#ศาสตร์เกษตรดินปุ๋ย : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

Apple Central World all set for grand opening tomorrow

CorporateJul 30. 2020

By THE NATION

After the success of the first official Apple Store in Thailand at Iconsiam, which opened in November 2018, the tech giant is now set to open a second, larger store at Central World in Bangkok’s Pathumwan district.

Apple Central World is scheduled to open at 10am tomorrow (July 31).

Customers need to make an appointment via https://www.apple.com/th/retail/centralworld/ as the store has limits on the number of people allowed to enter to adhere to social distancing rules in this Covid-19 situation. All customers and staff must also undergo thermal screening and wear a face mask before entering.

Apple Central World features an all-glass design under a giant tree canopy accented by stainless-steel spiral staircases that present a futuristic look and serve as a link between its three levels. Thanks to the large space, it also offers several bench seats for customers to sit on and relax, as well as a boardroom and a “forum stage” for music performances and other activities.

The store has a “crew of 130 staff to serve customers in 17 languages”, according to the company.

#ศาสตร์เกษตรดินปุ๋ย : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

Boeing chops output, sees 19,000 lost jobs on sagging jet demand

CorporateJul 30. 2020

By Syndication Washington Post, Bloomberg · Julie Johnsson · BUSINESS, TRANSPORTATION, US-GLOBAL-MARKETS 

Boeing delayed the debut of its newest plane and slowed production across the heart of its jetliner lineup as the company burned more cash amid the coronavirus pandemic

The planemaker intends to make deeper cuts to its commercial-aircraft and services business, with total job losses reaching 19,000 this year — 3,000 more than it said before. The new 777X won’t carry passengers until 2022 instead of next year. And Boeing again pared production plans for the 787 Dreamliner as a saturated market left the company with a stockpile of undelivered jets.

With the reduced manufacturing rates for the 787, Boeing is studying whether to consolidate assembly in a single site instead of building the model in Washington state and South Carolina. Boeing will also ramp up work at its 737 Max factory more gradually than initially planned due to the virus. And the company is winding down one of its most iconic aircraft: the humpbacked 747 jumbo jets.

Executives are trying to resize operations for a market shrunken by the virus outbreak — but without cutting so deeply that Boeing’s recovery is damaged later this decade. The pandemic’s devastating effect on the outlook for jetliner sales is compounding the financial stress from the 737 Max, Boeing’s best-selling jet, which has been grounded since March 2019 after two deadly crashes.

“This is a true business transformation effort,” Chief Financial Officer Greg Smith said on a call with analysts to discuss Boeing’s earnings.

Boeing had previously announced a 10% workforce reduction, or approximately 16,000 jobs. The total cut will still be about one-tenth of employees since Boeing is hiring for its defense and space business.

The shares fell 3% to $165.68 at 12:45 p.m. in New York, the biggest drop on the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Boeing tumbled 48% this year through Tuesday, also the most on the Dow.

While the company’s free cash burn worsened to $5.63 billion in the second quarter, that was better than Wall Street’s expectations. Analysts had predicted a drain of $6.57 billion as the company cut costs and slowed work on key aircraft programs to save cash while demand crumbles.

Smith said he saw a path to positive cash flow next year. For that to happen, Boeing will need to start delivering the 737 Max while airlines are reluctant to add new planes. But appetites for additional aircraft could rebound sharply, particularly if one of the multiple vaccines under study bring the pandemic under greater control.

Investors had braced for an awful quarter after Boeing delivered just 20 commercial jets in the three-month period, down from 149 a year earlier. Sales plunged 25% to $11.8 billion, compared with the $13 billion average of analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Total debt soared to $61.4 billion from $38.9 billion at the end of the first quarter.

The company’s global services business was hit especially hard as cash-constrained airlines parked thousands of planes and accelerated retirement plans for entire fleets of aircraft types. The division reported an impairment charge of $923 million on excess parts and inventory and severance costs.

The weakness in services and production “just a few months after the last update points to the softening markets,” said Ken Herbert, an analyst at Canaccord Genuity.

Regulators are making progress toward certifying the 737 Max, which in normal times would be the company’s biggest cash generator. But the surging virus has further delayed Boeing’s plans to win regulatory approval to return the jet to service, a milestone anticipated for later this year.

Boeing doesn’t expect to make much headway this year toward clearing the stockpile of about 450 jets built during the flying ban, which was imposed in March 2019 after two deadly crashes killed 346 people. Boeing paused production at its 737 plant for about four months through late May, as the grounding dragged on.

Boeing’s bill for the Max flying ban was already approaching $20 billion before the pandemic struck. The company took another accounting charge in the quarter to reflect the $551 million it expects to pay customers for lost flying and other considerations.

That liability is growing as more cash-strapped airlines seek to defer or cancel Max deliveries, or press Boeing to refund advance payments. The collapse in travel hit as the Max grounding passed the year mark, the point where contract provisions often allow airlines to ditch delayed deliveries without forfeiting so-called progress payments.

Max customers continue to walk away from earlier deals. The latest to do so is AerCap Holdings, the world’s largest independent leasing company, which revealed Wednesday that it was scrapping 15 of its 95 orders for the jetliner after customers canceled leases.

Another drag on Boeing’s results came from $712 million in “abnormal” production costs after it halted and restarted the 737 final assembly lines. The manufacturer rang up an additional $133 million in costs from temporarily shuttering plants around Seattle and in South Carolina because of the virus outbreak.

The company now has to contend with “the worst demand environment ever” weighing on its commercial and global services divisions, said George Ferguson, an analyst with Bloomberg Intelligence.

“Not only do you have to get the Max through certification — and I feel like they’re well on their way — but they have to shepherd a bunch of airlines through taking deliveries,” Ferguson said in an interview before the results were announced.

#ศาสตร์เกษตรดินปุ๋ย : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

Online lenders fizzling in crisis with On Deck agreeing to sale

CorporateJul 30. 2020Rob Young, president of international at On Deck Capital Inc., speaks during the Canada Fintech Forum in Montreal on Oct. 23, 2019. MUST CREDIT: Bloomberg photo by Christinne Muschi.

By Syndication Washington Post, Bloomberg · Jenny Surane, Payne Lubbers · BUSINESS, PERSONAL-FINANCE 

Many online lenders were born in the last crisis. In their latest test, they’re fizzling.

On Deck Capital Inc. said late Tuesday it had agreed to sell itself for $90 million, almost six years after an initial public offering that valued the online small-business lender at $1.85 billion.

Shares of On Deck and competitors including LendingClub Corp. and GreenSky Inc. have tumbled this year as the covid-19 pandemic raised doubts about customers’ ability to repay loans. Kabbage Inc., which is backed by Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp., began suspending customers’ credit lines in the early days of the outbreak as small businesses across the U.S. shut their doors to help stem the spread of the virus.

On Deck Chief Executive Officer Noah Breslow warned in April that the company could no longer prioritize growth in its core business. “Our current focus is on improving cash flow and mitigating risk for our small-business customers and ourselves alike,” Breslow said on a conference call.

During the financial crisis, banks were short on firepower for lending and wary of risks, which cleared the way for new entrants. Now the problem isn’t a shortage of cash, but of information. It’s hard to predict who will keep their jobs or stay afloat as the pandemic evolves. Even established credit-card lenders such as Capital One Financial Corp. are conceding they don’t know which of their longtime customers still have a job.

“I don’t think we have a rigorous measure of how many of our current borrowers are unemployed,” Capital One Chief Executive Officer Richard Fairbank said on a conference call earlier this month. “There are a lot of people that are in different degrees of unemployment right now, and so, even as there is such great credit performance right now, what we’re obsessing about is looking beyond that.”

On Deck said its deal with Enova International Inc. was its best option to grapple with the new environment.

“Joining forces with Enova, a highly respected and well-capitalized leader in online lending, and leveraging our combined scale and strengths provides the best opportunity for our long-term success,” Breslow told analysts on a conference call Tuesday.

Shares of New York-based On Deck, which lost almost 80% this year through Tuesday, surged 61% at 9:45 a.m. in New York.

The pandemic hasn’t been the only problem for On Deck. Its shares tumbled last year after JPMorgan Chase, the country’s largest lender, decided to no longer use On Deck’s technology to originate online small-business loans.

#ศาสตร์เกษตรดินปุ๋ย : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

IRPC seeks Bt28bn via bond issuance

CorporateJul 30. 2020

By The Nation

PTT subsidiary IRPC is issuing Bt28 billion in senior bonds to boost liquidity, support business growth and investment opportunities, and repay debts.

Noppadol Pinsupa, IRPC president and CEO, explained that the bonds have bondholders’ representatives but no guarantor and are rated A-(tha) by Fitch Ratings.

“Six financial institutions, namely Krungthai Bank, Kasikorn Bank, Siam Commercial Bank, CIMB Thai Bank, TMB Bank, and Phatra Securities will responsible for the bond offering,” he said, adding the bonds were a good choice for investors seeking consistent returns in volatile market conditions.

The issuance aims to raise funds for investment, debt repayments, boosting liquidity, and enhancing company potential and competitiveness in line with its strategic plan.

“The company aims to invest in projects, such as upgrading petroleum refining to the Euro 5 standard, transporting fuel via pipelines, dredging ports, increasing production of value-added products, and applying digital systems,” he said.

“We expect the abovementioned projects to generate over Bt4.6 billion in revenue.”

IRPC was still able to invest in line with its five-year (2020-24) plan and was prioritising investments to ensure it has sufficient liquidity and could meet customers’ needs during the current situation and in the future, said Noppadol.

IRPC operates a full range of petroleum and petrochemical businesses to meet customers’ needs in industries such as electrical appliances, automotive, medical, and public health,” he said. “IRPC also operates utility business, such as ports, oil depots, and power plants, which are important for the country’s industry and economic development.

More information about IRPC’s bonds can be found at the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC)’s website, www.sec.or.th, or by contacting Krungthai Bank on (02) 111 1111, Kasikorn Bank on (02) 888-8888 ext 819, Siam Commercial Bank on (02) 777 6784, CIMB Thai Bank on (02) 626 7777, TMB Bank on 1558 ext 9, and Phatra Securities on (02) 305 9442.

#ศาสตร์เกษตรดินปุ๋ย : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

Chevrolet assures customers it’s committed to aftersales service

CorporateJul 29. 2020

By The Nation

Chevrolet Sales Thailand has reaffirmed its commitment to providing aftersales service to its customers nationwide, announcing today (July 29) that all current Chevrolet dealerships around Thailand will become authorised Chevrolet service centres as new car sales cease.

“This means all existing Chevrolet customers can have total peace of mind that they will continue to receive certified maintenance, parts, warranty repairs and roadside assistance services through a national network of authorised Chevrolet service outlets,” the automaker said in a press statement.

“This is a very important announcement for our customers around Thailand,” said Hector Villarreal, president of GM Southeast Asia. “We are happy to confirm that all our current dealer partners will transition to become authorised Chevrolet service outlets, ensuring we have a national network of outlets for our customers to get expert maintenance, repairs and warranty services, along with genuine GM and ACDelco spare parts. It’s another important milestone in our continued commitment to look after our valued customers across Thailand beyond the end of new vehicle sales,” he added.

Said Vanchana Unakul, general director of aftersales at General Motors Thailand: “We are ensuring ongoing excellent customer service satisfaction. There is no better way to do so or illustrate this than by confirming that our national dealer network will become Chevrolet service outlets. It demonstrates not just Chevrolet Thailand’s commitment to our customers, but also the commitment of our dealer partners to look after their loyal customers.”

According to the company, the aftersales services include:

• Bumper-to-bumper factory warranty of 3 years or 100,000 km, whichever comes first, covering workmanship, parts and manufacturing defects.

• Service by certified technicians to make repairs and carry out vehicle maintenance.

• 100 per cent genuine GM parts and guaranteed quality products such as GM engine oil with high-performance lubricant oil technology and ACDelco products.

• 24-hour roadside assistance by certified technicians for all vehicle problems.

• A Chevrolet 1734 Customer Assistance Centre, opened from Monday to Saturday, 9am-6pm.

#ศาสตร์เกษตรดินปุ๋ย : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

SCG reveals one-year plan to weather Covid-19 storm

CorporateJul 29. 2020

By The Nation

Siam Cement Group (SCG) has created a “Plan for the Best” roadmap for its three business segments to adapt during the Covid-19 crisis, while forging ahead with its Vietnam petrochemical plant project.

Over the years, SCG has overcome business setbacks ranging from the 1997 Asian financial crisis, which saw SCG restructure, to 2009’s Map Ta Phut environmental crisis which put the brakes on 20 investment projects for one year.

However, Roongrote Rangsiyopash, President and CEO of SCG, said the global Covid-19 outbreak is different and more severe than the 1997 financial crisis, when Thai exports still grew to meet demand outside Asia. SCG was nevertheless heavily affected as business was diversified, resulting in huge investments and liabilities as the company narrowed its focus to three business groups – cement and construction products, chemicals, and packaging.

Next came the so-called Hamburger Crisis of 2007-08, which hit the United States and Europe but had a softer impact on Thailand through reduced investment flows. Meanwhile the impact of Thailand’s 2011 flood crisis on SCG was minimal as offices were temporarily relocated before things quickly returned to normal.

Roongrote said the Covid-19 crisis had no precedent in his lifetime, noting you had to go back a century to the Spanish flu pandemic for a comparable event.

As Covid-19 spread quickly from China to Asean countries and beyond, many Thai businesses began struggling for survival amid a climate of public fear. Businesses related to entertainment, tourism and travel have been especially hard hit.

SCG boosts crisis management

SCG is considered lucky because its main business is not in a sector that has been severely affected, like airlines, hotels or entertainment. The company also has experience coping with previous crises, including the 2011 floods when SCG relocated its headquarters, arranged for employees to work from home, and launched a Business Continuity Management Unit (BCM) to enhance teamwork.

Now, SCG has invited virus experts to lecture staff on disease prevention, while arranging for 90 per cent of its employees to work from home.

‘Digital’ survival

SCG uses digital systems to monitor and run most of its global business, meaning staff can work outside the office to manage e-mail billing and e-documents via blockchain systems to guarantee security.

Meanwhile, transferring meetings online via Zoom has helped staff to work more efficiently and solve a greater range of issues.

4X management speed

According to Roongrote, crisis management must adapt by speeding up decision-making and working processes. SCG managers have now switched from their normal monthly meetings to meetings once a week, which has made the work process four times faster. The acceleration is needed in order to solve problems quickly, even if there are fewer customers during the virus crisis. Meanwhile, SCG’s construction projects with the government sector are still continuing and its packaging business is operating as usual.

2021

Vaccine production that will end the virus crisis is expected to begin next year, but SCG has plans to cover two scenarios.

1. Prepare for the worst: The Covid-19 crisis drags on until the end of 2021 when a vaccine is finally delivered. Meanwhile, Thai cases increase beyond 100,000 and an Italy-like lockdown prohibits people from leaving the house so that economic activities, including construction, come to a halt.

In this scenario, SCG will employ a business management strategy to weather the storm until the end of 2021.

“In the period from February-April, staff were told not to look ahead and focus only on sustaining the business with the same goal – to get this boat through the storm and patch any holes to survive,” said Roongrote.

2. Plan for the best: Encourage each SCG business group to develop products to meet demand caused by the virus crisis. The packaging business should increase deliveries and use more packaging that is sealed and safe from contamination. The construction materials business must think of new products – such as a touchless toilet with sensor system and batteries that only need to be changed once a year. Chemical Business must find new channels for the “new normal” market.

Vietnam petro project goes ahead as planned

With no new domestic cases for many weeks, the outbreak in Thailand has died down, bringing a brighter picture for business plans and investment.

The virus crisis prompted SCG to cut its investment budget of Bt70-80 billion by 20 per cent and pause some projects, but those figures will be revised when the outbreak has been further controlled.

However, SCG is proceeding as planned with investment to construct a petrochemical plant in Vietnam, where Covid-19 is under control and the economy is expected to recover quickly since it is not heavily reliant on tourism and has a population of almost 100 million.

#ศาสตร์เกษตรดินปุ๋ย : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

Emerald Hotel to reopen on Saturday

CorporateJul 29. 2020

By THE NATION

The Emerald Hotel in Bangkok will reopen on August 1 after having been shut since May 1 due to the Covid-19 crisis, the hotel said yesterday (July 28).

The 619-room hotel is located on Ratchadaphisek Road in Bangkok’s Din Daeng district.

Like many hotels nationwide, The Emerald temporarily ceased operations in compliance with the government’s measures to reduce public assembly to minimise the risk of the virus spreading.

“We are glad to inform you that from August 1, the Emerald will be ready to serve all guests,” the hotel’s management said. “We have employed appropriate sanitary measures to ensure the safety of both staff and customers. Furthermore, the hotel will offer a special room rate of Bt999 per night throughout the month of August.”

The promotion is available only for Thais.

For further information, visit the hotel’s Facebook page at @theemeraldhotel.