DTAC CEO Alexandra Reich demonstrates the 5G test to PM Prayut Chan-o-cha at the Dtac booth.

Dtac is waiting to see the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC)’s complete roadmap of the 5G spectrum allocation and the final licensing terms and conditions of the auction.

Telecom operators and Information and Communications Technologies companies are showcasing advanced technologies, including 5G, at the four-day event.

“Dtac’s strategy is driven by the ambition to humanise digital technology for customer experiences and an empowered society. 5G promises to provide significant benefits to citizens, business, and the public sector. To fully capture the benefits of 5G, collaboration between businesses and public agencies is strongly required to unlock the full potential and promote a more inclusive Thailand,” Reich added.

“In support of 5G connectivity in the future, Dtac has been exploring services beyond mobile connectivity such as smart agriculture. Dtac is demonstrating our commitment and readiness to apply advanced technology to benefit people’s lives in a connected society,” she added.

Telenor Group, Dtac’s major shareholder, has been appointed as EU’s project coordinator to accelerate the uptake of 5G across Europe for the first commercial service launch in 2020.

The 5G use cases span across vertical industries, such as fish farming and Fixed Wireless Access or FWA. Recently, Telenor Group has become the first mobile operator to integrate 5G into its mobile network, allowing anyone with a 5G mobile phone to access the super network of the future in Elverum, Norway.

It is also continuing to expand 5G network in several locations in Norway this year, such as Fornebu, Trondheim, Bodø (selected base stations), Oslo (selected base stations), Askvoll, Svalbard, Kvitfjell, Herøya and Frøya.

The Dtac pavilion at Digital Thailand Big Bang 2019 is presenting the concept of a “Never Stop” station. It includes the hands-on experiences of 5G on 28 GHz spectrum on a mobile phone, to show the full potential of 5G that is expected to shape a new behaviour of internet users in Thailand.

The NBTC intends to complete bidding on 56 licences for spectrum bands of 5G wireless broadband service by early February.

Related story: NBTC aims for 5G rollout within March

The development marks the first residential project from Germany’s finance hub marketed in Thailand.

“Generally, most Thais looking for opportunities to invest in overseas residential properties show exceptional interest in the UK, the US and Japan,” said Napapat Wanitcharat, director of International Residential at JLL. “The marketing of Eden in Thailand will unveil to Thai investors the strong investment potential of Frankfurt’s residential market, another major safe haven for overseas investors.”

According to data from JLL, Frankfurt’s home prices have been on the rise for more than a decade and are likely to grow further as the city’s residential market has remained undersupplied. With about 736,000 residents, Frankfurt has a housing shortage of about 50,000 units and a very tight residential vacancy rate of 1.5 per cent.

“Buyers in Frankfurt’s residential market comprise both locals and foreigners who have purchased units for their own use or as an investment. Studios and one-bedroom units are most popular as the two types typically enjoy the healthiest rental demand in the vicinity of Frankfurt’s business district,” Napapat said.

According to the company, Eden has an exceptional location in the heart of Frankfurt, a variety of amenities and “spectacular” architectural design. The project has been developed by Immobel, one of the fastest growing property development firms in Europe.

Upon completion in 2021, the project will feature a 27-storey tower with 263 residential units of 30 square metres to 194sqm and priced between €358,200 (Bt12 million) and €3.13 million.

“Investors who purchase a unit at Eden and put it up for rent can expect investment yields ranging between 3 and 4 per cent per annum. However, most buyers place greater focus on potential capital gain in the long term as residential prices in Frankfurt are likely to rise due to limited supply,” Napapat said.

“With the current uncertainties in the world, coupled with more challenging conditions in Bangkok’s condominium market and a stronger baht currency, we expect Eden to be well received by Thai investors who are looking for new opportunities in less volatile markets such as Frankfurt,” she added.

Under the agreement, the new Westin Yangon will feature 281 rooms and suites alongside 90 premium serviced apartments with spectacular views overlooking central Yangon and the iconic Shwedagon Pagoda, the company said in a press statement.

The 26-story hotel is being planned as part of the Yoma Central integrated real estate development project, which has been designed by acclaimed architect Cecil Balmond OBE.

Upon completion in 2021, Yoma Central expects to be anchored by the restored former headquarters of the Burma Railway Company, one of Yangon’s oldest and most cherished colonial-era buildings.

Yoma Central plans to also feature two Grade A office towers and a collection of luxury private homes.

“Given its local expertise and strategic vision for development in Myanmar, Yoma Land is an ideal partner for debuting the Westin brand in this market,” said Paul Foskey, chief development officer, Asia Pacific, Marriott International.

“The signing of The Westin Yangon marks a significant milestone in Marriott International’s continued growth in Southeast Asia and we look forward to partnering with Yoma Land in building on this momentum,” he added.

Westin has more than 220 hotels in nearly 40 countries and territories.

“It’s an honour to work with Marriott International to introduce its Westin Hotels and Resorts brand to Myanmar,” said Stephen Purvis, head of Yoma Land. “The Westin Yangon will be a great place for leisure and business travellers alike who will be able to enjoy the hotel’s world-class services and facilities. This is a significant moment in Yoma Land’s strategy of seeking out the very best of international partners to reinforce our position as a leading developer in Myanmar.”

The Westin Yangon is strategically located close to the city’s attractions, including Sule Pagoda, Chinatown, Merchant Street and the historical central business district. The area is 18 kilometres from Yangon International Airport.

The USTR said it was rescinding eligibility of the few seafood products covered by the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) in addition to numerous other products from Thailand. This will increase tariffs on those goods imported into the US and the new regulations will come into effect in six months.

The decision will not have a material impact on Thai Union Group’s business, as it does not sell seafood or pet food products to the US under the GSP.

“At this time, I do not foresee this decision by USTR having an impact on our business,” said Thai Union’s chief executive Thiraphong Chansiri.

Thai Union is firmly committed to working with governments around the world to improve worker rights in global supply chains, he stressed. “In 2015, Thai Union launched its sustainability strategy, SeaChange, an integrated plan of initiatives designed to drive meaningful improvements across the entire global seafood industry. A key pillar of SeaChange is a commitment to worker rights through providing safe, legal and freely chosen employment in our own facilities and in supply chains. At Thai Union, we aim to be the world’s most trusted seafood leader,” Thiraphong explained.

In September, Thai Union was ranked number one in the world in the Food Products Industry Index of the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI) for the second year in a row. The company has now been listed on the index for six consecutive years. Importantly, Thai Union achieved an industry best-in-class 100th percentile ranking for total sustainability score, including the same ranking for Codes of Business Conduct, Supply Chain Management, and Human Rights. In October, Thai Union was ranked as number one in the Seafood Stewardship Index out of the 30 largest seafood companies globally, and Thai Union’s Dr. Darian McBain was recognised with a Freedom Award by Anti-Slavery Australia.

The subordinated perpetual debentures, which also include an additional greenshoe offering of Bt2 billion, promises an annual return of 5 per cent for the first five years, payable quarterly.

TRIS Rating has given the debentures an A- score, while Thai Union has been given a A+ rating with a stable outlook.

The debentures, which should be up for sale between November 26 and 28, will strengthen Thai Union’s financial structure and build a long-term foundation for the company.

“At Thai Union, we have built a company that is financially robust thanks to our strict financial management,” Thai Union CEO Thiraphong Chansiri said.

“We believe our stability, together with our potential for strong growth due to our global footprint and growing investment in innovation, will be attractive to investors, who are also looking for a healthy return on investment.”

Chansiri said the subordinated perpetual debentures will not only provide a strong financial structure for Thai Union, but also give it flexibility for growth and further investment to strengthen the company.

Thai Union’s subordinated perpetual debentures No 2/2019 are payable upon liquidation with the issuer having a call option and unconditional interest deferral.

The company also retains the right to call the debentures after five years or upon other conditions in accordance with the terms and conditions of the debentures as specified in the prospectus.

The debentures will be offered to the general public and/or institutional investors via joint lead arrangers Bangkok Bank, Krung Thai Bank, Siam Commercial Bank and Phatra Securities.

TRIS Rating gave Thai Union an A+ score because of its business performance as well as its strong strategy that focuses on new product development, cost controls and improving production efficiency. The company’s debt burden has also been lowered as a result of improved business performance and a reduction in expenditure.

Thai Union, which has a portfolio of 14 brands around the world, was recently ranked No 1 in global Food Products Industry Index of the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI) for a second year running and has been part of the DJSI for six consecutive years, driven by SeaChange, its global sustainability strategy.

Moreover, Thai Union’s Global Innovation Centre (GIC), which was established in 2015, acts as a centre for research and the development of products for the company’s brands around the world.

It was also created to combine modern nutritional science and production innovation to develop products that address the needs of consumers and the global food industry. The GIC also uses technology and innovation to improve production processes, providing additional benefits and value to customers, consumers and stakeholders.

“Thai Union’s strict financial management, together with a strong and cautious approach to risk management, has always allowed the company to not only manage its debts, but also to continue paying dividends to shareholders,” Chansiri said. “Thai Union also adopted the new accounting system TAS32 earlier this year, and these debentures align with these regulations.”

Despite the expectation, the bank aims to grow its loan volume by 4-6 per cent in 2020, placing its emphasis on services that meet customers’ business and lifestyle needs, effective cost management and using data in lending to retail customers.

KBank’s board chairman Banthoon Lamsam said the Thai economy in 2020 will face numerous downside risks, in particular the protracted US-China trade rift and the strengthening baht which will hamper international trade.

In 2020, exports are expected to see a contraction of 2 per cent while the Thai economic growth will be mainly driven by domestic factors, such as implementation of infrastructure projects and cut in interest rates amid hefty household debt.

The bank’s strategy next year will follow the goal “To Empower Every Customer’s Life and Business”, towards becoming a customer-centric financial institution which creates financial innovation, equipped with proactive operation to deliver services up to international standard and sustainable value to all stakeholders.

Regarding its 2020 financial targets, KBank has set an overall loan growth target of 4-6 per cent, comprising corporate loans (2-4 per cent), SME loans(1-3 per cent)and retail loans (9-11 per cent).

Growth in net interest margin is set 3.1-3.3 per cent and non-interest income at minus 5 to minus 17 per cent.

In line with the theme “Together for a Fully Connected, Intelligent Thailand”, Huawei said it was committed to bringing the latest information and communications technology to the country.

“This year marks a significant milestone for Huawei, as we are celebrating our 20th anniversary in Thailand,” said Abel Deng, CEO of Huawei Thailand. “After 20 years in Thailand, we understand the market deeper than others and know how important innovation is for the future of Thailand.”

“The key to a country’s innovation ability lies in talents while the key to a country’s digital economy development is the industrial ecosystem. We have the responsibility to contribute more to Thailand, to shape a fully connected, intelligent Thailand together,” Deng said.

Since its establishment in Thailand in 1999, Huawei has been an important contributor to the development of Thailand’s ICT industry. The company successfully participated in the construction of 2G, 3G and 4G networks with innovative technologies.

“We are so proud to say that we made great contribution to Thailand in the past two decades. We are committed to be the enabler of Thailand 4.0, which fulfills our vision of ‘Bringing digital to every person, home and organisation for a fully connected, intelligent world’,” Deng said.

Huawei has established its Southeast Asia regional headquarters, OpenLab Bangkok, Huawei Cloud Data Center, 5G Testbed, etc. Now, it has more than 3,200 employees in Thailand, 75 per cent of whom are locals.

In 2018, Huawei’s procurement in Thailand reached US$196 million.

Deng also revealed that the Thai government and Huawei Thailand had recently signed a memorandum of understanding. With this strategic MoU on ‘Nurturing Thai Digital Workforce for Innovative and Sustainable Society’, Huawei will strengthen knowledge-sharing and skills transfer and work with the Thai government, industrial organisations and enterprises to cultivate ICT digital talents and speed up Thailand 4.0.

Huawei will establish the Huawei Academy in Thailand, to explore and cultivate ICT talents, and enable Thailand 4.0.

With cutting-edge technologies such as Cloud, AI and Supercomputing, Huawei will enable the digital transformation of government departments and industries, facilitate startup and SME innovations, incubate innovative ecosystem based on 5G and drive Thailand’s innovation capabilities, in order to jointly build the prosperous industrial ecosystem for the fully-connected, intelligent society, Deng said.

“5G technology will support the development of AI, and if Thailand could be ahead, it will be faster than others. 5G will be the significant infrastructure, Cloud + AI will create a digital economy. We respect the digital sovereignty of Thailand, startups and SMEs from the world around can plant their “own crops” in the “fertile soil”, the open source platform provided by Huawei. With the digital ecosystem, Thailand can establish its own digital society,” said Deng.

As part of the celebrations marking Huawei Thailand’s 20th anniversary, Huawei will be showcasing its new vision of Thailand and achievements in creating rich ecosystems in Thailand on the theme of “Together for a Fully Connected, Intelligent Thailand” during the Digital Thailand Big Bang 2019 to be held at Bitec, Bangkok, from October 28-30.

The event will be hosted by Digital Economy Promotion Agency, which is under the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society.

The Huawei Thailand pavilion at the Digital Thailand Big Bang 2019 will feature 400 square metres of floor space divided into 5 zones covering the fully connected smart ecosystem in Thailand and showcasing Huawei’s end-to-end portfolio of products, solutions and services in 5G, 5G ecosystem, smart city, Huawei cloud, and Huawei mobile.

These events will also help introduce a new ecosystem strategy from Huawei Thailand.

Huawei will be showcasing its vision and achievements in creating rich ecosystems in Thailand – including 5G innovations, smart cities, cloud + AI, and mobile developers.

These leading technologies will bring digital innovations to every person, home and organisation.

Experts from Huawei will join the conversation on many different topics to be explored at the event – ranging from 5G and the Internet of Things to smart city, cloud, and AI.

WHA Group chief executive officer Jareeporn Jarukornsakul, the property manager for WHART, said the assets to be sold into the trust are WHA’s premium built-to-suit warehouses & factories, complete with utilities-energy and digital infrastructures.

WHART CEO Narumol Tantayawit said that after the capital increase, the total assets of the trust will reach Bt38 billion.

It plans to offer the new trust units not exceeding 323.78 million units at an offering price not higher than Bt16.90/unit.

The sale of new trust units will be launched in this November and the acquisition of assets by the trust will be completed in December.

WHA Group, as the sponsor and the property manager, has gradually injected its assets into WHART since the trust’s initial public offering (IPO) in 2014.

Most of WHA Group’s assets are premium built-to-suit warehouses and factories, with a complete range of infrastructure covering utilities, energy and digital technology.

Moreover, most of WHA Group’s projects are strategically located in logistics areas of the country and in line with the development of Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) supported by the government.

The additional projects include 3 freehold projects and 2 leasehold projects with a net leasable areas of 155,237 square meters.

Of the total net leasable areas, 90 per cent are located in the Bang Na-Trat zone and the remaining 10 per cent in the EEC. Additional space includes rooftop leasable areas of 71,482 sqm and parking areas of 2,983 sqm on land areas of 172 rai and 226.75 sq wah.

The projects include 1) the DTS factory in WHA Chonburi Industrial Estate in Tambon Borwin, Sri Racha district in Chon Buri, 2) the Roechling factory in WHA Eastern Seaboard Industrial Estate 1 in Tambon Khao Kansong, Sri Racha, 3) WHA Mega Logistics Centre (Chonharnpichit KM 3 Phase 1) in Tambon Bang Pla, Bang Phli district, Samut Prakan, 4) WHA Mega Logistics Centre (Chonharnpichit KM 3 Phase 2) also in Bang Pla, 5) WHA KPN Mega Logistics Centre(Bang Na-Trat KM23 Phase 2) in Bang Sao Thong district of Samut Prakan.

It is expected that the investment in additional assets will bring the total assets of WHART to more Bt38 billion, up from Bt33.214 billion, driving WHART into the top three in the REIT industry for warehouse, factory and distribution centres. This capital increase will also generate a steady return to the trust’s unit holders.

In the post transaction period, the proportion of freehold and leasehold assets of the trust will be maintained at 67 per cent and 33 per cent, mitigating the risks of declining asset values in the future.

The occupancy rate of the trust’s assets will be maintained at 90 per cent with strong tenant profiles and financial status.

After WHART completely invests in these assets, the trust is expected to pay higher dividends to unit holders estimated at around Bt0.79 per unit, based on the reviewed pro forma by the auditor. This represents total distribution yield from both dividend and capital decrease of around 4.67 per cent, when calculated from the trust unit offering price not exceeding Bt16.90.

Raveeratana Satchavarodom, Head of Investment Banking Business Division from Kasikornbank, the financial advisor and the lead underwriter of WHART trust units, said existing WHART unitholders will be able to subscribe WHART new trust units from the fourth capital increase, which will come to a total not exceeding 323.78 million units at the offering price not exceeding Bt16.90 per trust unit between November 12 and 15, and again on November18, while the general public (based on the consideration of the lead underwriter) will have a chance to subscribe to the new trust units from November 19 to 22 and again on November 25. The transfer of assets will be completed by the end of 2019.

The company’s second facility can produce B100 with less than 0.25 per cent of monoglycerides, which meets the European standard.

GGC mainly distributes its products to PTT and its subsidiaries. The company enjoys the largest market share in domestic B100 production at 27 per cent. However, its capacity to produce JAMA-certified B100 biodiesel can only meet 50 per cent of market demand, although it is confident that other domestic manufacturers will soon upgrade their facilities to be able to produce more B100 and meet the government’s November 1 deadline to use B10 as the standard biodiesel.

GGC’s two facilities have a combined maximum production capacity for B100 biodiesel of 500,000 tonnes per year. However, only the second facility is capable of refining crude palm oil while the first still needs to outsource the service to RPCG Public Company Limited or Rayong Purifier as it was previously known. The company is confident that domestic demand for B100 will increase in the last quarter as consumers travel more during the high season.

GGC has set the B100 manufacturing target this year at 400,000 tonnes, higher than last year’s 370,000 tonnes.

Related Story: GGC to become first green chemical company listed on SET

“The total loans will be set at the maximum amount of US$220 million or approximately Bt7 billion,” he said. “The reason for this scheme is that we realise female business owners have difficulties accessing financial support compared to their male counterparts.”

“Moreover, our research found that businesses headed by females tend to focus far more on environmental and social impacts, which complements our CSR policies” he added.

Poonsit further explained that the loans will be distributed to the bank’s customers in business banking group, for which the total loan portfolio currently stands at Bt40 billion. “We have around 26,000 customers in this group, and 40 per cent of them are female,” he said. “The loans will be available to individual clients at a maximum of Bt15 million each, and to juristic clients at a maximum of Bt20 million each.”

According to the vice president, Krungsri is the first bank in Thailand and the Asia Pacific region to issue gender bonds and use the profit to finance female entrepreneurs. “Krungsri is focusing on supporting women to conduct socially responsible or environmental friendly businesses, and we are planning to launch more bonds in the future focusing on environment, social activities and sustainable development as part of our environmental, social and governance (ESG) policies,” he added.