850 attendants per day including business executives, professionals in various fields and the education sector, ranging from teachers, university students and high school students.
The Bank is delighted to be involved in this important event as it is a good opportunity for Thailand and Thai people to listen to world-class thinking and technological research, as well as establishing a collaborative network with leading researchers from the MIT Media Lab, which is considered an important research institute and provides world-leading research insights. The innovation created from such research will play an important role in driving Thailand and regional economies forward in the future. This is in line with Bangkok Bank’s vision that we strive to offer quality financial services to meet the needs of our customers by applying modern technology and working systems to support our goal as a leading regional bank, said Mr. Charamporn.
Bangkok Bank Executive Director Dr. Pichet Durongkaveroj also joined the event as the local keynote speaker. He suggested six standout cultural highlights in Thailand including Tom Yum Kung – a famous spicy soup which is served in various places from fine dining to street food restaurants, Fah Talai Jone – a Thai herb certified in the alternative medicine system with properties to reduce inflammation and infection and that Thai public health service has used to treat Covid-19 symptoms, and Suda – an elephant at the Maetaeng Elephant Park & Clinic in Chiang Mai province that can paint beautifully, reflecting Thai elephants’ amazing learning and skills.
Further, the Darunsikkhalai School of Innovative Learning is an elementary and secondary school under the supervision of King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi. The school partners with Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Media Laboratory to fully implement the Constructionism learning method developed by Professor Seymour Papert from the MIT Media Lab. Another highlight is the Mini satellite (CanSat) – a small satellite the size of a soda can built by Assumption College students that won the global championship in the Annual CanSat Competition 2022 in the United States.
The last highlight showcased a design that blends social and cultural dimensions with Samsen Street Hotel as an example. The hotel changed from an old-style motel to an architecturally new hotel presenting the Thai ways of life in the hotel area for guests to experience including a temple fair, outdoor movies, luk thung concerts, street food and others where the community participates and earns extra income. The design is modernized but still perfectly retains the famous charms of Thai culture.
Furthermore, the event also held a forum titled Creativity Across Scales: Co-Creation Communities of Possibilities moderated by Bangkok Bank Innovation Department Manager Dr. Pao Sriprasertsuk. The forum discussed the development of creativity which needs to start at a young age with parents as key supporters. Using creativity at work and utilizing advanced technology such as generative AI, which can create paintings, make videos, write novels and more, is very interesting because it is beginning to bleed into traditional human roles, many of which are about to change due to technological advancement.
A panel discussion titled ‘Interest of Values: Digital Currency, Web3, and Trustworthy Networks’ moderated by Bangkok Bank Executive Director Charamporn Jotikasthira covered topics related to decentralization which enables users to be part of a system to create direct value on the basis of mutualism. This provides users with confidence as there is no intermediary to control or regulate the system, which will be a key element of social media in the future. Currently, social media is under the control of a few major corporate giants who set rules and regulations for the access of certain content for each group of users. This can lead to misinformation and unpredictable social biases. The discussion also touched on blockchain technology, a result of MIT Media Lab research, which can be applied to data privacy with high efficiency and fast processing speed no different from a centralized system. Blockchain technology is an innovation that can be applied to a wide range of industries. For Thailand, the pilot of the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) in the form of digital baht used for cross-border payments for businesses is an example of how modern technology can solve pain points in a sustainable way.
Line Shopping lines up new tools to help e-commerce players cope with competition
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 30, 2022
Nongluck Ajanapanya
Line Shopping Thailand is introducing more new features next year to help entrepreneurs in the fiercely competitive online marketplace.
All social commerce players will face a new level of competition next year, with more funding and investment for marketing no longer guaranteeing revenue and profit success, said Lertad Supadhiloke, director of e-commerce, Line Thailand, in an exclusive interview with The Nation.
He explained that almost all players, particularly the major ones, have realised that price strategy cannot win buyers’ loyalty. Hence, they must devise new strategies. Some of them have already done so this year. Despite losing market share, some of the big players are increasing their profits.
“The competition in social commerce next year would be fun because business owners, large and small, would have to creatively innovate their own marketing strategy for their specific target group,” Lertad said.
He added that some players will pay closer attention to budget management with specific target audiences.
In view of this situation, Line Shopping will provide more tools and features to assist business owners, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises, in competing on the platform on an equal footing, he said.
He demonstrated a new tool — Live features — which will be available in the first quarter of 2023. This new feature will allow business owners to connect with their customers in real time while also enabling them to discover new potential customers.
Users will notice differences between the platform and other live features platforms, he said.
“Our main objective is to be the tool that enables business owners to run their operations smoothly online. Our priority is their company’s success. According to a recent Line Shopping study, owners who use our tools can increase their sales by at least 20 per cent. We will maintain and even improve on that figure,” he stated.
He also predicted that with online technology allowing businesses to achieve their targets with a small budget, small business owners would have an equal opportunity to grow and compete with large corporations.
Therefore, small owners will have a chance to roar in 2023.
Aside from new features, he revealed that Line Shopping will expand collaboration with new partners in order to provide their customers, both business owners and shoppers, with unique experiences.
His announcement came just a few days after the company launched two new features called “Send Gift” and “Share&Earn” under the “RelationShop” concept. The two features will enable business clients to have more enjoyable shopping experiences with their friends or community members via Line platform.
He emphasised that Line Shopping is a social commerce platform that has always prioritised the relationship between merchants and customers. Therefore, the development of new features must take into account the importance of maintaining positive relationships with the goal of creating enjoyable shopping experiences.
“We will continue to be a space that provides businesses with the tools to increase their competitiveness while also providing more fun experiences for shoppers to shop with their friends,” Lertad promised.
Line Shopping currently has over 450,000 social shops on its platform, covering all product categories, and has over 12 million active users.
Thailand’s e-commerce market is expected to grow from 817 billion baht today to over 4 trillion baht in 2025, according to the Thai e-Commerce Association. Online shopping is the most important driver of the Thai e-commerce market, which is expected to grow by more than 128 per cent to 120 billion baht by 2025.
Chinese government tweet hints at return of tourists to Thailand
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 30, 2022
A Twitter post by a spokesperson of China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday has hinted at Chinese tourists returning to Thailand now that Beijing has ended its zero-Covid policy.
The tweet by Hua Chunying came after the Chinese government announced that travellers will no longer have to be in quarantine from January 8 onwards.
“We have been waiting for you for 3 years! Warm invitations flowing in from Thailand, UAE, Israel, Seychelles, Austria, Iceland, Poland, Denmark, France, Netherlands, Montenegro, Malta, Norway, Portugal, Switzerland, Serbia, Spain, Chile, Australia, New Zealand…” Hua Chunying said on her Twitter.
In response to the possible return of Chinese tourists, Tourism and Sports Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn has proposed that the Thai government provide free Covid-19 booster shots to travellers so as to increase collective immunity.
“This is similar to the situation when Thai citizens went abroad to get booster doses and travel at the same time, ” added Phiphat.
Chinese tourists who are considering visiting Thailand responded favourably on social media to the campaign. Though, some people continued to be worried about the pandemic.
However, a negative RT-PCR report has been made mandatory for arrivals from China in countries such as US, Japan, and Malaysia as the number of Chinese Covid-19 patients is still murky.
With Chinese tourists spending about US$127.5 billion abroad, China was the largest outbound travel market in 2019
Sonexay Siphandone becomes New PM after Lao cabinet reshuffle
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 30, 2022
The Lao cabinet is reshuffled at the concluding meeting of the Fourth Ordinary Session of the National Assembly (Ninth Legislature) of Laos held in Lao capital Vientiane on Friday, according to local TV reports.
Phankham Viphavanh, in his speech at the National Assembly (NA) meeting, said to resign from the post of prime minister for reaching retirement age and health problems.
Phankham Viphavanh, born in 1951, was elected as prime minister of the Lao government by the National Assembly in March 2021. He once served as vice president, vice prime minister, minister of education of Laos, Huaphan provincial governor and so on.
The NA meeting has also approved the nomination from Lao President Thongloun Sisoulith, naming Sonexay Siphandone as the new prime minister, with an overwhelming majority winning 149 out of the 151 votes.
Sonexay Siphandone
Sonexay, a politburo member of the ruling Lao People’s Revolutionary Party (LPRP) central committee, was elected to the LPRP Central Committee at the Eighth National Congress in 2006, and to the LPRP Politburo at the 10th National Congress in 2016.
Sonexay served as deputy prime minister of the Lao government before Friday’s election.
Ronaldo poses with Al Nassr shirt after signing for Saudi club
Sonexay Siphandone
SootinClaimon.Com 