The 1 GBPs internet capacity can support multiple connections and devices on a simultaneous basis. It can facilitate the download of a 2-hour-long HD movie in only 36 seconds, a 4K movie of the same length in 4 minutes, 150 images files in 3 seconds, 25 files of 120 MB songs in 1 second and a 1.5 GB online game in 12 second.

The service will eventually cover all regions in the countries after the initial launch in Bangkok, Chiangmai Mai, Phuket and Khon Kaen provinces.

He said existing TrueOnline customers could also upgrade their internet packages to 1 GBPs from July 23 to December 31, 2019.

The firm would spend Bt60 million in promotional and marketing activities to drive demand.

“The new internet package comes with a special router, bundled with advance technology and innovative solutions ,” Tanapoom said.

The firm currently has 3.5 million household subscribers of its existing internet packages, he said, adding that he expected around 30 per cent of new customers will subscribe to the 1 GBPs packages. TrueOnline sees a 11 per cent growth in revenue this year from more than Bt12 million last year.

According to Slingshot, many organisations around the world are creating a “wellness culture” within their companies. Harvard University says enterprises with this culture have more advantages in terms of business growth. So in responding to high demand, Slingshot says, it has launched the first-of-its-kind “Leading Well, the Leadership Wellness” programme – a course that focuses on the sustainable growth of leaders, teams and organisations.

The company has teamed up with Aro Ha Wellness Retreats, a renowned wellness lifestyle centre and the winner of the World’s 10 Best Wellness Retreats of 2019, guaranteed by 17 international awards. The programme targets groups of leaders, senior executives, HR chiefs and SME business owners, and hopes to become the front-runner wellness leadership consultant in Thailand, confident that the firm will witness growth of 30 per cent this year.

Slingshot chief executive officer Sutisophan Chuaywongyart said the human resources development consultancy business is changing rapidly.

“As a consultancy firm, Slingshot Group has been a provider of leadership and organisational development for 15 years. The company has provided consultation to more than 100,500 leaders and has helped them move successfully through transition periods. This year, the company has launched its new leadership wellness programme, the first company to do so in Thailand,” she said.

“The programme is expected to help the company grow by 30 per cent this year as current leaders are starting to take an interest in their wellbeing. According to statistics, the health market is one of the businesses that grows faster than the overall world economy. However, most of the market seems to be focusing on beauty and anti-ageing (25 per cent), followed by healthy food and the weight loss business (16 per cent) and the health-tourism business (15 per cent). For leaders’ wellbeing within the workplace the focus is just 1 per cent. With this insight, Slingshot Group decided to penetrate this new market to spread the word and raise awareness,” Sutisophan said.

Harvard University has said that organisations emphasising on employees’ health and wellbeing have an advantage in this era. Companies in the Americas, Europe, Australia and New Zealand have turned their attention to a culture of wellness as well. The study by the MDA Leadership Consulting Institute combined with forecasts of future science found that the new role of future leaders is to create a culture of wellness, which is one of the strategies that can enable organisations to achieve sustainable success. Therefore, it is a trend that cannot be missed. In order to successfully lead the wellness culture, leaders must act as role models and adopt a healthy lifestyle to create sustainable success, Slingshot said.

Slingshot is now gearing up to provide consultation to high-level leaders, who are the essential part in driving company policies and leading the organization.

According to the company, many firms are experiencing rapid change, causing leaders to face various obstacles that directly affect their performance. The research regarding leaders and stress found that: 66 per cent of leaders believe they have been stressed for more than five years; 88 per cent say work is the main cause of stress, especially in their leadership roles; 60 per cent think companies do not provide enough tools or methods to help them cope with stress; and 80 per cent believe that having a coach or a group of friends can help them manage stress and lead a healthy lifestyle.

Manthana Raksachad, managing director of Core Business, Slingshot Group, said that according to research from Aro Ha Wellness Retreats, after being coached for six days by the institute, 16 per cent of the leaders who participated in the programme have had a better quality of life and are happier a month after joining the course. Based on the results of the study, 13 per cent of the programme’s participants made an impact at work, while 22 per cent could feel an improvement in terms of physical health. In addition, the research mentioned that stress affects one’s decision-making ability by enabling the use of emotions rather than making a decision based on information, which could lead to wrong and costly decisions for any business.

Based on information from the United States, people who try to create a wellness lifestyle for themselves have an 80 per cent chance of failure. Therefore, the majority of people are looking for consultants to coach them and help them create a healthy lifestyle.

The first programme launched by Slingshot is a leadership development course for executives who want to have a lifestyle of wellness over a period of 12 months. The highlight of the programme is the coaching of leaders in order to change their attitudes. The course also expects the executives to create a policy of wellness within their companies and apply the model to create a strong organisation.

“The programme covers all six areas of wellness, as it is more than just possessing good physical health,” Manthana said. “They are emotional wellness, physical wellness, spiritual wellness, intellectual wellness, social wellness and environmental wellness. The highlight is the emphasis on creating an organisational wellness culture through leaders to bring about sustainable behavioural change. We give the formula to leaders and guide them through activities, a first-hand experience which will create real and long-lasting changes.”

Slingshot says wellness leaders can expect to see results in two aspects – an increase of efficiency within the organisation resulting from an improvement in the leaders’ performance, and better physical and mental health, which helps decrease business risks that stem from a leader’s illness, or even death from stress and health problems. For example, a London Business School study says companies that were named the most desirable places to work in have a 50 per cent higher share value than others.

Slingshot expects 100 top-level executives to join its wellness programme by 2020.

The Cross-border QR Payment system

“The cross-border QR code is a convenient and secure way to pay, not just in the cardholders’ country of origin but whenever they go overseas. It helps expand the QR payment landscape, which is currently confined to domestic use, by leveraging on an interoperable infrastructure,” says Au Chong Wei – Head of Innovative Product, UnionPay International Southeast Asia.

He added that UnionPay Cross-Border QR payment is interoperable. Consumers can make payment conveniently to 10.8 million merchants that accept UnionPay QR payment, about 300,000 of which are outside Mainland China.

“The acceptance is expanding rapidly beyond the Chinese market to cover 30 countries and regions, including Thailand, Singapore, Hong Kong and other countries in East Asia, Southeast Asia and Middle East,” Au added.

UnionPay Cross-Border QR solution also provides an after-sales channel for users when it comes to disputes. It can also be implemented with contactless payment solution to allow users to access a combined contactless and QR acceptance network. Most importantly, it allows integration with existing proprietary QR solutions such as PromptPay.

Currently, there are 23 UnionPay enabled e-wallets in 11 markets that can make payment via UnionPay Cross-Border QR code. There are also over 20 e-wallets projects in the pipeline globally.

Au added that Thai consumers who own a smartphone will have greater access to quick, easy, secure and convenient payment solutions within Thailand and abroad via QR Code. They simply need a smartphone to pay at a wide variety of merchants, without having to worry about not having the exact amount of notes and coins to pay for the products and services. They can also enjoy the convenience of not having to carry multiple cards and cash in their wallet.

There are two modes of QR Code Payment: Merchant Presented and Customer Presented.

For Merchant Presented, consumers simply need to either scan the QR Code, and key in amount and pin to complete the payment. This is an initial trend and currently more prevalent in Thailand.

For Customer Presented solution involving the cross border payment, UnionPay is the only card scheme offering this mode in the global market. Consumers can present the generated QR code for the merchant to scan and receive the notification. It is now popular in China, especially among large-scale merchants because merchants have more control, but it comes with higher cost of infrastructure.

The company expects to see more of this Customer Presented in Thailand. Thai cardholders can use this Customer Presented service via Krungthai NEXT application.

Zheng Pingfu, Thailand Country Manager, UnionPay International, said that In Thailand, the company has worked on the implementation of cross-border QR Code payment with Bangkok Bank and Krungthai Bank.

BBL’s BeWallet application supports Merchant Presented solution globally, while Krungthai NEXT supports the Customer Presented solution in Thailand and Mainland China.

The Open-loop Transit Payment system

For the Open-loop Transit Payment system, it allows commuters to pay for transit just as they would for any other purchase made with their UnionPay contactless debit or credit card.

Instead of having to periodically top-up their transit cards in which the stored funds are largely restricted to transit, commuters can arrive in a city from another city or country and travel using their bank issued cards in their wallets, Au said.

“This not only remove the hassle of having to purchase a transit card, but also the hassle of getting a refund when they leave the city,” he added.

Currently, Thai customers with contactless UnionPay cards (i.e. Krungthai Travel UnionPay Debit Card and KTC UnionPay Credit Card) can use their cards to access:

• Buses in about 900 cities/towns in Mainland China

• Underground in 16 major cities in Mainland China

• Kaohsiung Metro (KRTC) in Taiwan

• Aeroexpress Train in Moscow

• KLIA Transit, airport links in Kuala Lumpur

“Besides Mainland China, Taiwan, Russia and Malaysia, we are engaging with related government bodies to implement the Open-loop Transit Payment system in several other key markets, especially those with already enabled contactless transit payment,” Au added.

Zheng said that Thai consumers in general have a positive outlook towards a cashless society. According to findings from The Future of Payments Study conducted by UnionPay International and Nielsen with 400 mobile payment users in Thailand aged between 18 and 65, seven in 10 respondents (71 per cent) would like for the country to go cashless, and six in 10 (61 per cent) are “confident” about living in a completely cashless society.

Coupled with the increasing smartphone penetration in Thailand, there is huge opportunity for payments innovation.

The Bangkok public transportation is also currently undergoing expansion and the city itself is expanding every day. This presents a great opportunity to enhance the system and provide the best commuting experience, including transit payment, to city dwellers.

“We look forward to a closer collaboration with all relevant partners in Thailand including transport providers, merchants, financial institutions and regulatory bodies to bring about more convenient payment solutions to consumers and merchants,” Zheng said.

Au added that as a global payment brand accepted at over 55 million merchants and with over 7.5 billion cards issued worldwide, UnionPay is trusted by consumers and businesses alike.

“We are in a unique position in providing win-win payment services that benefit all stakeholders in the industry,” Au said.

The portfolio is an opportunity for long-term investment in companies involved in the mobile, wearable and digital payments sector, including those offering blockchain solutions. The Future Payments portfolio combines both stocks and cryptoassets, presenting a diversified strategy across both asset classes.

“The future of money is constantly evolving into a complex global network. Challenger companies and technologies are entering this space, turning the industry on its head and prompting traditional players to redefine how the world pays for its goods and labour,” said Yoni Assia, chief executive and co-founder of eToro.

“We’re offering retail investors a chance to tap into the payments industry through a diversified portfolio across two different asset classes – stocks and crypto – making this portfolio unique.”

Jasper Lee, Managing Director of eToro Asia, said: “Asia is an important market for eToro and we are committed to growing our user base in the region. Our latest portfolio includes the likes of Alibaba and Tencent, big name stocks that will resonate with retail investors here.”

The portfolio provides exposure to global stocks including Wirecard, Alibaba, Tencent, Bankia SA and Baidu, as well as such cryptoassets as Bitcoin, XRP and Dash. The decision to include cryptos is based on the belief that the payments industry will likely be one of the first to properly adopt blockchain solutions. The companies making up the equity allocation of the portfolio are chosen based on their commitment to innovation within the payments sector, as well as challenger brands that seek to disrupt the industry.

“The way people choose to invest is changing. People want to invest in ideas and technologies that they believe in. Our CopyPortfolios are about making it as easy as possible for ordinary investors to access thematic investing,” Assia added:

FuturePayments is the latest in eToro’s expanding list of thematic portfolios, which include portfolios providing exposure to renewable energy, big tech, cryptoassets, gaming companies, banks, genome engineering and the cannabis industry.

The partners say Yuemmai will transform the face of the mobile phone market, contributing to fast-changing and modern lifestyles. It is targeting 100,000 rented mobile phones yearly.

Sutikiat Kittipattrakul, the CEO of Yuemmai (Thailand) Ltd, said Gold Elite Paris (Thailand) Co Ltd will partner with SCI Electric Plc to operate the Yuemmai brand under Yuemmai (Thailand) Co Ltd.

Sutikiat said he has witnessed a growing change in the behaviour of today’s consumers, with mobile phone users tending to possess a cellphone for more than two years. Consumers hesitate to switch to a new device due to several reasons, including the low resale rate and the high price of a cell phone. The Yuemmai mobile rental service can address these issues, and is projected to gain rapid popularity and soon emerge as the first choice as consumers make a purchasing decision, according to a company media release on Tuesday. Its loan rate is estimated at 100,000 devices per year.

“Despite several limitations that slow down the rate of cell phone purchases, everyone prefers a new smartphone and would want to keep up with the latest trend and technology. This is where Yuemmai comes in,” said Sutikiat.

“Yuemmai will transform the face of the smartphone market and go a long way to meeting consumers’ needs, as they will no longer have to pay a large amount of money for mobile phones or put up with their old devices. It will also resolve the low resale rate in the market. We are greatly confident that with more than 12 years of experiences in the cell phone business, we will be able to answer consumers’ demands.”

Yuemmai is a crucial advancement in the use of mobile phones in Thailand as it in sync with the new generation’s lifestyles, according to the release. Yuemmai’s marketing slogan is “Smarter and More Desirable”, and will feature the latest and most popular smartphone brands, which could be easily borrowed through “Yuemmai” application, available for download on both iOS and Android.

The price starts at Bt30 per day , or Bt900 monthly for a 12-month contract. A deposit is required, priced at Bt575 per month with an all-inclusive free monthly call and internet package.

Each “borrower” will receive a brand-new device wrapped in a box. Yuemmai service comes with an assurance that covers loss, theft, and damage. It also offers a free delivering service, handing over the item to your doorstep, as well as a free data transferring service guaranteed with 100% safety and countless privileges and promotions in collaboration with stores and restaurants.

Yuemmai aims to target new generations, university students, office workers, and those seeking a new option for using smartphones, including corporate customers who use mobile phones in their businesses or offer phones to their employees.

The company is issuing 130 million new shares for trade in the market for alternative investment or mai on August 1, 2019, Phillip Securities Co Ltd’s managing director of investment banking Vicha Tomana, who is Kumwell Corporation Plc’s underwriter, said on Monday.

He added that the price of Bt1.10 per share was based on the company’s price earnings ratio or P/E ratio, which is calculated from its net profit from the second quarter of the year 2018 to the first quarter of 2019.

Kumwell Corporation Plc’s chief executive officer Boonsak Keatcharoonlert said that the company aimed to raise capital of Bt143 million from this IPO to develop its new plant to produce grounding rods worth Bt68 million, with Bt10 million being used to renovate its existing plant, Bt8 million going into research and development of new products and the remaining Bt20 million for use as cash flow.

With the investment plan, the company expects its total revenue will growth by double digits a year, beating the earlier growth average of seven and ten per cent a year, he said.

In the first six months of 2019, SCB’s existing NPLs from SMEs stood at 7.8 per cent, with new NPLs at around 0.75 per cent, said SME banking officer Pikun Srimahunt at a press conference on Monday.

“Our aim is to keep NPL levels at below 8 per cent through 2019,” she said.

However, Pikun admitted that SMEs faced intense competition from large corporations both locally and overseas in the first half of 2019.

In the first quarter, wholesale business and SME loans contracted by 1.2 per cent year on year, but NPLs increased by 7.4 per cent, according to TMB Analytics.

“Wholesale SMEs face worrying financial issues as they are being out-competed by large businesses that offer cheaper prices by economies of scale,” said TMB Analytics chief Naris Sathapholdeja during a separate interview.

Moreover, SMEs are expected to struggle even further if the incoming government implements its campaign promise to hike the minimum wage to Bt400, according to Supant Mongkolsuthree, chairman of the Federation of Thai Industries.

The manufacturing sector representative stated that SMEs will struggle to compete with big businesses as a rise in the minimum wage will increase their costs disproportionately when compared to large corporations.

However, Pikun contends that the increase in the minimum wage to Bt400 will not present a significant obstacle for SMEs if they are able to utilise new technologies and adjust their prices in accordance with their costs.

“The real challenge for SMEs, which has been reflected in the NPL levels, is their inability to diversify their customer base and make use of new technology to cut costs and increase online visibility,” Pikun said.

For example, SMEs which only rely on exports to China will struggle as the US-China trade spat continues. Meanwhile, SMEs which are able to diversify their exports to other regions such as the CLMV (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam) bloc are more likely to perform better, she explained.

Given the rising level of bad loans, SCB has developed a hands-on approach to manage their NPL levels by establishing an SME Ecosystem to support their clients and promote more sustainable business practices.

“The biggest challenge facing SMEs is their ability to adapt to technological change and diversify their customer segments to mitigate risks,” Pikun claimed.

Hence, the bank will start monitoring their clients more closely and notify clients that are at risk of creating NPLs.

In our SME Ecosystem, she stated, we offer services with partners to put these enterprises on e-commerce platforms such as Amazon and make their businesses visible on Google Maps by using Google My Business.

Furthermore, the bank has established the SCB SME Academy, which will offer programmes to train these enterprises throughout the country free of charge. The academy also has a mentor programme to match SMEs together and exchange valuable business know-how.

The partnership will help boost the company’s capability and opportunity in the solar roof business in Thailand. The cooperation will be conducted in the form of a joint venture, in which SPCG will hold 35 per cent of total shares, MUL (35 per cent), PEA Encom (20 per cent) and Kyocera at 10 per cent. It will be set up on July 31, this year.

Wandee Khunchornyakong Juljarern, chairwoman and CEO of SPCG Plc, said the joint venture will produce solar roof systems amounting to 500 megawatts in capacity a year. It will first cater to the company’s existing customers, of which about are 1,000 factory operators. About 100 customers have shown interest in installing solar roof systems that require a total capacity of about 50 megawatts and each will have a system not exceeding one megawatt in capacity.

“One of 12 policies the government will announce to parliament this Thursday (July 25) is the promotion of alternative energy with the use of ‘net-metering’ system. The policy will lead to more installations of solar roof-top panels by the public sector while private firms will also generate their own power and sell the remaining power to the system. As such, the government needs not resort to solar subsidies to stimulate solar power consumption in the private and public sector,” said Wandee.

Speaking to media on his first day in office, Ratchakitprakan identified short-term accommodation reform and growing tourism in secondary cities as a priority area for the Tourism and Sports Ministry.

“We look forward to working closely with the new government and Minister Ratchakitprakan on growing and diversifying Thailand’s tourism industry,” Airbnb’s head of Public Policy for Southeast Asia Mich Goh said.

“We particularly welcome the minister’s commitment to prioritising short-term accommodation reform in Thailand. It is recognition that more travellers from Thailand and abroad are choosing to stay in short-term accommodation such as Airbnb listings, and that the rules need to keep pace.

“While the Airbnb community in Thailand already makes a significant contribution to the tourism industry and economy, we believe that contribution could be even greater.

“Clear and innovative rules for short-term accommodation would create more opportunities for Thai hospitality entrepreneurs and help generate more income for local communities, especially those in secondary provinces. Airbnb stands ready to work with the Government in the coming months on developing clear, innovative rules for short-term accommodation in Thailand.”

Airbnb has already partnered with the Ministry of Interior’s Department of Local Administration to train local provincial officials on hospitality, hosting and compliance standards. Airbnb has also partnered with the state-owned Government Savings Bank to help promote and empower Thai hospitality entrepreneurs through flexible-interest rate loans and training programmes.

According to data released in June, Airbnb’s host and guest community generated over Bt33.8 billion in estimated direct economic impact in Thailand in 2018. The data also found that 80 per cent of local Airbnb hosts say they recommend restaurants and cafes to guests, and on average Airbnb guests in Thailand say 46 per cent of their spending occurs in the neighbourhood where they stay.

The projects, worth a total of Bt65 million, involve the installations of Carpet Tiles and Axminster carpet in four organizations, covering a combined area of 89,700 square meters. The company has also developed carpet tiles made from recycled plastic bottles, in line with environmental concerns and the goal of sustainable growth.

Walliwan Varavarn, the company’s chief executive officer, said the company’s second half performance will surpass that of the first half , thanks to the new projects.

One of which is the installation of special design carpet tiles at the new parliament buildings between September to November, covering the chamber of the House of Representatives (MPs), the Senate chamber and the prayer room, totalling 14,000 square metres.

Another is the laying of carpet tiles in the new terminal area of Suvarnabhumi Airport, covering an area of 52,000 square metres, from the fourth quarter of this year to the first quarter of 2020.

The other two projects involve work for the private sector: the installation of special design carpet tiles at the headquarter of Siam Commercial Bank and its branch offices, covering an area of 15,000 square metres, from the fourth quarter of 2019 to the second quarter of 2020; and the installation of Axminster carpet at Phuket Fantasea, covering the theatre and the restaurant, from September 2019 onwards.

For the company’s carpet under the “Carpet Inter” brand, the firm is focusing on large offices and organisations that give importance to preserving natural resources and the environment.

Having posted an over 10 per cent growth in sales last year, the company is looking to a more than 15 per cent increase in 2019, with domestic and overseas sales contributing at 35 per cent and 65 per cent respectively.

“At present, organisations are paying more attention to environmental concerns. This year, the company will launch EcoSoft® carpet tiles, made from recycled plastic bottles. The new product is highly flexible, absorbs sound better than PVC rubber in older models, and also helps energy, especially in air-conditioned premises. It has received good responses with orders coming in from both the public and private sectors,” Walliwan said.