The “Combating Food Fraud and Food Defence Strategy” will complement the work Thai Union already does under its global sustainability strategy, SeaChange, which includes tracing products to identify and record their provenance and progress along the supply chain.

“We have an unwavering commitment to protect our supply chain,” Sirilak Suwanrangsi, Thai Union’s global regulatory leader, said in announcing the policy at the World Seafood Congress in Penang, Malaysia.

“This new strategy will strengthen our existing work to prevent any threats to our business and to our customers.”

Thai Union has introduced a “Manual of Mitigation Measures to Combat Food Fraud and Intentional Adulteration”, which provides guidance in developing measures against threats specific to each business.

Suwanrangsi said it’s important for companies such as Thai Union to have systems in place that protect reputations and assess any vulnerabilities in supply chains.

“Collectively, these efforts will reduce risks in Thai Union’s supply chain and help protect our business” said Dr Darian McBain, Thai Union’s global director of corporate affairs and sustainability.

Food fraud includes the deliberate and intentional substitution, addition, tampering or misrepresentation of food, ingredients or packaging, along with false or misleading statements made about a product, for economic gain.

The first outlet in the country is located at a Sinopec petrol station in Nanning of Guangxi, marking the tenth foreign market it has entered.

OR president and chief executive officer Jiraphon Kawswat said plan for first branch in China was supported by the company’s partners in Thailand and the host country.

The company has awarded the right to operate the branch to PTT OR China (Shanghai), a unit under its umbrella.

OR will continue to roll out Cafe Amazon branches at other Sinopec petrol stations across China, the world’s biggest consumer market.

Cafe Amazon has now made its presence in ten countries: China, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Japan, and Oman.

It has been growing annually in terms of the number of new branches and sales.

Last year, it recorded sales of 225 million cups.

Shoke Na Ranong, the executive vice president of BBL’s credit card division, on Thursday said that with young people preferring to making payments online, the bank has decided to join Rabbit LINE Pay so that they could enjoy both online and offline options.

“The aim is to ensure that customers can conveniently and confidently complete all their financial transactions, such as transfers and withdrawals, via the Be1st Smart Rabbit LINE Pay card or via e-transactions through the Thai Payment Network [TPN] or UnionPay,” Shoke said.

Sudrutai Thongsong, the senior vice president of BBL’s consumer product development under consumer banking, said the BBL–RLP cooperation will enable the bank to offer new financial services that match customer demand and lifestyle.

“This is also a good opportunity for the bank to expand its customer base into the new generation, which is more used to completing transactions online. And this is also a step towards a cashless society,” she said.

Jin Woo Lee, the CEO of Rabbit-LINE Pay, said the tie-up is an important step for the programme to maintain its leadership in the area of mobile payment services. This is the first time that the company has developed a payment system that supports TPN UnionPay accounts, as well as BBL branches nationwide.

“This cooperation strengthens our standing in the ‘Young Gen’ customer base, and we are confident that we will receive a good response. I believe the new debit cards will make transactions more convenient and help meet the lifestyle needs of customers. This is part of the drive to achieving a cashless society,” Lee said.

RLP has around 6.5 million customers and is accepted in more than 60,000 shops nationwide, which is planned to be expanded to 100,000 shops across Thailand by the end of this year.

EGCO Group owns 49 per cent of the joint venture, while Meralco has 51 per cent.

The new power plant is expected to consistently generate revenues for the company, with earnings recongised starting in the fourth quarter of 2019, he said.

It will help ensure a more stable supply of power on Luzon Island, the Philippines.

The San Buenaventura facility, located at the site adjacent to the existing Quezon power plant in Mauban, Quezon Province, is a coal-fired power plant utilising highly efficient supercritical boiler technology with the advantage of promoting efficient fuel consumption.

The power plant has a gross output capacity of 500 megawatts, of which the entire net capacity of 455 MW is contracted for sale to the Manila Electric Company (Meralco) under a 20-year power supply agreement with five-year term extension.

With this power plant, EGCO Group boasts 27 operating power plants with total equity contracted capacity of 5,315 MW in six countries – Thailand, Lao PDR, Philippines, Indonesia, Australia and South Korea.

There are three projects now under construction with total equity contracted capacity of 331 MW. The company’s power plants generate electricity using various fuel sources such as natural gas, LNG, coal, biomass, hydro, solar, wind, geothermal and fuel cell.

Herbalife Nutrition today announced the launch of the “Nutrition for Zero Hunger” global initiative, pledging US$2 million to help end world hunger, ensure people have access to good nutrition and address rising obesity.

The initiative, with the assistance of non-profit partners, will focus on providing access to healthy foods, improving nutrition education, identifying sustainable food resources and raising awareness of the global crisis.

The Company also announced its partnership with Feed the Children, a non-profit organization committed to defeating childhood hunger worldwide. Feed the Children has designated September as Defeat Hunger Month and as a lead partner of Nutrition for Zero Hunger, Herbalife Nutrition will support their programmes to help end hunger around the world.

“The Nutrition for Zero Hunger initiative addresses key pandemic problems and through our work with our partners, like Feed the Children, we hope to build a world where everyone has access to quality food and nutrition,” said Alan Hoffman, the company’s executive vice president for global corporate affairs.

In addition to supporting strategic partnerships, Nutrition for Zero Hunger aligns with the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goal 2, which calls for bold action to end hunger in all its forms by 2030, as well as solutions to achieve food security and improve nutrition worldwide. Through the US$2 million pledge, the Company will:

• Partner with organizations addressing hunger, food security and malnutrition

• Provide in-kind donations of nutritious food and nutrition products to vulnerable people

• Deliver resources to support nutrition education

• Engage and educate communities globally through integrated campaigns

Hoffman added, “We have seen how healthy nutrition impacts people’s lives, and we are committed to supporting this critical need to vulnerable populations all around the world.”

Its more than 3,400 co-workers met servers some 98 million visitors in it stores and centres, rolled out ecommerce in Thailand, embarked on construction projects in new markets and helped sell 113,000 ‘Billy’ bookcases along with thousands of other affordable home furnishings.

As one of 12 IKEA franchisees around the world, the turnover posted by the eight large IKEA stores in Southeast Asia – including two in Bangkok plus a Pick-Up and Delivery Point in Phuket – contributed to the total result released Wednesday by the global franchisor, Inter IKEA Group.

The company owns and operate IKEA stores and ecommerce operations in three active markets: Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore. When its retail sales are combined with rental income from its three IKEA-anchored shopping centres in the region (including Megabangna), total revenue reached Bt29 billion – 20 per cent more than last year, Bt8.9 billion from Thailand, the next Bt11.9 billion from Malaysia and the remaining Bt8.2 billion from Singapore.

“These results show that our IKEA stores and shopping centres have fantastic potential to grow,” said Christian Rojkjaer, Managing Director of IKEA Southeast Asia. “We make a difference to many people by making life more comfortable, more beautiful and more sustainable – all at an affordable price.”

“We face increasing competition in our markets and changing customer behaviour,” he added, “but our vision to create a better everyday life for people is perhaps more powerful than ever. We aim to offer the best deal there is in every market and we have a wide price ladder within our range. So, even in challenging times, IKEA has something for everyone no matter the size of his or her wallet.

“Our shopping centres add to the total value by creating meeting places that are the hub of the community – and provide a great day out for shoppers.”

The board cited a “fast-changing situation” in asking for a fresh plan within the next six months, THAI president Sumeth Damrongchaitham said.

Board members noted the airline’s poor financial performance and tough competition, coupled with the baht’s appreciation, Sumeth said.

He insisted that THAI must acquire new aircraft, but it would revise the methodology used.

Deputy Transport Minister Thaworn Senniam said the board’s request was not politically motivated or a matter of political interference.

“Our deal will be finalised next year or in 2021,” he said, adding that King Power will continue focusing on the duty-free business in Thailand.

He added that though Thailand’s economy has shown slight growth, King Power has still been hurt by a slump in the number of tourists.

However, the company has continued maintaining its Creating Shared Value (CSV) budget at Bt200 million annually by focusing on music, sports and communities.

“We have continued organising CSV activities to support community products to export via our football team Leicester City. This will help them maintain sustainable income for a long time,” he said. “We want to improve the quality of life for Thai communities and people.”

The company is also supporting Thai footballers by given them a chance to train with Leicester City under the Fox Hunt campaign. Since 2017, 52 Thai footballers have been trained under the programme.

The award was jointly presented by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), Vietnam Business Forum newspaper in collaboration with the Institute for Business Studies and Development (INBUS) and Vietnam Association of Accountants and Auditors (VAA). Other companies named Vietnam’s 10 Best Corporate Governance Companies on the stock exchange included Vinamilk, Vingroup, Mobile World and PVG.

This year, all listed companies from 30 sectors were evaluated and ranked based on 21 indicators related to all aspects of business activities according to their financial statements with comprehensive evaluation methods, applying technologies to ensure accurate and objective results.

Vu Tien Loc, Chairman of VCCI said: “It’s reasonable to assess only listed companies in this index because they are the best companies in the local market, which are also the most transparent companies. These effective and transparent companies were also the ones with the most capacity and best performance. And the performance for listed enterprises on the stock exchanges are now the measurements of Vietnamese companies’ health in general.”

Since its listing on Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange (HOSE) on February, 2017, Vietjet’s stock (coded VJC) quickly attracted domestic and foreign investors, becoming one of the best companies on HOSE and has been selected for the VN30 index.

With more than $3 billion in market capitalisation, Vietjet has been listed as one of Forbes’ Asia Pacific Best (over a billion) in 2019. Air Finance Journal magazine also ranked Vietjet 22nd in the top 50 airlines with the world’s best operating and financial indicators. Its stocks have just been listed in Vietnam Sustainability Index VNSI by HOSE for the period starting from August 5, 2019 to July 31, 2020. The index lists the top 20 stocks on HOSE with the best sustainable development scores.

Furthermore, the airline’s stocks have just listed in the basket of FTSE and VNM ETF portfolios with a total of 6 million shares, equivalent to 890 billion dongs in value.

Vietjet’s abilities in financial management and corporate governance are proven by good business performance. In the first half of 2019, Vietjet operated 68,821 flights, equivalent to 45 per cent of total flights operated by domestic airlines, transporting 13.5 million passengers in all networks. Air transport revenue reached 20,181 billion dongs in the first six months, an increase of 22 per cent and a pre-tax profit of 1,553 billion dongs, an increase of 15 per cent year on year.

Available seat kilometres (ASK) maintained well with CASK at 3.88 cents, CASK ex-fuel 2.27 cents, mainly from reducing fuel costs (down 4 per cent) and cost savings in management with operation expense reduced by 2 per cent.

Pattarajitra Pitchayawisitkul, managing director of Estella Prestige Ltd, distributor of chandeliers made of genuine crystal, said that the company has been in the business for more than 20 years.

“We are the authorised dealers of Europe’s leading crystal chandelier brands, including Euroluce, Copenlamp, Iris Cristal, Novaresi, Pedret and Castro Lighting, not to mention that we are an exclusive lighting partner of Swarovski chandelier. Today, we are proud to unveil that we have signed an exclusive dealership deal with Asfour Crystal, the largest manufacturer of crystal from Egypt. Customers can rest assured that purchasing crystal chandelier from Estella, you will have 100 per cent genuine crystal.

“Since we have been in this business for a long time and have distributed leading chandelier brands from Europe, especially Swarovski, Asfour Crystal has chosen us to become an exclusive dealer for the brand today. This should strengthen the Estella brand in Thailand further,” Patarajittra added.

Asfour Crystal is made from high-quality sand with a very little composition of iron and over 30 per cent of lead oxide which makes its crystals shine brighter than other brands. Also, nearly every piece of crystal created by Asfour has an eagle-like symbol attached to it.

Estella, meanwhile, has opened a new showroom at the Crystal Design Centre and another on Ratchaphruek Road with a team of experts on hand to provide knowledge on selecting the perfect crystal chandelier.

Estella’s customer base is made of 80 per cent homeowners and 20 per cent real-estate projects.

“We expect to see growth in sales by 30 per cent, thanks to the partnership with Asfour Crystal and growth in the residential market. We believe that the market of luxury houses priced at over Bt100 million will continue to grow, and we forecast that mid- to high-level market for housing will also expand. Most of Estella customers are of the upper-level,” Patarajittra added.

Abdelrahman Walid Asfour, executive director of Asfour Crystal International Ltd, said: “The appointment of Estella as an exclusive dealer will allow us to expand our customer base in Thailand as well as in Southeast Asia.

“Our marketing strategy this year will focus on developing new products and expanding our business. We introduced a new collection in the first quarter and plan to launch another in the third quarter. For market expansion, we have our eyes on several countries in Southeast Asia, Europe and America. We have new partners in Vietnam, France, Armenia and Utah in the US. Thailand is another market that we are committed to expanding and it will provide us with a channel to grow business in other countries in this region as well,” added Asfour.