Thai Union’s acquisition of a 39.9-per-cent share in Thammachart Seafood follows on from its purchase of a 25.1-per-cent stake in 2018.

Rittirong Boonmechote, President – Global Frozen Unit, Thai Union Group said Thai Union decided to invest in Thammachart Seafood Retail in recognition of the good synergy of the two companies.

While Thai Union has strength in frozen seafood and food service, Thammachart Seafood is strong in branding and marketing with formidable executives and a team with more than 10 years of experience and expertise in retail and premium seafood brands.

This will fulfill Thai Union’s goal of expanding further into the Thai domestic market and other markets including Laos, Cambodia and China.

Besides managing its own operations, Thammachart Seafood will bring its expertise in branding and marketing to Thai Union’s Qfresh branded products which will allow it to expand into both B2B and B2C segments.

“Thammachart Seafood provides professional management services to leading Thai retailers for their seafood counters, handling fresh and frozen products at 190 locations throughout Thailand. This includes four food and beverage concepts at 18 locations, The Dock Seafood Bar, The Lobster Lab, Seafood Mahanakorn as well as management of the Ocean Bar. We opened our third business unit earlier this year, the seafood-focused food service business, and this currently supplies top-end hotels and restaurants including several Michelin-star restaurants in Bangkok,” said Julian G Davies, Thammachart Seafood Retail’s chief executive.

“Moreover, to assist our vision of providing seafood solutions to our customers, we also opened a purpose-built warehouse that has a centralized kitchen, chef’s table, production facility and storage. Having Thai Union on board will help us realise our mission to be the customers’ first choice in seafood.”

Nintendo could sell as many as four million Switch units in China in the fiscal year ending March and 12 million units of software, London-based tech equity researcher Pelham Smithers wrote in a note to clients. That could add as much as 23 billion yen ($212 million) to the Kyoto-based company’s full-year operating profit, Smithers said.

Nintendo and its local partner Tencent Holdings Ltd. began selling the Switch console in China on Dec. 10, a move that has excited Nintendo investors hopeful of tapping a new market. But the optimism has been tampered by the historically lackluster performance of Sony Corp.’s PlayStation and Microsoft Corp.’s Xbox consoles, which have had several years to crack the market where smartphones are the dominant gaming platform. Video game giants are also hampered by Beijing’s insistence on vetting all games, which limits the library available to fans and slows new releases. At launch, the Switch only had one state-approved game to play.

“While the history of the game console in China is not a happy one, lack of success is not necessarily down to lack of interest on the part of the consumer,” Smithers wrote in the report. “After all: if China’s consumers didn’t play console video games, the authorities wouldn’t have bothered banning them in the first place.”

Key Insights:

–Switch hardware sales in China may range between 2 million and 4 million units in fiscal 2019 and between 3 million and 6 million the following year. Software sales will range between 6 million and 12 million in the current period and 15 million and 30 million in the period ending March 2021.

–China could contribute between 11.6 billion yen and 23.1 billion yen to Nintendo’s operating profit this year and 27.8 billion to 55.6 billion yen in the next.

–Smithers forecasts a ratio of three game purchases for each hardware unit sold in both years.

–He also assumes Tencent takes a 30% share of software sales income, while all of the hardware revenue goes to Nintendo, and that the two companies split the marketing costs.

–Nintendo’s sales in China may be capped by the company’s unwillingness to significantly increase production volume of the console and risk building up unsold inventory.

Nintendo’s signature device is selling for 2,099 yuan ($298), about the same as elsewhere around the world. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Mario Odyssey and Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe have been green-lit by the government. Nintendo is also preparing to introduce the Switch Lite — a cheaper version of the console intended to boost the device’s mainstream appeal — to China at a future date, development partner Tencent said in a social media post last week.

Sales of the Switch might have topped 50,000 units on launch day, according to market researcher Niko Partners, which gathers data from online retailers. Some 20,000 units were sold via JD.com and another 10,000 through TMall, it said in a report. Niko Partners forecasts the sales will reach 100,000 units by the end of the year, far below the 1 to 2 million estimated by Smithers.

This isn’t Nintendo’s first attempt to crack the market. Official console sales in China remain a fraction of the overall gaming arena, as region locks and delayed hardware releases push gamers toward imported options. Nintendo confronted similar challenges in attempts to enter China dating back to 2003. It tried to sell, via a joint venture, its Game Boy Advance, Nintendo 3DS and a peculiar China-only portable console called iQue Player. Rampant piracy and slow game launches made those products unappealing.

Elsewhere, Nintendo’s Switch retains its popularity three years after its launch, in an industry where consoles are often revamped every half-decade or so. The company has so far stuck with a conservative outlook for 18 million Switch units this fiscal year. Smithers thinks full-year sales outside of China could range between 20 and 21 million.

The company’s shares have climbed more than 50% this year on the anticipation of the Switch’s China debut, the release of a smartphone edition of the Mario Kart franchise and the launch of the cheaper Switch Lite. Nintendo is likely to revise upwards its full-year earnings forecasts when it reports results in January, which could tempt some investors to sell and lock in gains, Smithers wrote.

“Even if it doesn’t, this quarter’s figures should impress,” he said.

Progress is being made on the memorandum of understanding even though some outstanding issues still have to be resolved, said the people who asked not to be named because the information isn’t public. Ways to assess potential Fiat liabilities that have come to light since a broad outline of the accord was unveiled Oct. 31 are still under discussion, they said, adding that more than 100 managers are participating.

Representatives for Fiat and PSA declined to comment. The companies had said they aimed to sign a deal before the end of the year.

Following the unveiling of the merger plan, rival General Motors hit Fiat with a blockbuster racketeering lawsuit alleging a bribery and corruption scheme. Fiat has called the accusations “meritless.”

In a separate development, Italian tax authorities claimed Fiat underestimated the value of its American business by 5.1 billion euros ($5.7 billion) following its phased acquisition several years ago. Fiat has said it “strongly” disagrees with the case, which could potentially lead to a levy of as much $1.5 billion.

A merger of Fiat Chrysler and PSA, the No. 2 for car sales in Europe, would create a regional powerhouse to challenge Volkswagen. Under the plan, the new company based in the Netherlands would be headed by PSA Chief Executive Officer Carlos Tavares, while Fiat Chrysler Chairman John Elkann would keep his role as chairman.

The combination would leave Tavares, who turned around PSA and the loss-making Opel brand it acquired, to figure out how to improve Fiat’s struggling operations in Europe. Fiat’s deep Italian roots, along with the French government’s 12% stake in PSA, may make any plans to slim down the new entity more difficult.

In an interview at Huawei headquarters in southern China, Ren Zhengfei said the U.S. ban has had a “pretty big impact” on the company, forcing it to scramble to redesign products to try to eliminate U.S. parts.

He said Huawei is now producing telecom network equipment without U.S. chips or components, and has shipped such gear to more than 40 telecom companies, including some in Europe. Huawei has also reduced U.S. parts in its cell phones, he said.

“Based on the current situation, I think there is no problem that we cannot survive,” Ren, 75, said from a grand reception hall decorated with Grecian statues and columns, where Huawei typically receives foreign customers and guests.

The Trump administration banned most U.S. technology sales to Huawei in May, after labeling the company a security threat. U.S. officials say the Chinese government could tap into Huawei equipment installed overseas to spy on the West or disrupt infrastructure – allegations Huawei denies.

The White House eased the ban somewhat last month, allowing some U.S. companies to resume sales “which do not pose a significant risk to the national security or foreign policy interests of the United States.”

Industry officials said the U.S. is allowing the sale of some components Huawei uses to build consumer products, but is continuing to ban the export of chips and other parts Huawei needs to make equipment for 5G wireless Internet networks. Huawei and its main rivals, Ericsson and Nokia, are competing to sell the equipment to countries investing heavily in the super-fast networks, which are expected to enable future technologies such as autonomous driving.

Adding Huawei to the trade blacklist was part of a broad U.S. push against the Chinese company, which the United States also accuses of violating U.S. sanctions on Iran.

Ren described Trump as “trying to crush businesses and intimidate countries around the world,” and said the trade ban on Huawei would backfire on the U.S. by depriving tech companies of sales.

If U.S. companies won’t supply Huawei, “I’m sure suppliers in other countries will gladly offer their own products to fill that void,” Ren said.

Among the U.S. parts Huawei can’t buy at the moment is a crucial type of chip made by Xilinx Inc., of San Jose, Calif. The so-called FPGA chip allows 5G base stations to be programmed from afar, a flexibility telecom companies like because 5G technology is new and will require adjustments over time, analysts say.

Ren said Huawei had used part of its $15 billion annual R&D budget to design its own FPGA chip that “can deliver as good a performance as Xilinx chips.” Telecom companies have given Huawei positive feedback about equipment containing these Huawei-made chips, he said, though he declined to name specific companies.

Some U.S. tech analysts have cast doubt on Huawei’s ability to produce an FPGA that can match the Xilinx product.

Xilinx declined to comment.

One big remaining obstacle for Huawei: company officials in Shenzhen said the trade ban is still preventing Huawei from licensing Google apps such as Gmail and YouTube for use on its cellphones. That has made the phones less attractive for customers overseas, causing Huawei phone sales to fall in Western markets, even as they have continued to climb in China, according to the company.

Huawei’s total sales in the first nine months of the year grew 24 percent over the same period in 2018, to $86 billion, the company said in an October press release that noted the figures were unaudited. Huawei shares are not publicly traded, so the company isn’t required to publish a full set of audited quarterly results, or to break down its sales by division or geographic market.

The Grecian hall where Ren spoke with The Post was part of an elaborately decorated building that Huawei uses to entertain customers. The palatial entry hall features grand marble staircases, Renaissance-style ceiling frescoes and gilded chandeliers. One wing is decorated like a quaint Kyoto lane, with old-fashioned storefronts and a sushi restaurant. Behind another door sits a verdant greenhouse featuring traditional wooden homes from the Chinese countryside.

Brian Chamberlin, an American marketing executive at Huawei who receives telecom-company clients in the building, said some customers have expressed concerns about the U.S. trade ban.

“Of course every carrier customer is concerned with Huawei being able to deliver,” he said. “And of course Huawei is doing everything in our power, despite the American pressure, to be able to meet our commitment to our customers.”

“Our customers are standing by us,” said Chamberlin, who previously worked for Cisco in California.

Transaction is expected to close within 2020, according to a Bangkok Bank statement.

The bank anticipates conducting a mandatory tender offer for the remaining 10.88 per cent stake in Permata following the completion of its acquisition of the 89.12 per cent stake.

The transaction will be effected on the basis of an agreed valuation of a 1.77 times multiple of Permata’s book value (subject to certain adjustments).

This implies, on the basis of Permata’s book value as at 30 September 2019, an indicative purchase price of 1,498 rupiah per share and an indicative transaction value of 37,430,974 million rupiah (approximately US$2,674 million or Bt81,017 million) for an 89.12 per cent stake at 42,001,080 million rupiah(approximately US$3,000 million or Bt90,909 million) for a 100 per cent stake.

The price payable for the 89.12 per cent stake in Permata will be finalised on the basis of a 1.77 times multiple of Permata’s book value (subject to certain adjustments), as set out in the last financial statements published by Permata prior to the closing of the transaction.

Completion of the transaction is subject to a number of conditions precedent including regulatory approvals from the Bank of Thailand and Otoritas Jasa Keuangan (OJK) and approval of the Bangkok Bank’s general meeting of shareholders.

The acquisition will be financed via a combination of internal resources and Bangkok Bank’s routine funding activities.

The acquisition is expected to be accretive to Bangkok Bank’s earnings per share and return on equity immediately post-completion, while the bank’s capital position is expected to remain robust following the transaction.

Bangkok Bank has the most extensive international network among Thai banks, with a presence in 14 international economies, and loans made through this network accounting for 17 per cent of its total loans.

Over the years, it has adopted a strategy of connecting the region to support its clients in their overseas expansion, and the bank’s international network has been an important factor in the continued growth of its business.

Permata is one of the leading commercial banks in Indonesia, with a sizeable presence across customer segments. With its leading retail deposit franchise and best-in-class digital capabilities, and led by its seasoned management team, Permata is well poised for growth post the recent restructuring.

The acquisition of Permata underlines the Bangkok Bank’s commitment to Indonesia, having been present here since 1968, and will further strengthen the Bangkok Bank’s position as a regional player with strong positioning in Thailand and Indonesia, the two largest markets in Asean.

Piti Sithi-Amnuai, Chairman of Bangkok Bank, said, “International expansion is our key strategy. Indonesia in particular is a key focus for us, as it is one of the fastest-growing major economies in Asia with highly attractive macroeconomic fundamentals, favorable demographics, and increasing Asean regional integration”.

Chartsiri Sophonpanich, President of Bangkok Bank, said: “Based on our first hand experience in Indonesia and deep understanding of the banking sector, we believe the Indonesian banking sector is poised to continue delivering attractive growth while maintaining healthy margins. Permata offers us a solid scalable platform with capabilities that complement our strategic objectives, including an extensive distribution network, a strong retail deposit franchise and brand, and advanced digital capabilities. We look forward to working with and supporting Permata’s management and employees to take Permata to the next level.”

Permata is currently the 12th largest bank in Indonesia by total assets, the acquisition by Bangkok Bank will allow it to tap Bangkok Bank’s expertise in corporate and SME banking, strong network and relationships with top corporates across Asia, as well as cross-border product and sectorial expertise.

Bangkok Bank will continue to support Permata’s customers by delivering high quality products and services, and promoting financial inclusion and financial literacy.

The bank is also committed to supporting corporates and SMEs across industries, including the agriculture and automotive sectors, in achieving their business goals.

“There are clear synergistic opportunities between the two platforms. With our broad presence in Asia, Bangkok Bank will bring cross-border capabilities across key Asian markets to Permata’s clients, which will be important given increasing regional integration, within Asean and with the Greater China region. I am also very pleased to see Astra remaining supportive of continuing the existing business and extending the relationship between Permata and Astra Group across platforms and products” Chartsiri added.

Bangkok Bank is being advised by Morgan Stanley.

The addition of the property in Dublin will represent the expansion of the luxury brand’s footprint into northwest Europe for the first time and also the first urban Anantara hotel in Europe.

The hotel is located in the Docklands, one of the most attractive and dynamic areas of the Irish capital, in the heart of Silicon Docks, a nod to Silicon Valley on account of the high concentration of multinational high-tech companies located in the area.

Close to the International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) and the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre, the hotel is a perfect cultural and business epicentre for travellers’ keen to experience Ireland’s famous hospitality at its best. The Marker is the only five-star hotel in the area, which has recently emerged as one of the most vibrant and modern parts of the city for living, working and socialising.

Owned by Deka Immobilien, one of Europe’s leading real estate investment managers, and a member of Leading Hotels of the World, The Marker Hotel has a futuristic design and style and offers 187 contemporary guest rooms over six floors (166 deluxe rooms, 18 executive rooms and three suites) plus eight state-of-the-art event and meeting facilities.

Services such as an award-winning spa, named Irish Tatler Dublin Spa of the year several times, and stylish rooftop terrace with stunning panoramic 360º views and the restaurant La Brasserie, recently named Best Hotel Restaurant in Dublin by the Restaurant Association of Ireland (RAI), are part of the experience of The Marker Hotel.

“We are thrilled to announce the expansion of our luxury Anantara brand into northwest Europe in the fair city of Dublin. The Marker Hotel is already known as one of the city’s leading hotels and bringing the reputation and luxury touch points of Anantara to the property will further elevate the guest experience,” commented Dillip Rajakarier, CEO of Minor Hotels, parent company of Anantara Hotels, Resorts & Spas.

Ramón Aragonés, CEO of NH Hotel Group, operators of Anantara in Europe, under the guidance and brand oversight of Minor Hotels, said that “this agreement will enable us to bring a truly different value proposition to the Irish market for the first time. The Anantara brand will connect travellers with genuine experiences in a privileged location in the city of Dublin.”

In the surrounding area visitors to the city can enjoy a walk through the culture and heritage of the Docklands, which dates back to the eighteenth century, a wide range of options for foodie travellers, including extravagant cafés and high-end restaurants, shopping on nearby Grafton Street, boat rides along the river and in Dublin Bay or sporting activities from a relaxing yoga class to watching a game of Gaelic football at renowned Croke Park.

The Dublin hotel will be the third Anantara in Europe, joining Anantara Vilamoura Algarve Resort in Portugal and the Anantara Villa Padierna Palace in Marbella, Spain.

The initiative aims to provide enhanced convenience for K Plus users when making payments abroad.

By opting to pay via QR code with enhanced security, customers can go cashless when going abroad, with no more concerns about insufficient funds or leftover currency, especially foreign coins that cannot be exchanged for cash at home.

Currently, there are more than 1,000 pay points in Japan, including outlets in Narita International Airport, Grandberry Park, Kirindo, Sugiyama Drugs, and other shops bearing the K Plus or Smart Code logos nationwide. JCB plans to expand its service up to 100,000 pay points by March.

In Singapore, more than 800 pay points are available at 7-Eleven, Watsons, outlets in Jewel Changi Airport and at various tourist attractions – including China Town, Clarke Quay, Orchard Road, and Marina Bay – that display the Via logo.

The service does not require a minimum transaction amount. Customers can make payment up to Bt100,000/transaction/day without transaction fee, and check the payment amount in both Baht and foreign currencies with the exact conversion rate before confirming the payment to end any worries over currency fluctuations.

Upon completing the transaction, customers will receive an e-Slip as an evidence of payment. They can also access information on their spending records any time via K Plus.

The transaction was approved by the EA board on November 8.

TFG owns the other 40 per cent in TF Tech, which has registered capital of Bt200 million.

TF Tech aims to install floating solar panels in order to generate and sell the electricity to TFG and the companies in its group

The nation’s largest energy company successfully fended off claims Tuesday by New York that it misled investors for years in how it calculated the financial risks of climate change. The high-profile trial marked the culmination of a four-year-old probe under three top prosecutors in New York.

But Exxon is not yet in the clear. Congress too gridlocked to pass major climate legislation, other left-leaning cities and states have also turned to the courts to hold oil companies accountable for their role in climate change – and are making their cases on arguments different than those brought in New York.

“The New York suit was based on one specific alleged violation of a statute that is peculiar to New York,” said Michael Gerrard, a professor of environmental law at Columbia Law School. “That theory didn’t fly. But it has little bearing on the wide variety of other legal theories that are being deployed in climate change cases.”

New York Supreme Court Judge Barry Ostrager ruled that the state failed to show that the oil giant broke state securities laws when describing to shareholders how it analyzed the effect of future greenhouse gas regulations on the company’s bottom line, Steven Mufson and I reported.

During a 12-day trial this fall, the state tried to wield a powerful anti-fraud state law, called the Martin Act, that does not require prosecutors to prove that a company intended to deceive investors. The office of New York Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat, tried to show the company lied to investors by keeping two sets of books – one public, one private – for estimating the cost of complying with future climate regulations.

But even with that relatively low bar, Ostrager found New York’s allegations “to be without merit” and the use of the state’s securities law to be a stretch. Ostrager found that Exxon had been transparent about the two different ways it calculated those costs and that New York had failed to show that “any reasonable investor” would have been misled.

Taking heed of that ruling is Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey, a Democrat who brought a similar suit against Exxon in October. Her office, like New York, says Exxon misled with its use of so-called “proxy costs” for carbon.

But that is not the only claim Massachusetts is making. The state is also suing Exxon for misrepresenting the environmental benefits of some of its gasoline and motor oil products and for failing to disclose the risks of climate change caused by burning fossil fuels.

Chloe Gotsis, a spokeswoman for Healey’s office, said Massachusetts is not daunted by the ruling from New York since its claims relate to advertising, and not just cost estimates for complying with regulation.

“We will continue our work to hold the company accountable for its misrepresentations,” she said.

Andrew Logan, director of the oil and gas program at Ceres, a non-profit group of environmentalists and investors, said the emphasis on consumers and misinforming the general public in the Massachusetts case would avoid the need to find harm to a “reasonable investor.”

“These cases will get easier to prove unfortunately as climate change gets worse,” Logan said. “But if you wait long enough for damage to be obvious, you miss the opportunity to prevent it in the first place.”

Perhaps even more concerning to Exxon and other oil companies is the slew of other local governments seeking compensation from them for the damage rising temperatures have already wrought to drought-plagued farmers and beachfront businesses.

Prosecutors in Baltimore, Rhode Island, San Francisco and Oakland, as well as coalitions of communities in the mountains of Colorado and along the coast of California, have brought lawsuits in state court claiming various oil companies have created a “public nuisance” – a charge more typically brought against a noisy neighbor – for the heat-trapping pollution their products have put into the atmosphere.

Those cases are still winding their way through the court system, and there are still a number of hurdles litigants need to leap. Federal judges are still sorting out whether the claims should be heard at the state or federal level. Oil firms have sought to move the cases to the federal court system since the Supreme Court has ruled in favor of industry in a 2011 public nuisance suit.

But the ruling out of New York shouldn’t be one of those barriers, said David Bookbinder, chief counsel at the Niskanen Center, a think tank in Washington, since the public nuisance cases rely on a different set of laws.

“It has zero relevance to those cases,” said Bookbinder, who is representing the three local governments in Colorado in their suit against Exxon and Suncor Energy, a Canadian oil company.

Last year, Exxon gave $1 million to promote a plan to grant oil companies immunity from climate lawsuits in exchange for passing a tax on carbon emissions, though the group that came up with that plan, Americans for Carbon Dividends, recently backed away from the idea of shielding companies from court cases.

The U.S. oil major is considering the sale of its shale-gas holdings, along with its Kitimat liquefied natural gas project in Canada, according to a statement Tuesday. Chevron said it will keep its 2020 capital budget at $20 billion, the third consecutive year it hasn’t boosted spending.

The company’s actions come from a chief executive officer, Mike Wirth, whose mantra has been capital discipline. Wirth earlier this year earned $1 billion for the company by walking away from a bidding war for Anadarko Petroleum Corp. San Ramon, California-based Chevron is the best performer among the five Western oil majors this year, but it has faced mounting costs at its Tengiz project in Kazakhstan.

“The Appalachia writedown should be baked in, but the others are incrementally negative” for the stock, said Muhammed Ghulam, a Houston-based analyst at Raymond James & Associates. “I would expect most companies to have to write down gas assets this year.”

Chevron follows Schlumberger and Repsol in ascribing a lower value to their assets at a time when the growing adoption of cleaner energy stokes speculation that demand for fossil fuels may peak in a few years, while supplies keep rising. The oil-services giant posted a $12.7 billion writedown in October, while the Spanish producer took $5.3 billion off its balance sheet last week.

The gas glut is particularly pronounced in North America where shale production is flooding local markets. Wirth said his decision to walk away from certain gas assets illustrates the company’s discipline in protecting shareholder funds.

“The best use of our capital is investing in our most advantaged assets,” Wirth said in the statement. “With capital discipline and a conservative outlook comes the responsibility to make the tough choices necessary to deliver higher cash returns to our shareholders over the long term.”

Wirth has made crude production from the Permian Basin a centerpiece of his global strategy, with a budget of $4 billion for the shale play next year. The giant Tengiz joint venture in the Caspian Sea, whose total cost has surged to about $45 billion, will receive $3.75 billion from Chevron in 2020.

“Tengiz project overruns raised questions about Chevron’s commitment to capital discipline, but plans to shelve or divest Appalachia and Kitimat LNG show the company will target returns over resources,” Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Fernando Valle wrote in a note.

U.S. natural gas futures prices have slumped this year amid a supply glut, and are now averaging about $2.54 per million British thermal units. If it finishes the year at that level, it’ll be the lowest average price since 1999.

The move to write down Appalachian gas is likely to put pressure on other producers in the region to do the same. Newly built gas export terminals along the U.S. Gulf Coast have so far failed to absorb the excess supply.

Chevron held more than 750,000 net acres in the Marcellus and Utica shale formations, which stretch from West Virginia to Pennsylvania and Ohio, according to a 2017 fact sheet on its website. The writedown also encompasses the Big Foot oil platform in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, which began producing last year.