Indorama Ventures pilots blockchain transaction with partner in Australia
Dec 16. 2020Krisda Phatcharoen, country head of commercial banking at HSBC Thailand
By The Nation
Indorama Ventures (IVL) has through its subsidiary Indorama Holding successfully executed a blockchain-enabled letter-of-credit (LC) transaction with Techwool Trading using the Contour blockchain platform.
The blockchain transaction, completed on a single shared application called Contour, involved a shipment of scoured wool shipped by Techwool in Australia to IVL in Thailand.
HSBC acted as the issuing and advising bank for both sides.
This transaction shows that blockchain technology will help digitise trade and is commercially and operationally viable. Trade transactions via blockchain technology allow all parties to review documents in real-time, which reduces cost, risk and lead times.
Krisda Phatcharoen, country head of commercial banking at HSBC Thailand, said the bank believes the use of advanced technology will serve businesses well, especially in the restrictive environment brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Rajesh Banka, CEO of IVL’s wool business said: “Contour-enabled trade transactions have offered an insight into how the technology has the potential to revolutionise conventional trade finance and reduce time frames and risk involved in cross-border trade. IVL will continue to pursue this technology with HSBC as a fit with our digitalisation transformation project.”
BTS Group added to list of Sustainability Investment for second year running
Dec 16. 2020
By The Nation
The BTS Group has been added to the Thailand Sustainability Investment list for a second consecutive year. Daniel Ross, centre, BTS Group’s chief investment officer, receives a plate from Pakorn Peetathawatchai, left, Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) president, and Krisada Sektrakul, SET’s senior executive vice president.
BTS Group has also won an “excellent” score for corporate governance for the ninth consecutive year under the Corporate Governance Report of Thai Listed Companies 2020 Project by Thai Institute of Directors Association with support from SET.
CP Foods promises corn bought from responsible, eco-friendly sources
Dec 15. 2020
By The Nation
In a bid to cut down on its carbon footprint, Charoen Pokphand Foods (CP Foods) has announced that it only buys corn from responsible and traceable growers, who have legal documents for their farms and do not encroach into forests.
Also, farmers with legal land deeds can sell their produce at a price higher than the market price at 17 points, including 15 CP Foods’ feed mills and two new purchase stations in Uthai Thani and Nakhon Ratchasima.
Woraphot Suratwisit, vice president of Bangkok Produce Merchandising which supplies raw materials to CP Foods’ feed mills, said his company has joined CP Foods in launching a responsible raw material sourcing campaign called “Farmer Self Sufficiency Maize Sustainability” project.
“The project focuses on helping small farmers by providing harvest and delivery trucks for farmers participating in the project and the provision of partial financial support to reduce their production cost and address labour shortage,” Woraphot said.
Meanwhile, CP Foods only buys from farmers who can show proper land documents, are registered with the Corn Traceability system and do not burn off farming leftovers. Suppliers have also been asked to share the movement of their trucks on GPS to further enhance the transparency of the corn supply.
The farmers who have joined this project will get a better-than-market price that is in line with the Commerce Ministry’s moisture content standards (not less than Bt8.5 per kilogram).
CP Foods implemented the Corn Traceability system in early 2016 as part of its commitment to only purchase corn grown sustainably with the goals to mitigate direct and indirect environmental impact and lift farmers’ quality of life
“Dow” supports a community in Klong Toey District in building a waste management learning center and hopes to develop it into a zero-waste city.
Dec 14. 2020
“Dow” promotes “Koh Klang Community” in Klong Toey District as a model in comprehensive waste management with an emphasis on optimum utilization of resources according to the circular economy principle. A waste sorting system has been set up, areas have been improved, and channels for waste sale have been sought. The project aims to generate income and welfare for the community and will also serve as a learning center for other areas to build upon.
Today (27 November), Dow Thailand Group (Dow) held an opening ceremony of a model learning center for comprehensive waste management in Koh Klang Community in Klong Toey District, Bangkok. The community, located on a small island in the Phra Khanong Canal, is the only “island community” in Bangkok and is ready to welcome community members and interested parties who would like to learn more about waste management and further make use of the knowledge to help prevent waste from ending up in the environment.
Koh Klang Community in Klong Toey District goes back more than 100 years ago. It has a population of 270 living in 58 households. The small island, which is owned by the Crown Property Bureau, has an area of 3 rai in the middle ofthe Phra Khanong Canal. It is currently part of a pilot project for a self-managed community, where the residents lead a self-sufficient life, making their own household items to lower expenses, and are committed to conserving the environment. The comprehensive waste management project was, therefore, launched in the community to generate extra income and increase benefits for the community from selling waste. It is also expected to serve as a learning center where other communities can learn from their experience.
“Dow Thailand Group is committed to creating sustainability in combatting global warming, reducing plastic waste, and encouraging recycling to ensure optimum utilization of resources as per the circular economy framework. The company has joined forces with other organizations and communities with a similar outlook to build this pilot project. We found that Koh Klang is our headquarters’ neighboring community with the residents who want to improve their homes and neighborhood. They also have a strong community leader who places emphasis on waste management at the source and they are also prepared to pass on the knowledge to other communities. This has led to the project’s collaboration and success that we see today,” said Mr. SupojKatetohprakarn, Business Director of Dow Thailand Group.
The project is a collaboration between Dow, Klong Toey District Office, and Thailand Institute of Packaging and Recycling Management for Sustainable Environment (TIPMSE), an expert in packaging management as the project’s consultant. The community’s waste management is divided into four groups according to the types of waste found in the community, comprising 1. Organic waste management 2. Recycle material management 3. General waste management 4. Hazardous waste management. The different types of waste will either be made into sellable items or delivered to the Klong Toey District Office for proper disposal. Land improvement for the project has been carried out since January 2020.
“Dow has worked with TIPMSE to provide knowledge about comprehensive waste management to the community including organizing workshops on types of plastic, proper plastic waste sorting, and the recycling process as well as setting up a better waste sorting system, improving areas for proper waste sorting, and coordinating with organizations that could purchase the waste and make use of it. Dow is currently in talks to Klong Toey District Office to set up a system for a pick-up of clean stretchy plastic waste that has been sorted for further recycling,” added Mr. Supoj.
Dow has also worked with the community in setting up an accounting system that will ensure thorough distribution of income within the community. The income will be divided into two categories, which are income from waste sales and income from study visits by interested organizations and communities. Innovation in a form of an application called O.K. Recycle will also be used to facilitate the community’s buying prices updates and waste selling and buying data collection.
Mr. SinchaiTiansiri, Director of TIPMSE said “TIPMSE, which is an organization that has been promoting packaging for over 15 years, has seen the potential of Koh Klang Community in becoming an interesting learning center. Not only is it located on an island, but it is also an urban community, where promoting waste management is quite difficult with the limited space and urban people’s relaxed attitudes toward waste sorting. Therefore, anyone who would like to learn from a community with so many limitations but has concretely succeeded in carrying out the project can come to Koh Klang, where Dow and TIPMSE have joined forces with the local authorities in developing the area into another interesting learning center.”
Mr. PrateungwitJaidee, Deputy Director of Klong Toey District Office, said “Waste management has always been conducted in Koh Klang community including waste sorting and recycling though it might not be as comprehensive or systematic. Getting support from Dow Thailand Group is wonderful and helps build upon what the community has always been doing. The Kong Toey District Office is more than happy to support the community and the learning center’s future activities that will benefit other communities and organizations who can come for study visits. The knowledge gained from the visits will be useful in reducing waste at the source and building a zero-waste community.
According to the survey, the types of waste in Koh Klang Community comprises 31 percent organic waste, 41 percent recyclable materials, 27 percent general waste, and 1 percent hazardous waste. With all reusable and recyclable waste sorted out, the amount of waste going to the landfill could be reduced by over four tons from 18 tons in the first phase of the project or more than 20 percent. The organic waste can be used to make biogas, compost, and fermented bio-extracts. The recyclablewaste can be sold for added income. For the general waste, the 3 Rs concept will be applied through encouraging reducing and reusing as well as making crafts or other useful items.
Out of all the community’s wastes, 18 percent is plastic waste, which can be divided into 26 percent non-sellable plastic waste and up to 74 percent sellable recyclable plastic waste. The sellable waste can be a source of income and other welfare programs for the community such as a cremation fund or improvement of the community’s common areas.
For a study visit at Koh Klang Community’s Comprehensive Waste Management Learning Center, please contact KhunJurairat (Eiu) at 089-4269723
Bangkok Airways to launch three daily flights to Mae Sot from Bangkok
Dec 14. 2020
By The Nation
Bangkok Airways Pcl will launch a new route between Bangkok (Suvarnabhumi) and Mae Sot in Tak province, starting February 1, 2021.
The newly added direct services will be operated with the highest preventive measures and standards, the airline said.
The daily Bangkok (Suvarnabhumi) – Mae Sot (Tak) service will be operated using an ATR72-600 aircraft.
The first outbound flight, PG381, departs Bangkok (Suvarnabhumi) at 7.50am and arrives at Mae Sot Airport at 9.20am.
The first inbound flight, PG382, departs Mae Sot Airport at 9.50am and arrives in Bangkok at 11.25am.
The second outbound flight, PG383, departs Bangkok at noon and arrives at Mae Sot Airport at 1.30pm. The second inbound flight, PG384, departs Mae Sot Airport at 2pm and arrives at Bangkok at 3.35pm.
The last outbound flight, PG385, departs Bangkok at 3pm and arrives at Mae Sot Airport at 4.30pm. The last inbound flight, PG386, departs Mae Sot Airport at 5pm and arrives in Bangkok at 6.35pm.
GSB launches project to help revive Koh Samui’s economy
Dec 10. 2020
By THE NATION
The Government Savings Bank (GSB) has injected more than Bt1.5 billion in Koh Samui’s economy during the December 8-9 “GSB for Samui” fair, which was held to help the island’s badly affected tourism sector.
“About two months before the fair, more than 500 GSB executives and staff visited tourism-related businesses on Koh Samui to survey their financial needs and design suitable products,” GSB president Withai Ratanakorn said.
“This project, called ‘GSB’s Samui Model’, aims to help stimulate the island’s economy, which relies heavily on tourism, by providing funds to large corporations, SME operators as well as people at the grassroots level to help them overcome this economic recession.
“The fair itself was a huge success with more than 2,500 applicants seeking financial products from the bank,” he said. “We provided soft loans totalling more than Bt1.5 billion to boost the liquidity of some 2,000 businesses, and also provided debt-restructuring services to 500 customers with a combined debt worth Bt446 million and debt negotiation services with the Legal Execution Department for 30 customers.”
Withai said apart from financial services, GSB also offered help in the form of:
• Scholarships for 320 students whose families are suffering adversely from the fallout of Covid-19.
• Building chicken coops, mushroom growing barns and vegetable gardens at local schools to promote students’ agricultural skills.
• Buying community products such as fish, eggs, and vegetables to stimulate local economy and donating these products to low-income earners.
• Providing vehicles to 10 street food vendors and career-training courses to 300 people.
“The GSB for Samui fair and Samui Model project are products of GSB’s commitment in helping local communities overcome the hardship from the impact of Covid-19 outbreak,” Withai said. “In the next phase, GSB will organise ‘Travel Samui with GSB’ to promote tourism on the island by offering special discounts on hotel packages for holders of GSB credit cards.
“We also hope that the Samui Model will serve as a pilot framework for other agencies who are interested in organising similar campaigns to boost local economy in other provinces.”
Telecom major DTAC and engineering firm ASEFA on Tuesday launched Thailand’s first 5G smart energy solutions.
Using mmWave 5G on 26 gigahertz (GHz), the new technology brings ultra-fast and ultra-reliable connectivity to main distribution boards (MDBs), the key to stable power supply in factories, warehouses and large buildings, the companies said.
Trials are underway at the ASEFA headquarters ahead of production for industrial customers.
Rajiv Bawa, chief business officer, Total Access Communication Plc, or DTAC, said, “Stable and reliable power is a core foundation for Thailand 4.0 and smart cities. The solution DTAC and ASEFA have developed together leverages DTAC’s 5G mmWave spectrum on 26GHz to deliver ultra-reliable low-latency communications to main distribution boards. The speed and reliability of 5G ensures uninterrupted power and energy savings for businesses. It’s therefore a very important milestone in Thailand’s 5G journey.”
The DTAC-ASEFA 5G smart energy solution features 5G Internet of Things (IoT) to increase the capabilities of main distribution boards.
Data is sent in real-time to an app on the smartphone of an authorised technician for efficient power management. This can effectively reduce downtime by providing complete information for analysis, power quality monitoring and power demand trends, the companies said. The system also can trigger emergency alarms, all powered by 5G technology with massive IoT monitoring of temperature, humidity, motion sensing, smoke detection and access panels.
Phaiboon Ungkanakornkul, managing director of ASEFA Pcl, said, “We are confident that deploying innovation is the way to go in developing solutions for businesses, infrastructure and industries. We strive to innovate energy management for corporate clients to better serve consumers. For large businesses, factories and buildings, managing the main distribution board is key, as it is the controller of all the power supply from the grid. Any MDB downtime needs to be fixed immediately to minimise impact – in a factory it can mean sudden halt in production.
“Having an efficient monitoring system reduces issues and downtime, in addition to more efficient and sustainable use of power.”
On top of this smart power management, DTAC and ASEFA are also collaborating on 5G fixed wireless access for high speed internet in ASEFA’s offices and training centre.
VST ECS inks deal to distribute Thomas EV motorbikes in Thailand
Dec 07. 2020
By The Nation
VST ECS (Thailand) has signed a deal with Thomas Design to become the official distributor for Thomas EV Motorcycle in Thailand.
VST ECS (Thailand) is a member of VST ECS Group, a leading ICT distributor in Asia Pacific.
Under the agreement, VST ECS will be responsible for marketing and distribution through more than 5,000 company dealers throughout Thailand.
“The business cooperation has occurred because the company foresaw the direction of electric vehicle technology of the future. This is in line with the government’s policy to accelerate the change of fuel powered motorcycles at present to use electric motorcycles,” said Somsak Pejthaveeporndej, CEOof VST ECS (Thailand).
Possawat Thomas, CEO of Thomas Design, said: “Electric vehicles, especially motorcycles, are getting attention in Thailand’s market due to their affordable price and suitability for urban living. In addition, they are very economical for fleet companies. With this latent demand in the market, Thomas Group aims to be the leader in electric vehicles in Thailand’s market.
“Moreover, environmental concern is another factor boosting demand … since EV motorcycles are environmentally friendly both in terms of air and noise pollution.”
“Also, the use of electric vehicles can transform the Thai automotive industry and encourage direct investment in Thailand … in line with the government’s strategic plan to promote the use of EV and reduce EV tax policy.”
Thomas Design uses the technology from Taiwan to manufacture its electric vehicle at its two main factories in Chonburi and Nakhon Pathom, with 30 per cent local parts and 70 per cent imported from Taiwan. Next year it at aims to increase production and raise the proportion of local parts used to 70 per cent.
Government Savings Bank (GSB) has launched urgent financial measures to bring relief to people in the flood-hit South with a highlight of three-month debt suspension offer.
Dec 04. 2020
By The Nation
It has also offered loan for those experiencing the disaster at Bt50,000 per person with no interest rate charge in the first year.
Krisda Phatcharoen, country head of commercial banking at HSBC Thailand 
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