Private hospital share prices are recovering after the government’s fifth phase of lockdown easing allowed foreigners to visit Thailand for medical treatment, said experts.
Parin Kitchatornpitak, an analyst at KGI Securities (Thailand), said that the price of hospital stocks is likely to increase after the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) lifted the restriction on medical tourists.
“According to the CCSA, 30,000 to 50,000 foreigners are set to undergo medical treatment in Thailand, after submitting travel itineraries and undergoing 14-day quarantine,” he said.
The government’s move to ban foreign arrivals from April hit hospitals hard, since foreign patients contribute anything from 10 per cent to 60 per cent of their revenue.
“However, we expect shares in hospitals that receive revenue from foreign patients to increase significantly from the fourth quarter of this year onwards, as countries ease their lockdown measures and a Covid-19 vaccine comes available,” he added.
Meanwhile, Apaporn Sawangpak, head of research at DBS Vickers Securities (Thailand), said that a collaboration between hospital network Bangkok Dusit Medical Services (BDMS) and China’s Ping An Health insurers will draw up to 4,000 Chinese medical tourists per year.
“BDMS expects this collaboration to generate up to Bt2 billion per year in revenue,” she said.
She explained that prior to the Covid-19 outbreak, 70 per cent of BDMS revenue came from Thai patients, and 30 per cent from foreigners.
“Most foreign patients came from the Middle East, followed by Japan, Myanmar and China,” she said.
She expects BDMS performance to improve in the second half of this year in response to the lockdown easing.
B&G Park bets on bright future for premium office space despite Covid-19 setback
Jul 02. 2020
By THE NATION
B&G Park Co Ltd (B&G), a developer of commercial real estate projects, aims to make its brand a leader within Asean in office building and hotel real estate development.
It plans to raise funds in the third quarter of the year after the Security Exchange Commission (SEC)’s approval to set up BG Real Estate Investment Trust.
The company is confident that the demand for office buildings will continue to grow despite the change in work behaviour and in choosing the size of rental spaces due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Theprit Srichawla, director of B&G, said the company specialised in commercial real estate development branching into two main groups — tourism and hotels — at home and abroad,. They include Avani Hua Hin Resort & Villas and office buildings such as Interchange 21 building in the heart of the Asoke-Sukhumvit CBD area near the BTS Asoke Station and MRT Sukhumvit Station.
Theprit said the trend of office buildings for the rent market after the Covid-19 outbreak could change as some businesses may reduce their investment. But the demand for office space rental will remain albeit in a different format. This may be in the form of reduced floor area to suit the work-from-home behavioural trend, he added.
Theprit Srichawla
He said the company has been well prepared and had made adjustments prior to the crisis through a strategy to manage office rental space, and to have close and regular communication with tenants. In addition, the company has concluded that to reset rental prices to compete with other operators of office buildings for rent is not a proper strategy in the present environment. “The more ideal solution would be to provide convenience and services that will support the tenants’ operations,” Theprit said.
“During this period, the company adopted active measures to help the tenants by arranging office areas. The building had a variety of businesses that were small tenants, and the company helped the tenants affected by the imposition of the emergency decree by waiving the rents… The company has reduced the rents on a case-by-case basis to provide flexibility that would allow the tenants to carry on with their businesses. These support measures are expected to end soon. Therefore, this situation will not significantly impact the tenants in their ability to rent the office spaces and we are confident that this will not affect the investment of the BGREIT that will occur in the near future,” Theprit added.
Lately, the company has set up a trust fund to raise capital for the Interchange 21 project.
The SEC has started its consideration of the initial public offering application and the filing of B&G Leasehold Real Estate Investment Trust (BGREIT). B&G REIT Management Co Ltd, a B&G subsidiary, will manage the trust fund while Siam Commercial Bank Plc will be the financial adviser. BGREIT will initially invest in the Interchange 21 project for approximately 25 years with registered capital of not more than Bt8.043 billion, consisting of Bt6.543 billion in raised funds and Bt1.5 billion in long-term loans. The company is expected to be approved for listing on the Stock Exchange of Thailand within the third quarter of 2020.
Internet security for small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs) has been beefed up with the release of Zyxel Networks’ latest Nebula Cloud Networking Solution update.
The update features the industry’s first DPPSK for simplified WiFi security for SMBs, said Zyxel, enabling them to deliver cloud-manageable networking services via the Nebula.
The Nebula closes the security hole left by sharing WiFi passwords with guests or employees, instead offering cloud authentication enhancement through the Dynamic Personal Pre-Shared Key (DPPSK) feature – the first time this has been made available to the SMB market.
With DPPSK, each user is given a unique WiFi password, said the firm. With the tap of a button, passwords can be customised to expire or last for a particular timeframe, making management of WiFi access for multiple users simple, convenient, and secure.
“Zyxel’s enhanced Nebula provides SMBs with the tools they need to easily and securely onboard visitors, guests or employees to their WiFi,” said Jonas Dekkers, co-founder of the Wiflex project from Complit Networks in Belgium.
“We applaud Zyxel Networks for opening their API to MSPs, giving our customers, and a far wider range of SMBs, the opportunity to achieve more secure, easy, and cloud-manageable WiFi onboarding services for their businesses. We already created our own cloud-based onboarding solution for guests [visitor registration] and employees based on Azure and G Suite with the unique DPPSK feature of Zyxel.”
The June Nebula release also features the Zyxel GS1350 series of surveillance switches. The switch boasts extended range, with all PoE ports supporting data transmission up to 250 metres to allow for deployment at a distance. Meanwhile, businesses can reduce downtime with the Auto PD Recovery feature to easily restart a malfunctioning power device. All of which, says Zyxel, allows network admins to save resources and more easily manage their CCTV networks through the cloud without having to send field engineers to visit each site.
The firm adds that the Nebula’s new SSID NAT function enables small businesses to set up Nebula-compatible access points (APs) as a router or gateway capable of assigning IP addresses to wireless clients, such as customer or staff phones and laptops, reducing the overhead of additional network infrastructure for many small businesses.
Other products available under the updated Nebula include new WiFi 6 APs (WAX610D, NWA210AX), XS1930 multi-gigabit switches and GS2220 aggregation switches, adding up to a total of 52 devices to its product portfolio. For more info, visit http://www.zyxel.com/nebula.
Nebula Cloud Networking solution allows you to control and manage Zyxel’s native and compatible Nebula access points, switches and gateways, all from one place with ease.
Dtac launches pharmacy e-vouchers to broaden healthcare access
Jul 01. 2020How Lih Ren, Chief Marketing Officer (2nd from right), and Sukannee Lertsukwibul, Head of Prepaid Market and Product at Total Access Communications Plc or dtac (left) Cindy Kua, Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of Sunday Ins Co (right), and Teera Kanokkanjanarat, CEO and co-founder of Arincare Co (2nd from left)
By THE NATION
Amid growing concern over health and financial hardship, dtac is tackling the issues of self-medication and fake drugs by making visits to the pharmacy more affordable.
Dtac’s Jaidee pharmacy vouchers are valid at participating pharmacies and can be purchased at discounts of 50%.
Under this scheme, both prepaid and post-paid dtac customers can purchase vouchers worth up to Bt200 for Bt89, while vouchers worth up to Bt300 cost only Bt150. The e-vouchers can then be redeemed at participating drug stores by showing the confirmation SMS. The campaign lasts until December 31, 2020. For more information, visit www.dtac.co.th/s/Evoucher.
Certified pharmacies nationwide can apply to join the project at http://bit.ly/arincare or dial (064) 226 6888 for details.
How Lih Ren, Chief Marketing Officer at Total Access Communications Plc (dtac), said: “Dtac starts from the challenges our customers face in their daily lives and then looks for solutions that empower them. Jaidee pharmacy vouchers bring health and peace of mind to customers who are often outside of the healthcare system.”
During the peak time of Covid-19 between February and April, a survey showed that 60% of Thais visited drug stores to seek medical advice and get information on disease prevention.
The vast majority of dtac customers use prepaid packages, and most of them are low-income earners. They feel financial insecurity and are concerned about the economic downturn, income reduction, unemployment and a higher cost of living fuelled by medical costs. Dtac customers can buy e-vouchers via USSD, before showing the confirmation SMS and collecting medications at participating drug stores.
There two options for prepaid customers: First, buy an Bt89 e-voucher (VAT exclusive) and get up to Bt200 in credit via *496*51#. Second, buy a Bt150 e-voucher (VAT exclusive) and get up to Bt300 in credit via *496*52#. The offer is limited to four times per month per person.
Post-paid customers can buy a Bt150 e-voucher (VAT exclusive) and get up to Bt300 in credit via *496*52#. The offer is limited to four times per month per person.
Customers will get an e-voucher code via SMS, which will last seven days. The voucher is non-refundable and cannot be exchanged for cash.
“The campaign for Jaidee pharmacy vouchers is initiated by dtac in collaboration with insurance tech startup Sunday Ins, and the digital platform for pharmacists and drugstores, Arincare. To date, customers can redeem e-voucher at more than 400 drug stores nationwide. Dtac aims to expand the offer to every district within this year and eventually reach every sub-district. The effort aims to give customers easy access to healthcare services everywhere in Thailand,” said How.
IMPACT reopens for large-scale events under the new normal
Jun 30. 2020
By The Nation
Big-time event organiser, IMPACT Exhibition Management Co Ltd, is reopening IMPACT Muang Thong Thani under the new normal with an emphasis on “smart” and maximum safety provided by UVC sterilisation units.
The 140,000 square metre convention centre, the largest in Southeast Asia, has been inspected by government officials and given the go-ahead for events in the third and fourth quarters.
During the three-month Covid-19 lockdown, IMPACT implemented precautionary and preventive measures in line with guidelines issued by the government, including ensuring a 4sqm space between people during meetings, workshops or seminars, 1-metre space between attendees of parties, product launches, contests and sports competitions and 5sqm space between those attending music events or concerts.
IMPACT has also prepared guidelines for visitors to follow in different areas of the complex.
Apart from this, IMPACT is also offering customers the option of holding virtual seminars. In line with the government’s policy of controlling crowd density, the space for holding meetings has dropped sharply. However, with IMPACT’s new hybrid system, participants have the option of registering for physical or virtual attendance. This way, meetings can accommodate anything from 100 to 3,000 participants.
Equipment such as cameras will be provided at these meetings and technical staff will also be at hand to provide assistance.
So far, more than 20 events have been scheduled for the rest of the year, including gatherings of government agencies, a shareholder’s meeting as well as exhibitions held by the public and private sectors, such as the Mid-Year Sale and Bangkok Motor Show, which are expected to attract huge crowds.
“One of the largest events that people have been looking forward to is the 41st Bangkok International Motor Show, which will be held from July 15 to 26. This will be one of the largest events after the Covid-19 lockdown, and we hope visitors adhere strictly to the Covid-19 preventive measures. This event will become a model for future ones,” said Paul Kanjanapas, managing director of IMPACT Exhibition Management Co Ltd and an executive of IMPACT Muang Thong Thani.
Shares in Sri Trang Gloves (Thailand) (STGT) soared to 75 per cent of their initial public offering (IPO) price on their opening day of trading today, in the Stock Exchange of Thailand’s first IPO since the Covid-19 outbreak.
The company’s shares hit a high of Bt60.25, from their IP0 price of Bt34, before falling back to Bt57.5 by the end of the morning session – up 69.12 per cent from the IPO price.
Sri Trang is the world’s third largest producer and distributor of rubber gloves for medical and industrial use, churning out more than 32.5 billion gloves per year.
A subsidiary of Sri Trang Agro Industry (STA), Sri Trang Gloves was created from the merger of rubber glove manufacturing and distribution companies to support business expansion.
STA plans to use the estimated Bt15 billion raised from the listing to expand its production of rubber gloves worth about Bt11 billion. STA will hold 50.7 per cent of STGT shares after the IPO.
By The Washington Post · Ian Duncan, Michael laris, Lori Aratani · NATIONAL, BUSINESS, CONGRESS, TRANSPORTATION WASHINGTON – Boeing repeatedly downplayed to federal regulators the importance of a flight control system that would later be implicated in the fatal crashes of two 737 Max jets, according to an inspector general’s report released Wednesday.
The watchdog’s review concluded that Boeing decided as early as 2013 to portray the new automated feature as simply a modification of the plane’s existing controls – a decision in keeping with the company’s goal of minimizing the new training pilots would need on the aircraft, saving its customers money.
But the feature, known as the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS), continued to evolve during the plane’s development, becoming more powerful, and staff members with the Federal Aviation Administration told auditors that they made key decisions about the feature without knowing that it had been altered. What’s more, the final flight tests of the Max’s control systems in late 2016, just a few months before the FAA granted the plane its final blessing, included some tests using the old, less powerful, version of the feature because Boeing was continuing to update it.
The result of those and other decisions meant FAA officials signed off on a system without a clear sense of how it worked and instead chose to focus on other areas regulators deemed high risk during the certification process, including the aircraft’s larger engines and changes to its landing gear, the inspector general wrote.
The core of the inspector general’s interim report was a detailed timeline that reads like a compendium of missed opportunities that resulted in tragedy.
In response, the FAA pointed to a letter from the Department of Transportation outlining several improvements that are being made in the agency’s policies and procedures.
Boeing, in a statement, said: “We appreciate the Inspector General’s efforts in reviewing the 737 MAX design and certification process, with which we have cooperated fully and extensively.”
“Since the accidents, multiple committees and governmental authorities have examined issues related to the MAX, and in response to their findings and our own internal reviews, we have made substantial changes within our company to further enhance our commitment to safety. We are committed to transparency with the FAA during all aspects of the airplane certification process, and have made significant changes to improve our support to that regulatory process,” the company said.
The release of the report comes the same week that FAA pilots and staff from Boeing completed a series of test flights on the Max, which has been grounded worldwide since March 2019 following the two crashes. The flights are seen as a key step for Boeing to win certification of the aircraft, but a number of other requirements must be met, including the evaluation of data gathered from the three days of testing.
The inspector general offered no recommendations, saying those may be included in future reviews of pilot training requirements, the FAA’s oversight of the certification process and other related matters.
The inspector general reviews also chronicled the FAA’s oversight of Boeing under a system known as Organization Designation Authorization, which gives manufacturers such as Boeing broad powers to perform much of the certification work for their own aircraft. The inspector general had, before the two Max crashes, identified deficiencies in the FAA’s oversight of its delegation system, and the details outlined in its latest report point to additional shortcomings. For example, the report notes that the FAA’s Boeing Aviation Safety Oversight Office has just 42 employees to oversee Boeing’s 1,500 representatives.
The two fatal 737 Max crashes happened less than five months apart – the first on Oct. 29, 2018, off the coast of Indonesia, and the second March 10, 2019, in Ethiopia – killing a total of 346 passengers and crew members. Crash investigators say a faulty reading from one of the planes’ sensors caused the MCAS to repeatedly activate, pushing the planes’ noses down and making it virtually impossible for the pilots in both incidents to regain control.
The tragedies damaged the reputation of one of the United States’ leading manufacturers and led to the ouster of its chief executive, Dennis Muilenburg, in December, as well as several other key company officials. It also led to scrutiny of the relationship between the FAA and the companies it is supposed to regulate.
Company emails uncovered as part of a separate congressional investigation showed several instances in which employees bragged about “Jedi mind tricking” regulators and showed contempt for their own internal process. In one 2017 exchange, a Boeing employee wrote, “this airplane is designed by clowns who are in turn supervised by monkeys.”
Boeing’s new leader, Dave Calhoun, has pledged to rebuild trust in the company, which has lost billions in revenue because of the Max crisis.
Some of the concerns raised by the nonpartisan inspector general have been raised in other reports, but this latest examination offers the clearest summary of the actions taken by Boeing and the FAA throughout the certification process and in the aftermath of the two crashes.
“I commend the DOT Office of the Inspector General for agreeing to take on this critically important examination of the FAA’s certification of the Boeing 737 MAX,” said Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, which has conducted five hearings on the Max. “This IG report reinforces some of the findings of our Committee’s ongoing investigation, which has revealed a number of disturbing patterns, including Boeing’s efforts to conceal critical information from regulators in its rush to get the MAX to market.”
DeFazio said his committee will release additional findings from its investigation.
In a joint statement, Reps. Sam Graves, R-Mo., and Garret Graves, R- La., minority leaders on the committee, said it is critical that lawmakers use the inspector general’s work and findings from other groups as Congress moves forward on possible changes.
“This is just the first step in the OIG’s process, but this report shows the FAA’s certification process at the time was followed and decisions made were based upon certain assumptions that we now know must be reevaluated by the FAA and Boeing,” the lawmakers said. “In particular, we are very interested in the OIG’s continuing review of FAA’s processes for determining the certification basis, assessing pilot training needs, and conducting risk analyses.”
The inspector general’s report showed that the FAA did not sufficiently require complete, timely and trustworthy information from Boeing.
Boeing did not communicate its own formal risk assessment to the FAA regarding the automated feature until a few months before the FAA certified the Max, the report found.
“According to FAA management, it is not unusual for manufacturers to complete and submit the safety assessments toward the end of the certification process,” according to the report.
And even then, the FAA relied on flawed Boeing findings. The company did not anticipate “catastrophic” results from a failure of the automated feature, the report said. As a consequence, neither Boeing nor the FAA called for installing key safety redundancies, which experts say could have saved the planes.
An FAA spokesman declined to respond directly, referring instead to a response from a deputy to Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao.
The report points to “some strengths in FAA’s aircraft certification process, as well as areas for improvement,” General Counsel Steven Bradbury told the inspector general in a letter last month.
Bradbury said the “FAA anticipates strengthening coordination” among agency officials responsible for certification, “as well as enhancing its human factors, flight controls, and system safety expertise to address weaknesses that led to an incomplete understanding of MCAS prior to certification.”
Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, which oversees aviation, and ranking Democrat Sen. Maria Cantwell of Washington state, have jointly introduced legislation that would strengthen the FAA’s oversight of Boeing employees who conduct safety work on behalf of the agency and ensure that government and company employees are free to communicate with one another. The bill would also require the FAA to rethink its approach to evaluating the risks posed when automated flight systems and human pilots have to work together.
Previous reviews of the Max crashes have concluded that the agency and Boeing did not anticipate the difficulty some pilots would have overriding the MCAS if it failed.
House Democrats also are expected to introduce legislation following an extensive investigation into Boeing and the FAA. An interim report they released branded the agency as “grossly insufficient” in its initial review of the Max and blamed Boeing for having a “culture of concealment.”
Meanwhile, the FAA continues to move forward with test flights in the Seattle area. The flights are an important step toward approving the Max to resume flying. The planes are being put through a set of maneuvers and emergency procedures to test whether changes Boeing made after the crashes meet the FAA’s standards.
FAA Administrator Steve Dickson has said that the coronavirus pandemic has not slowed the agency’s work in reviewing the Max. But he told members of Congress recently that convening a panel involving pilots from around the world, another important step in the process, could be challenging. Dickson has said he will personally fly a Max before signing off on ungrounding it.
“The report reinforces concerns that have been raised by the Commerce Committee, including Boeing’s lack of candor during the certification process, FAA’s questionable oversight of critical safety systems, and the FAA’s response after the Lion Air crash,” Wicker said. “Although the IG report does not include recommendations, it does provide a factual basis for further consideration of bipartisan aviation safety legislation that Senator Cantwell and I have introduced.”
The panel in charge of rehabilitating debt-ridden Thai Airways International Plc (THAI) on Tuesday (June 30) confirmed that the carrier will only shed 5 per cent of the 20,000 employees as part of the airline’s reorganisation effort.
Nares Peungyam, former president of THAI’s labour union, said he, representatives of the airline staff as well as representatives of the labour union met the rehab panel to discuss some issues on Tuesday.
He said that at the meeting, panel member Pirapan Salirathavibhaga said now the panel is aiming to cut only 5 per cent of the airline’s workforce, down from the initial target of 30 per cent.
According to Pirapan, some redundant staff members will be shifted to departments that need more workers, Nares said.
Meanwhile, THAI’s board held an extraordinary meeting on Wednesday (July 1) to appoint board member Chansin Treenuchagorn as acting president as of July 2. The airline’s board also accepted the resignation of Chakkrit Parapuntakul from his post as acting president. Chakkrit will continue holding the position of THAI’s second vice chairman.
The carrier filed for rehabilitation with the Central Bankruptcy Court on May 26 and the court accepted the petition on May 27. The court will hear the case on August 17.
Italthai is preparing to open 12 new hotels across Asia as the hospitality industry emerges from a lockdown that caused domestic and international revenues to drop 60-70 per cent.
The construction and hospitality giant is the parent company of ONYX Hospitality Group, whose brands include Amari hotels.
Yuthachai Charanachitta, Italthai’s chief executive, acknowledged the company had been affected by the crisis but said it was able to move forward despite severe damage to the tourism sector.
The company experienced a slowing but not a halt in its construction business during lockdown, since the market for power plants, petrochemical and industrial factories escaped heavy impacts.
Meanwhile, the tourism business is in its worst state for 50 years after lockdown restrictions cut revenue by 60-70 per cent. However, Italthais’ 4-5 star hotels and services were able to generate revenue from long-term clients during the pandemic.
Italthai also used the lockdown period as an opportunity to renovate several hotels in Bangkok and train staff to operate an online platform, said Yuthachai.
Promotions to stimulate business and raise confidence among returning guests have been launched, including hygiene measures under the ONYX Clean campaign.
“ONYX Hospitality Group will continue with plans to open 12 new hotels within 12 months and expand its network in Asia Pacific, including China,” Yuthachai said.
Another Italthai business that suffered impacts from Covid-19 was heavy machinery distribution. The company is seeking to change its strategy by adding heavy machines for asphalt and concrete road works, and electrical trucks and drilling platforms for mining.
Krungsri (Bank of Ayudhya) has rolled out a digital tool designed to make saving easier for customers in the “new normal” era.
The Kept financial management platform features an easy-to-use digital wallet and savings jars that lure users with higher interest rates.
High household debt coupled with the impacts of Covid-19 have highlighted the low personal savings rate in Thailand, said Krungsri’s head of Retail Banking and Distribution Phonganant Thanattrai.
“Therefore Krungsri developed Kept [as] an assistant to make savings possible and financial goals achievable, just by adjusting savings behaviour.”
The platform has three accounts – Kept, Grow and Fun – under “the one wallet, two savings jars” system, he added.
Customers can transfer money to the Kept Wallet, and set a certain amount of money for spending in advance. The remaining amount will be automatically transferred to the Grow account at the end of every day. If there’s not enough money in the Kept wallet, the system has a feature for automatically transferring money back from the Grow account. Customers can transfer money in and out of Kept as often as needed without paying any fee.
The Grow account works as a long-term savings jar, receiving automatic transfers of surplus money (minimum of Bt5,000) for high interest (currently 1.6 per cent) in the first year and 1.8 per cent in the second.
The Fun account works like a short-term savings jar, enabling customers to set up and regulate daily transfers into and out of the account.
The Kept application is available for download on iOS and Android.
How Lih Ren, Chief Marketing Officer (2nd from right), and Sukannee Lertsukwibul, Head of Prepaid Market and Product at Total Access Communications Plc or dtac (left) Cindy Kua, Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of Sunday Ins Co (right), and Teera Kanokkanjanarat, CEO and co-founder of Arincare Co (2nd from left)
