The new hotel, Amari Niseko, is scheduled to open in 2024. It will be a central feature of the much-awaited Aruku-zaka Street mixed-use development plan, designed to complement the Hirafu area’s unique character and setting.

Created as a village hub for both visitors and the local community, Aruku-zaka Street will be made up of a series of low-rise buildings framing central plazas and a vibrant pedestrian walkway.

Aruku-zaka Street will be home to a carefully-curated selection of lifestyle with retail, food and beverage offerings, complemented by residential apartments and the all-new Amari resort.

Located at a strategic site in central Hirafu, in the Abuta-gun district of Kutchan town just off route 343, Amari Niseko and Aruku-zaka Street will be easily reached via a two-hour scenic drive or train journey from the new Chitose Airport in Sapporo.

A year-round resort and the ideal base for skiing in the winter, and hiking and biking in the greener months, Amari Niseko will offer 126 rooms in a variety of studio, one-bedroom suite and two-bedroom suite configurations.

Featuring contemporary Thai-inspired design with touches from the locality, Amari Niseko will also offer a concept restaurant that transitions from breakfast to a destination cocktail bar as night falls.

Douglas Martell, President and Chief Executive Officer, ONYX Hospitality Group, said: “Originally from Thailand, Amari has been going places and introducing its unique take on contemporary Thai-ness to new markets such as the Maldives, Malaysia, China, and Sri Lanka in recent years. We are excited to be introducing our flagship brand to yet another new destination with the signing of our very first hotel in Japan. We look forward to a long-term collaboration with Metropoly Holdings as the sole hotel operator of the landmark Aruku-zaka Street development in one of the world’s most popular ski destinations.”

Ang Renyi, Managing Partner of Metropoly Holdings Limited, said: “Aruku-zaka Street will be the first development of its type in Niseko, a large-scale private development aimed at providing generous public space and endless activities for the local community and tourists alike. We have always believed in our vision to create a vibrant year-round destination with plenty of shops, restaurants and open space. We are confident that the brand-new Amari Niseko will leverage ONYX Hospitality Group’s expertise in hospitality management and success as one of Asia’s fastest growing Asian hotel companies, and propel Aruku-zaka Street to become an exciting landmark project that will continue to bolster Niseko’s reputation as a world-class tourist destination.”

ONYX Hospitality Group has a growing regional portfolio of close to 50 operating properties across three core brands in seven countries. The group has a robust development pipeline of more than 20 new properties in China, Malaysia and Laos among others , and has set a target of having 99 hotels open by 2024 as part of its journey towards being the best medium-sized hospitality player in the region.

The company also announced that its subsidiary, NBC Next Vision (NNV), will subscribe to the newly issued ordinary shares of TV home shopping firm, Happy Products and Service Company Limited (Happy) as part of its move into TV home shopping.

According to its filing with the Stock Exchange of Thailand on Friday (October 4), its board resolved to propose to the extraordinary general meeting of shareholders to consider decreasing registered capital by more than Bt184 million to some Bt535.436 million by decreasing its number of ordinary shares which have not been sold totalling 184.90 million shares at the par value of Bt1 per share.

The company will also ask the extraordinary general meeting of the shareholders to consider increasing registered capital by Bt267.71 million from the capital of over Bt535.436 million to Bt803.155 million.

The capital increase will be done by issuing 267.71 million ordinary shares at the par value of Bt1 per share on the right offering basis to the company’s existing shareholders in proportion to their shareholdings, with the allocation ratio of 2 existing shares to 1 newly issued ordinary share at the price of Bt0.53 per share. The total value does not exceed Bt141.890 million. The offering period is from December 18 to 24.

The shareholders meeting has been set for November 18.

The proceeds from the capital increase will help increase the company’s financial liquidity and have sufficient capital to normally operate business and support the expansion of core business and related businesses.

The board also resolved to have NNV to subscribe the newly issued ordinary shares of Happy.

It will subscribe to 500,000 shares of Happy, which have a par value of Bt30 per share. The total value of the subscribed shares is Bt15 million.

The transactions aim to help NBC reduce dependence on main revenue from television media business. It also estimated that the TV home shopping business show growth in the future.

The bank would focus more on the mortgage loan sector, targeting potential buyers of properties worth more than Bt5 million per unit. This group of consumers still have high purchasing power, she said.

It will also tap into mid-corporates with sales revenue of between Bt500 million to Bt1 billion a year.

Though there is high competition among banks to woo this segment, she believes there is room for growth in lending.

In addition, the bank will further expand the base of wealth customers, both elderly and young people.

Next year, she said, the bank would expand in many fronts for new income sources and introduce a digital lending platform in joint venture with startups.

This year, LH Bank has been more prudent in approving loans in line with the softening economy. It expects Bt4 billion to Bt5 billion in new mortgage loans this year.

The new services, “Economic Pulse” and “D-Show”, will be launched on October 10.

Economic Pulse will provide numeric and statistical data, such as foreign exchange rates, gold and oil prices, while D-Show will allow SMEs to advertise their products and services free of charge.

The SME D Bank application was launched in early 2018, and in addition to its many services, it also allows SMEs to apply for loans round the clock.

While online platforms of other banks focus on providing financial services, the SME D Bank’s platform offers tools to help SMEs upgrade their operations, expand market share and improve competitiveness.

Such high oversubscription rate reflects international investors’ confidence in KBank.

It is the largest Southeast Asia Reg-S-Only Tier-2 note issue in more than five years, and also the first US$-denominated 12NC7 Basel-III Tier-2 tenor from Asia (excluding Japan) in nine years.

Predee Daochai, KBank President, said that KBank issued US$-denominated subordinated notes worth $800 million with a 12-year tenor which will be due in 2031 and can be called in at 7 years (12NC7), offering at a fixed rate of 3.343 per cent per annum.

The objective of the issuance was to support KBank’s foreign operations. KBank also aims to strengthen it funding position for suitable long-term funding cost.

The Notes were issued through KBank’s Hong Kong branch on October 2, 2019 and were rated Baa3 by Moody’s, BBB by Fitch Ratings, and listed on the Singapore Exchange (SGX).

The notes were offered to institutional investors and were fully subscribed quickly. Of the total investors, 81 per cent were in Asia and 19 per cent in Europe. Given the rarity of a Thai bank issuance, the Notes were deliverable to high quality investors, with 80 per cent being taken up by funds/asset management companies, with pensions/insurers and sovereign wealth funds buying up to 8 per cent.

Bank treasuries accounted for 3 per cent of the order-book, with the remaining 9 percent being taken up by other institution types. BNP Paribas, Citigroup, and Standard Chartered Bank acted as joint book-runners and joint lead managers.

The issuance of KBank subordinated notes met several objectives, For example, the total books reached $3.5 billion, representing 4.4 times of the value of the subordinated notes offered by KBank.

THAI president Sumeth Damrongchaitham said on October 4 that THAI has sufficient cash flow for present and future operations. He denied reports that THAI is in trouble and experiencing a liquidity shortage.

Sumeth added that the management has given top priority to maintaining liquidity and has drawn up a loans plan on the most prudential basis.

As of the end of June this year, THAI’s revolving credit line accounted for 13.4 per cent of the total projected revenue for the year. This indicated that the carrier still has adequate cash reserve in hand, he said.

He also assured customers, trading partners, shareholders, related parties and the general public that THAI is not in a liquidity crunch.

This week Deputy Transport Minister Thaworn Senniam said he will hold a meeting with THAI management on October 10 to seek ways to clear the national carrier’s accumulated losses.

The minister said the meeting will discuss THAI’s existing rehabilitation plan, which he does not believe will help the carrier succeed in a turnaround.

Thaworn said the rehabilitation plan had been implemented for a while now, but there was still no sign of the losses easing.

He believes THAI will first have to revise the rehabilitation plan within three months.

THAI directors on September 24 asked executives of the national carrier to review plans to procure 38 more aircraft worth a combined Bt156 billion.

The governing board instead cited a “fast-changing situation” in asking for a fresh plan within the next six months.

Recently Sumeth said that THAI operations will not be affected by its board’s demand for the review of plans to procure the new aircraft.

According to the THAI second-quarter 2019 filing to the Stock Exchange of Thailand, the airline and its subsidiaries had total revenue of Bt42.509 billion, a 10 per cent decrease year on year.

For the second quarter THAI and its subsidiaries had one-time expenses that included impairment loss of assets and aircraft in the amount of Bt172 million. The gain on foreign currency exchange was Bt522 million, mainly from balance sheet revaluation. Consequently, THAI and its subsidiaries reported the net loss of Bt6.878 billion, compared to the loss of Bt3.086 billion over the same period last year.

Related story: Thaworn to meet top THAI execs to discuss airline’s future

Related story: THAI board balks at hefty acquisition plan

Related story: THAI could lease rather than purchase more aircraft

The group’s performance is also expected to be better in 2020, he said on Thursday (October 3), adding that PTT has to watch the development of Brexit and how it impacts the global economy.

He added that though demands in other parts of the world might be affected, PTT still believes that the demand for oil and petrochemical products in Asia will remain high.

Chansin also said the group’s profit is expected to meet the target this year, though it may be lower than last year’s profit of Bt120 billion.

Also, he said, PTT’s three refinery plants – PTT Global Chemical PCL (PTTGC), IRPC and Thaioil – no longer need to be temporarily closed like they were in the first half of the year for maintenance and repair.

With Christmas, New Year and Chinese New Year holidays approaching, refinery plants have accelerated their refined-oil production, leading to a wider spread margin of cost and profits, he said. However, the margin spread for petrochemical products remains flat largely due to dropping crude oil prices and the adverse impact of trade war, he said.

Since PTT saw positive signs, its board on September 27 approved an interim dividend payment of Bt0.90 per share, which totalled Bt25.7 billion, Chansin said.

This year PTT has invested more than the target set by the government. For instance, the group acquired Glow Energy, which produces electricity for the manufacturing sector, he added.

Under the campaign, AIS is encouraging people to drop off their electronic waste such as broken earphones, AC adapters, Bluetooth devices, power banks and old mobile phones at e-waste bins in AIS shops or at all Central department stores. The bins are equipped with IoT (internet of things) technology to collect and dispose electronic waste.

Somchai Lertsuitwong, chief executive officer for AIS, said this campaign aims to cut one million units of carbon dioxide equivalent and eliminate at least 100,000 pieces of electronic waste by 2020.

“AIS is heading towards its 30th year of operation and we take pride in being part of Thailand’s history in the last three decades, especially in the continuous growth of the telecom industry contributing to a better quality of life among Thais nationwide,” Somchai said.

“Being No 1 in the telecom industry is due to our dedication to the pursuit of creating innovative products and services for the benefit of society and the country.”

Over the past 29 years, AIS has invested more than Bt1 trillion in building the foundation of Thailand’s digital infrastructure, he added.

AIS currently has some 42 million customers using its mobile phone or broadband services. It has also partnered with more than 1,918 leading brands, that have 27,155 branches nationwide.

AIS also held a show where its presenters took to the stage in Bangkok’s Siam Paragon shopping centre on Thursday to entertain customers.

He added that if the consortium failed to meet the deadline, it could be blacklisted. Partners in the consortium would also be affected accordingly when they bid for other state projects in the future.

Pertners in the CP-led consortium comprise Bangkok Expressway and Metro Plc, China Railway Construction Corporation, Ch Karnchang Plc, and Italian-Thai Development Plc.

The committee tasked with overseeing bidding for the high-speed train project, has set October 15 as deadline for the signing.

The CP-led consortium proposed the lowest bidding price. If it failed to seal the deal with the state agency  on that date, it might risk being considered as abandoning the project.

In the event of the signing being delayed, Anutin said, it could undermine the confidence of potential  investors in the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC).

The railway project will connect the three international airports -Don Mueang airport in Bangkok, Suvarnabhumi airport in Samut Prakarn and U-Tapao airport in Rayong.

The EEC covers the three provinces of  Chachoengsao, Chonburi and Rayong.

B10 contains 10 per cent biodiesel, which is believed to be carbon neutral and less polluting.