The Omen X 2S – a dual-screen gaming laptop – and the Omen 15 laptop is the thinnest yet, and both HP Pavilion Gaming 15laptops offer outstanding versatility and mobility for gamers and creatives alike.

Gaming industry research shows 82 per cent of people use their mobile phones for messaging during gaming sessions, 61 per cent listen to music and 49 per cent watch game-related live streams, video content and browse websites.

HP, therefore, added another screen to the Omen X 2S in the form of an easy-to-use six-inch 1080p touchscreen that lets players message friends in WeChat and WhatsApp, browse in Spotify, watch Twitch and YouTube or serve as a hub for Omen Command Centre software.

“Pushing the boundaries of what’s possible with game-changing evolutionary and revolutionary products reflects the philosophy of reinvention at HP,” said Pavin Vorapruck, managing director of HP Inc (Thailand). “The Omen brand continues to think big and Omen X 2S is a prime example of how we are setting new standards and changing how a gaming laptop is used.”

Asia-Pacific is home to the fastest-growing games markets globally, India and Indonesia, and the number one gaming market in the world, China. Thailand is one of the key gaming markets in Southeast Asia with continued growth in the number of gamers and market value.

Pavin continued: “In the past few years gaming has secured its mainstream status, with Asia-Pacific driving the evolution for the rest of the world. Our understanding of the needs of the Asian gamer has allowed us to engineer these game-changing devices that not only provide a truly immersive in-game experience but ensures we create something for every type of gamer who wants to play to progress.”

The Swedish home furnishings retailer unveiled its collaboration with Greyhound Original to develop Sammankoppla, which means “unify” or “interconnect”.

“We are so excited to see our Ikea product developers working with homegrown, Thai design talent,” said Lacia Sherlock of Ikea in Thailand, Singapore and the Philippines. “Thailand has watched Greyhound grow from a fashion label into a café and an edgy lifestyle brand. Now this creative team has developed products that will add a cool, industrial chic to be offered in our stores.”

Bhanu Inkawat, creative director of Greyhound Group, said he was stunned when Ikea first contacted him about a collaboration two years ago. “We didn’t expect that a global brand like Ikea would recognise us. There was no way that Ikea would approach us to do a collaboration together,” he said.

Michael Nikolic, creative leader at Ikea in Sweden, said: “Small spaces and tight budgets are a common challenge all over the world, and still many people want to show their personalities at home through unique objects,” said Nikolic.

He explained that he was curious to work with Greyhound Original because the brand has considerable experience in combining the expressive designs of fashion and street culture while reusing or repurposing materials in a creative and natural way.

The range of 25 products includes reversible rugs made from recycled plastic, a table and shelving rack inspired by scaffolding regularly seen in major developing cities, a multi-purpose LED lamp inspired by an adaptive Thai idea to revive disposed items, tableware, Thai style triangular-shaped cushions, and much more.

In the FPT Bangplee Cluster, the 70,000 sqm site is the first phase of a planned development covering 30,000 sqm. It will have a capacity of over 30,000 pallets, which means that it can cater to the management and increase the distribution efficiency of our products. These include the space areas of ambient storage, temperature-controlled storage, cold storage and frozen storage, each for a particular type of food commodity.

Sopon Racharaksa, president of FPT, said: “We are pleased to commence the first phase of construction for Havi’s cold-chain distribution centre, as we execute on the agreement signed in early May between FPT and Havi with a 19-year lease.”

The Best Foreign Retail Bank in Thailand, Best Frictionless Customer Experience and Best Biometrics Initiative awards recognise UOB, the bank said.

UOB was named Best Foreign Retail Bank for the fifth consecutive year.

Following the launch of TMRW, Asean’s first mobile-only bank for the region’s digital generation, UOB also received the Best Biometrics Initiative award. UOB said it was the first bank in Thailand to use fingerprints to enable new customers to open an account in less than 10 minutes, removing the need for customers to visit a branch to open an account.

The company said in a press release on Thursday that the project is part of the Land Transport Authority’s (LTA) SimplyGo programme.

The project with LTA will be one of Visa’s largest implementation for contactless acceptance for transit globally at 30,000 acceptance points.

All banks that issue contactless enabled Visa cards will be part of this transit initiative. Consumers will also be able to make mobile contactless transactions through compatible devices including Apple Pay, Fitbit Pay, Google PayTM and Samsung Pay. Singtel Dash mobile wallet users can also tap and pay for bus and train rides with their Dash Visa Virtual Account.

Paying for public transportation using Visa contactless is not only convenient, but enhances the travel experience for commuters by eliminating the need to carry multiple cards or the hassle of having to top up stored value travel cards.

More than one-third (35 per cent) of respondents in a recent Visa Singapore transit study say it is inconvenient to top-up their pre-paid stored value cards for local travel. In addition, close to 70 per cent of respondents say it is a hassle to wait in long queues to purchase fares or top up their travel cards.

The same study also highlighted that 75 per cent of Singaporeans are open to using mobile or digital payments as their sole method of payment for public transport.

Kunal Chatterjee, Visa Country Manager for Singapore and Brunei said: “We are excited to bring contactless transit payments to our cardholders in Singapore as part of LTA’s SimplyGo initiative.

“Our partnership with LTA to implement contactless acceptance is one of the largest contactless initiatives for transit that Visa is implementing globally and we are proud that this expansive project has come to fruition.

“By opening up contactless acceptance for transit, we are removing friction from the travel experience, eliminating the need for Singaporeans and tourists to wait in line to top up their stored value travel cards. Visa will continue to work closely with our partners to streamline the payment experience at all touchpoints across Singapore to make it seamless and convenient.”

With the expansion of the SimplyGo programme to Visa cardholders, Singapore joins other major cities that have enabled open-loop payment cards for public transport, including London, Sydney and New York.

The launch built on Visa’s experience helping transit operators around the world find the best, most cost-effective way to address increasing pressures on their existing infrastructure while also investing in the technologies that will serve them in the future. Over the past year alone, Visa helped launch contactless transit solutions in 20 cities across 12 countries, with more than 150 projects currently underway.

“Today, Singapore is already one of the top markets globally in terms of contactless penetration with more than 80 percent of all Visa transactions being contactless. We expect this number to grow even faster with the opening of transit acceptance,” added Kunal.

Under the investment, the group expects to double its total annual sales of Krating Daeng to Bt60 billion in the next three years, with Bt42 billion coming from exports.

TCP Group posted Bt30 billion in sales of Krating Daeng products last year, with exports contributing 70 per cent – or Bt21 billion – of the total.

The group yesterday said that it is making headway into Singapore, breaking new ground with Red Bull Plus – a premium, sugar-free energy drink that targets young people pursuing healthy lifestyles and a good public image.

It is also building on its success in Thailand with the launch of Krating Daeng Extra in new packaging.

Supachai Junkeiat, TCP Group’s global marketing division director, said that Krating Daeng – also known as Red Bull – is a globally known brand. It is the top energy drink in Thailand, which is also the leader in Southeast Asia with a market share of around 40 per cent. The company said it is a top three energy drink brand in every country where it has a presence.

It is also a pioneering brand for energy drinks that has been successful for over 40 years. The brand has the largest outreach in overseas markets with a wide range of products in its portfolio to cover every consumer need in every segment.

“TPC will take the offensive to market a portfolio of Krating Daeng products in Southeast Asian markets where sales are expected to grow by 15 per cent in 2019,” Supachai said.

He said that the key challenge today is how to deeply understand the lifestyles, cultures, and behaviours of consumers in the different markets.

“We call our strategy Glocal. Under the strategy, our global marketing team will work with local marketing units in individual countries to integrate global standard work ethics into the context of each market in which Krating Daeng operates,” he said.

“We will also develop innovations to grow the consumer base and increase brand awareness to make Krating Daeng one of the two top energy drink brands in every Southeast Asian market.

“The retail landscape might be changing sooner or later but our marketing strategy and implementation will still be based on consumer centricity. Thus, we invest substantially in research and the study of consumer behaviour to understand people’s daily routines, consumption behaviour, lifestyles, culture and factors influencing the product buying decision in order to develop our action plan and employ marketing tools accordingly,” said Supachai, adding that this approach leads to the development of game-changing innovation in each market in Southeast Asia.

Krating Daeng is the first Thai brand in the energy drink market to develop marketing innovation that focuses on communication with consumers on different digital platforms such as Line (in Thailand), social media and Whatsapp (in overseas markets) in accordance with the context and popularity among consumers in each country. “Krating Daeng has enjoyed phenomenal success with its use of digital platforms to reach consumers,” Supachai said.

He said TCP Group has increased its growth potential as the leader in the market for energy drinks in Southeast Asia with a wide range of products to meet consumer needs in every segment. Krating Daeng is the only energy drink brand in Thailand with products in its portfolio – each product is the result of extensive consumer behaviour studies to meet consumer needs in every segment, he said.

“The focus is on presenting strengths and different properties of individual products as well as their nutritional benefits and other supplementary functions to improve brand value,” Supachai said.

“For the Thai market in 2019, we have launched the new-formula Krating Daeng Extra in new packaging with the Try Now, Great Taste Guaranteed! campaign.

“The new formula and its great taste have been well accepted by more than 90 per cent of consumers who have tried it.

“Our main targets for the new products are university students and young workers aged up to 35. The product’s re-formulation followed our extensive study of consumer behaviour and needs. We found unmet needs of consumers in terms of product taste and packaging”.

A report forecast that the Kingdom’s high-net-worth individuals (HNWI) – those with assets exceeding US$1 million – are expected to make more offshore investments, focusing on equities and mutual funds in the next five years.

The SCB Julius Baer Wealth Report Thailand 2019 said the combined worth of the top tier in the economy was US$341 billion in 2018 and would see a healthy gain to $401 billion in 2020.

SCB Julius Baer aims to capture 10 per cent of the Thai HNWIs in the next five years with what it calls its holistic wealth management service. It also plans to increase its number of relationship managers from 14 to 50 in the next two years, said the company’s chief executive officer Jiralawan Tangitvet.

Jiralawan was speaking yesterday at a press conference on Thailand’s HNWIs held by SCB Julius Baer. She was joined by Pearlyn Wong, head of investment publishing Asia at Julius Baer, and Mark Matthews, head of research Asia at Julius Baer.

“Thailand’s HNWI wealth is estimated to grow by 9.9 per cent from 2015 to 2020, reaching a combined worth of $401 billion at the end of next year,” said Wong, citing growing household wealth, economic development and a buoyant property and stock market as the key drivers behind this growth.

She said that in 2010 the HNWI Wealth/Nominal GDP ratio in Thailand stood at 62.7 per cent. This is set to increase to 71 per cent in 2020.

Wong and Matthews project that offshore investment in stocks, as well as in mutual funds, will be a rising trend for Thai HNWIs.

The wealth report surveyed 350 HNWIs in Thailand and categorised their participants into three age groups: millennial entrepreneurs (aged under 40), mature investors (41 to 60) and techie retiree investors (aged 61 years and older).

The report found Thai HNWIs are still under-invested compared to their global counterparts when it comes to offshore investments and predicted that more offshore investments will be made in the upcoming years.

The report said that of the respondents, 40 per cent hold at least one offshore investment, including investments in foreign equities, mutual funds and direct real estate. However, up to 65 per cent of them surveyed indicated a lack of understanding when it came to accessing offshore investments.

Stocks were among the most popular investment destinations, making up at least 17 per cent of the portfolio allocation for all three age groups. This is followed by investment in mutual funds, which attracted at least 15 per cent of the respondents’ total investments.

The trend in the next five years is that there will be more investment by Thai HNWIs in these two areas, with offshore investments becoming increasingly popular, Wong said.

Matthews said rich Thais are starting to seek more opportunities to make offshore investments, especially in the US market as well as the Swiss market.

This is because the US is still by far the largest market to invest in, more than twice the size of the Chinese or UK markets. Meanwhile, the Swiss market may be seen as an attractive investment destination for investors because of its stability, Matthews said.

The report found that for respondents, when asked to mention offshore investment providers, US brands topped the list by making up to 25.5 per cent of total mentions followed by Swiss brands at 19.9 per cent.

SCB Julius Baer is a strategic wealth management joint venture between Siam Commercial Bank and Julius Baer, a Swiss wealth management group and one of the four largest private banks in Asia. The joint venture was formed in 2018 and was licensed for its Thai operations in April this year.

The firm offers wealth management products such as funds and alternative investments as well as products and security recommendations.

All 380 matches will be broadcast on all platforms — TrueVisions, TrueMoveH, TrueOnline and TrueID — a statement from Thailand’s largest pay TV operator said on Wednesday.

The deal came after an agreement between Premier League and Facebook fell through in March this year.

The social media giant had agreed to a deal in May last year to land coverage of English football’s premium event in Thailand, Laos and Cambodia with a £200-million offer.

Birathon Kasemsri, chief content and media officer, True Corporation, said TrueVisions will be the only network in Thailand to show all the action of the English Premier League, with live broadcasts, reruns, and highlights of every match.

They will make available six channels for broadcast of the world’s biggest football league, which will kick off the new season on August 10.

TrueVisions has also been given a live and on-demand digital broadcast licence across all platforms so football fans can enjoy the excitement of the matches according to their own convenience and lifestyle, he added.

“Brace yourselves for the most complete English Premier League experience ever. And we will proudly present it in new and innovative ways that will more deeply engage all fans throughout Thailand,” Birathon said.

Further details including its format, how to watch and promotions for both new and existing customers will be announced soon, the company said.

TrueVisions has acquired the broadcast rights directly from the Premier League but the firm refused to reveal how much the deal cost.

TrueVisions in the past had won the rights to broadcast the EPL for several years before Cable Thai Holding snapped up the rights for the 2013 to 2015 seasons with a Bt10-billion bid.

In the last three seasons, Truevisions has sublicensed the broadcast rights from beIN Sports.

Premier League director of broadcasting Paul Molnar said they were very pleased to welcome TrueVisions back as a broadcast partner for the next three years.

“They have exciting plans to make our competition available on multiple platforms, and we look forward to seeing fans in Thailand enjoy the best Premier League action,” said Molnar.

Meanwhile, TrueVisions is trying to acquire the broadcast rights for Champions League games in the rest of the two seasons after Thailand’s vast army of football fans were left bitterly disappointed at not being able to watch last season’s games.

The rights to broadcast the Champions League from 2019-21 seasons were awarded to DAZN, the parent company of goal.com.But the website failed to deliver the broadcast in Thailand throughout the last season. It remained unclear if the fans will be able to watch games in the rest of the seasons.