Grab a cheap seat to fly any of those days between noon and 2pm at www.vietjetair.com.

The Bangkok-Udon Thani route will become daily starting on November 25, departing the capital at 7.30am, arriving in the Northeast at 8.40 and returning at 9.10 to reach Bangkok at 10.20.

Additional flights every Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday depart Bangkok at 4.25pm, reach Udon Thani at 5.35, and return at 8.20, arriving in Bangkok at 10.30.

Fly between Chiang Rai and Udon Thani any Tuesday, Thursday or Sunday starting from November 26, all flights in the evening.

The Bt10 promotional tickets are good for all Thai Vietjet routes from Suvarnabhumi to Dalat and Da Nang in Vietnam and Taichung in Taiwan, as well as from Suvarnabhumi to Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Phuket, Krabi and Udon Thani, plus the Phuket-Chiang Rai and Udon Thani-Chiang Rai flights.

Booking before October 19 between noon and 2pm to travel anytime from November 10 to January 10 (except public holidays).

Tycoon Charoen and his family members took part in the company’s debut event. AWC is a holding company that invests in property development companies. It has two core businesses. The first is hospitality, in which its hotel portfolio is managed by renowned hotel chain operators with internationally recognised and luxury brands, namely Marriott a Luxury Collection Hotel, Okura, Le Meridien, Banyan Tree, Hilton, DoubleTree by Hilton, Sheraton and Melia. The second core business comprises retail and commercial buildings from retail and wholesale to office buildings.

AWC has a registered paid-up capital of Bt32 billion, consisting of 24 billion existing common shares and 8 billion newly issued shares, with a par value of Bt1 each.

It offered 6.96 billion shares to the general public via the IPO, and 1.04 billion over-allotment shares, at Bt6 each, for a total of Bt41.74 billion (excluding a greenshoe option).

Kasikorn Securities, Bualuang Securities and Phatra Securities are its financial advisors and lead underwriters, while SCB Securities Co Ltd serves as a co-underwriter.

According to a SET release, the AWC chief executive officer and president, Wallapa Traisorat, said that the funds raised would be used to acquire an additional 12 properties, of which four are operating hotels, six are hotels under construction and the remaining two are mixed-used properties under development. It would also repay bank loans and develop the company’s assets with the funds, Wallapa said in the SET release.

AWC’s major shareholder after the IPO is the Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi family at 77.5 per cent.

The companies will cooperate in the area of application development for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) and BeiDou—China’s proprietary Global Navigation Satellite System (BDS).

The deal is part of Thaicom’s ambition to diversify its business and enter the emerging next technology markets through the integration of space, air, ground and maritime networks.

Anant Kaewruamvongs, Thaicom’s chief executive, said that China Great Wall is an important strategic partner for Thaicom.

“As we are defining our new vision and making inroads into new business areas, the next phase of our company and future growth will be fuelled by new partnerships and Thaicom’s integrated next generation service platform,” he said.

“With the fast growing number of connected devices, terrestrial networks alone cannot keep up with the dramatic growth in data traffic and requirement for everywhere connectivity in the digital age, where a vast number of emerging new markets and services need to be accommodated. Space and airborne communication infrastructures are the backbone of the smart connected solutions for the emerging digital ecosystem on the ground. Therefore, our next generation service platform seeks to integrate space, air, ground and maritime networks for agriculture, telecom and government services,” he added.

Liu Qiang, Chairman of the Board, China Great Wall Industry Corporation, said: “We are very excited to welcome Thaicom as a partner and support the company’s future growth and entry into new digital service markets enabled by the space and aerial technologies for which China Great Wall is known. Satellite and aerial technologies enable smart applications and data analysis for these markets. Our know-how and vast experience in space and aerial technologies including Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) makes us an ideal partner for Thaicom to grow its business further.”

The offering is aimed at strengthening the company’s financial structure towards building a sound foundation in the long term.

The subscription period is tentatively set for November 26-28, 2019.

TRIS Rating has rated Thai Union A+ with stable outlook and A- for its subordinated perpetual debentures.

The company decided to issue “subordinated perpetual debentures of Thai Union Group Public Company Limited No 2/2562. Payable upon liquidation with the issuer’s call option and unconditional interest deferral”, it said in a statement.

In addition, Thai Union 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 coupon rate is set at 5 per cent a year for the first five years and will be payable quarterly.

The subordinated perpetual debentures will be offered to retail and/or institutional investors.

Bangkok Bank, Krung Thai Bank, Siam Commercial Bank and Phatra Securities have been appointed joint-lead arrangers.

“In our more than 40-year history, we have built a strong and successful company with a global footprint and a portfolio of 14 brands around the world,” said Thai Union CEO Thiraphong Chansiri.

“Issuing these debentures will allow us to not only further strengthen our financial footing, but continue expanding our business as we pursue a path of consistent, solid growth”.

Six planes operated by AirAsia Malaysia and two aircraft operated by AirAsia Thailand have been equipped with Inmarsat’s high-speed Ka-band platform, GX Aviation.

AirAsia Group president (RedBeat Ventures) Aireen Omar said this development is the “next logical step” for the airline.

“As the pioneer of LCC inflight WiFi in the region, we are always looking for ways to redefine the digital inflight experience for our guests,” she said.

Guests would be able to stay connected throughout their journey and perform data-intensive activities, including live streaming.

Ka-band claims to provide connectivity beyond basic broadband, supporting real-time video, music streaming and more.

The AirAsia WiFi Internet plans range between RM9 and RM58, with the most basic plan capped at 10MB. There is also the top of the range 200MB plan which is best for streaming.

The service will be rolled out to the rest of the fleet over the next year.

Moving on to connectivity of a different kind, AirAsia also recently announced the launch of the exclusive route to Da Lat from Kuala Lumpur, which further boosted the carrier’s presence in Vietnam.

With the introduction of this service, AirAsia Malaysia chief executive officer Riad Asmat said Malaysians will have better connectivity to the capital of Lam Dong province.

“As the first international airline to fly to Da Lat, visitors from Malaysia no longer need to drive three hours from Nha Trang or five hours from Ho Chi Minh City to get to this picturesque city,” he said.

The four times weekly service to Da Lat will commence on Dec 20.

Read more at https://www.star2.com/travel/2019/10/09/airasia-wifi/#ufHQTSmBtphq1MPH.99

CP Foods was the first Thai company to apply the compartmentalisation principles of OIE as one of the key measures to shield Thailand from spread of the virus. The proactive measures of principles comprised common biosecurity management, notifiable avian influenza surveillance in compartment and buffer zone, control measures of NAI in compartment and buffer zone and traceability system. In addition, the principles have been implemented on buffer zone of one kilometre around farm to ensure distinct health status, it said.

Payungsak Somyanontanakul (DVM), vice president and head of Animal Welfare Committee of CP Foods, said the company had implemented the compartmentalisation system for broiler chicken, duck and others, neutralising the spread of Avian Influenza. It also guarantees food safety for consumers following wider spread of the virus in 2004. Moreover, it has joined hands with the Department Livestock Development (DLD) to develop risk analysis for the bird flu virus in line with Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP). The practice ensures precise disease assessment.

“Despite lack of certification, EU commissioners, representatives of World Health Organisation, OIE and other health organisations have praised CP Foods’ compartmentalisation procedure that supports the nation’s bird flu free strategy and ensuring all of our products are bird flu free. Thailand was the pilot country in the region in OIE compartmentalisation to control spread of the avian influenza,” said Payungsak.

It allows traceability throughout the supply chain. It has also further developed the system to prevent “emerging disease” in poultry farming.

For sustainable biosecurity, CP Foods has promoted the system to its contracted farmers who will be trained by veterinarian and experts from DLD.

Payungsak added that OIE representatives recently visited the company, from feed mills to processing plants in Nakhon Ratchasima to learn more of CP Foods’ compartmentalisation model. They will raise this model as a case study in the Southeast Asia workshop on compartmentalisation, organised by the OIE. The workshop aims to prevent poultry diseases, particularly avian influenza in the region.

So far, CP Foods has extended the system to create higher quality meat through “Benja Chicken”, which is raised without antibiotic. This premium product targets health conscious consumers.

The suspension was related to NMG’s submission of the 2017 financial statement, which provided “fictitiously” high revenue and accrued income figures for the years 2015 and 2016.

The SEC reviewed Patamavan’s performance as NMG’s auditor and found that she had failed to obtain reliable and sufficient evidence and thereby failed to detect the fictitious figures provided in the 2015 and 2016 financial statements, which resulted in an inaccurate audit opinion on the said statements.

Owing to these errors, the SEC has suspended the approval of Patamayan as a capital-market auditor, though she quit her job on March 22. The SEC has also decided to not accept any future applications from her as a capital market auditor for two years starting from October 8, 2019.

The SEC has also advised KPMG to conduct a root-cause analysis on Patamayan’s performance deficiencies and lay out a remediation plan to prevent a recurrence of similar incidents. The detected deficiencies will be considered in detail when the SEC reviews KPMG’s audit quality control system.

True intends to use the proceeds from the new debentures to refinance its debts that are coming due and for working capital, Tris said in a press release.

The ratings reflect True’s satisfactory business risk profile, underpinned by its competitive strength as an integrated telecom operator with an established market position and extensive network coverage in mobile and broadband Internet services, Tris said.

The ratings also take into account Tris’s expectation of continued support from True’s major shareholders, CP Group and China Mobile International Holdings. The ratings are weighed down by the company’s high level of leverage and the intense competition in its core businesses.

For the first half of 2019, True’s operating performance “was in line with Tris’s expectations”.

TrueMove H continued delivering sound operating performance, while TrueOnline has faced heightened competitive pressure, Tris said.

For the first half of 2019, mobile service revenue (excluding interconnection charges, or IC) was Bt38.6 billion, growing by 6.9 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y) and outpacing the industry average of 2 per cent, according to the press release. Revenue from broadband Internet and business data services dropped by 2.9 per cent y-o-y to Bt12.4 billion.

For the first half of 2019, True reported a 2.7 per cent increase in overall services revenue to Bt52 billion. However, excluding revenue from divesting assets to the Digital Telecommunications Infrastructure Fund in the first half of 2018, its total operating revenue declined by 1 per cent y-o-y, to Bt67.9 billion, due mainly to lower revenue from network rental and product sales, the press statement added.

The bank, one of several European lenders shrinking its workforce, is questioning why it has so many people in the region when it has double-digit returns in parts of Asia, one person briefed on the matter told the newspaper.

The cuts, which would affect about 4 per cent of the global workforce of about 238,000, come as HSBC interim chief executive officer Noel Quinn ramps up an aggressive cost-cutting strategy started under his predecessor. John Flint, who abruptly departed in August after 18 months leading the bank, failed to radically cut expenses.

“HSBC has a structural profitability challenge in the Americas and Europe and headcount reduction may be appropriate,” said analysts at Citigroup Inc, highlighting Quinn’s sharper focus on profitability. The job cuts – on top of 4,700 redundancies flagged earlier – could be unveiled when HSBC reports its third-quarter results later this month, according to the FT.

Quinn started working on the new plan days after he was appointed, and has been told he is a leading internal candidate for the permanent role, according to the FT. An HSBC spokesman declined to comment on the report.

European banks including Deutsche Bank, Societe Generale and Barclays are cutting thousands of jobs as low interest rates and a slowing economy weigh on their prospects.

HSBC generated almost 80 per cent of its pretax profit in Asia in the first half of the year.

Born as the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corp in 1865, HSBC has been shifting resources to Asia, especially China, as part of a strategy initiated by former CEO Stuart Gulliver and strengthened under Flint. Chairman Mark Tucker looks keen to extend that push, weighing a bid for Asian operations put up for sale by London-based insurer Aviva, people familiar with the matter said in August.

HSBC has remained committed to its expansion in the region, even with the US-China trade war and Hong Kong’s protests swirling. The bank said last month it is sticking with plans to hire more than 600 for its wealth business in Asia by the end of 2022, with more than half of those jobs to be added through this year.

Worried about its position as the biggest foreign bank in China, HSBC launched a public-relations offensive aimed at leaders in Beijing, Bloomberg reported last month. The campaign “demonstrates our commitment to grow our business in China”, the bank said at the time.

During Flint’s short tenure as CEO, the bank grappled with a declining stock price and a failure to hit cost targets. In April, he started a review that was expected to lead to job cuts, including hundreds of investment banking positions. Shortly after Flint’s ouster, Quinn told senior managers he wanted “less process and more action”.

Chief Financial Officer Ewen Stevenson said in August that the bank’s returns from Europe were “unacceptable”, while in the US, the bank said it would miss the return target it had set for next year.

“I feel extremely honoured to be trusted to take on the role of chief executive officer for Cigna Thailand. I see this as an achievement for every single employee here who has been putting their utmost effort into their work, to strengthen our businesses and to achieve our corporate goals, for the continuous growth of the organisation, so Cigna can become a leader in health and sustainable well-being for Thais,” Teeravuth said.

In a study recently conducted by Cigna on its Thai customer base, it learned that there is a greater demand for mental-health related care and stress-prevention methods.

Under the new CEO’s leadership, it will focus on using new insights in their business strategy, such as:

– Maintaining a customer-centric approach and prioritising their needs. A deep understanding of different lifestyles, goal and worldview can help Cigna tailor insurance plans for people across Thailand.

– Using digital technology to give people a chance to access insurance plans quickly and more conveniently. Cigna can also use online channels to reach a larger audience.

– By building an awareness of different needs, Cigna’s innovative services will consider economic strategies and become more accessible to all their customers.

– Cigna’s expertise in global health insurance will be used to help Thai customers receive the best care and coverage.

With Teerayuth’s understanding of Thailand’s cultural nuances, coupled with his decade-long experience in management in the insurance industry will help break new ground for the company. For instance, he can help develop various marketing and insurance plans that come from in-depth understanding of Thais, as a base to formulate customised insurance plans that best suit the lifestyle of Thais.

Teerayut first joined Cigna Thailand in 2013 as chief distribution and business development officer, and then chief marketing officer before taking on the job of CEO.

Cigna Thailand is a subsidiary of Cigna, a US-based global health service company, servicing over 95 million customers worldwide.