The company said it posted impressive FY2018 results, with earnings at Bt140.2 million (up 71.4 per cent) and total revenue at Bt2.96 billion, a healthy growth driven by the constant launch of new restaurants, the introduction of delivery service, the adjustment of management strategy, the upgrading of service quality aimed at raising sales to the target level and an average sales growth at 4.7 per cent for the existing restaurants.

Boonyong Tansakul, Chief Executive Officer of Zen Corporation Group PCL (“ZEN”), said that ZEN is working to raise its revenue by 15-20 per cent in FY2019 by opening new restaurants and pumping up revenue from connected businesses, e.g. delivery, retailing, and to keep improving its profitability by ensuring an effective control of costs and expenses.

He added that the it expects to raise its profitability to the same level as that of the food industry as a whole within three years.

For FY2019, ZEN has allocated a budget of more than Bt230 million to finance the launch of new restaurants with both existing and new designs (those with the new design will be smaller in size and require smaller capital injection), the renovation and improvement of the existing restaurants and the upgrading of the IT infrastructure, to ensure that it will reach its revenue and earnings growth targets.

The directly-owned restaurants to be launched this year will total approximately 36.

“With our plan, we are confident that we will successfully maintain growth momentum as built up in FY2018. We own as many as 12 Thai and Japanese restaurant brands to attract target consumer groups with different levels of purchasing power, and we have introduced delivery service as an additional option for the consumer”, noted he.

Yupaphan Ekasittikul, Chief Financial Offier, said ZEN’s outstanding earnings and revenue growth rates for FY2018, with earnings at Bt140.2 million (a 71.4 per cent Y-o-Y rise from Bt81.8 million) and total revenue at Bt2.96 billion (a 17.9 per cent Y-o-Y rise from Bt2.51 billion), the highest revenue level since ZEN’s inception.

She attributed the growths to:

1. a 4.7 per cent Y-o-Y growth on average in sales from the existing restaurants following the regular introduction of new delicacies to the market, the adjustment of the company’s management strategy and the upgrading of service quality;

2. the relentless supply of new restaurants by ZEN and its franchisees;

3. the introduction of the businesses involving provision of delivery service and retailing of ready-to-cook and ready-to-eat food products to make ZEN’s product offerings fit the consumer’s lifestyles seamlessly; and 4. the better management of selling, general and administrative (or SG&A) expenses and the rejig of ZEN’s logistics system involving the selection of professional providers with specific expertise.

“Our investment in the improvement of our internal management system bore fruit last year, with the return on sales ratio jumping to 4.7 per cent. We are confident of our ability to raise the ratio even further in the future”, she said.

The airline will use a 144-seater Airbus A319 aircraft to service this route. The outbound flight PG246 will depart Chiang Mai International Airport at noon and arrive Krabi International Airport at 1.55pm.

These services will start from March 31 onwards.

Meanwhile the airline’s Chiang Mai – Luang Prabang (Laos) (round-trip) services will be operated three flights a week (Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday) with a 70-seater ATR 72-600 aircraft.

The outbound flight PG983 will depart Chiang Mai International Airport at 4.30pm and arrive Luang Prabang International Airport at 5.45pm. The inbound flight PG984 will depart Luang Prabang International Airport 6.30pm and arrive Chiang Mai International Airport at 7.45pm. These services will start from April 2 onwards.

For reservations, passengers can contact Bangkok Airways 24hrs Call Center at 1771 or simply go to http://www.bangkokair.com for more information.

In FY2018, consolidated revenues were recorded at Bt13.94 billion, a 4 per cent increase year-on-year. Shipping, Offshore Service, Agrochemical, and Investment Segments contributed 42 per cent, 22 per cent, 20 per cent and 16 per cent to the consolidated revenues, respectively.

Meanwhile, share of profit of associates and JVs rose to Bt401 million, a 19 per cent increase year-on-year.

While emphases are persistently placed on the Shipping, Offshore Service and Agrochemical Segments, TTA has also expanded the Investment Segment to minimise risks and plans to grow this Segment into an important source of income in the future.

Chalermchai Mahagitsiri, President and Chief Executive Officer of TTA, said the Shipping Segment’s outstanding performance was driven by higher freight rate and higher fleet capacity.

This uptrend in the freight market is reflected by the Baltic Dry Index (BDI) which rose from an average of 1,145 points in 2017 to an average of 1,353 points in 2018.

The Offshore Service Segment still faced challenges due to lower non-vessel subsea projects and all four performing vessels were sent for dry-docking; notwithstanding, all four vessels have returned and are ready to perform in 2019.

The agreement between OPEC and non-OPEC producing countries, including Russia, to cut oil production from January to June 2019 can potentially stabilise the crude oil market next year; however, the oil price is still volatile, and has traded in the range of US$50 (Bt1,586) and $86 per barrel in 2018.

The Agrochemical Segment also faced challenges from low agricultural price that consequently slowed down domestic fertiliser demand. However, export fertiliser sales volume and pesticide business’s sales revenue increased by 3 per cent and 12 per cent year-on-year, respectively.

In 2018, TTA has expanded the Investment Segment in food and beverage industry and in water business. The Company has acquired 80.5 per cent stake in Asia Infrastructure Management (Thailand) Company Limited or AIM, a Thai water contractor/service company.

In addition, Siam Taco Company Limited, a subsidiary in which TTA holds 70 per cent, was granted a right to enter into a franchise agreement with a subsidiary of Yum! Brands Inc. to operate Taco Bell, a world-famous Mexican-inspired restaurant chain, in Thailand.

The company said it is enhancing channels for HOT token trading and developing platforms for business while introducing the concept of “everyday crypto,” which will become the foundation for establishing the HOT token as the premiere utility token.

Nithinan Boonyawattanapisut, CEO of HotNow Thailand, said: “HotNow is supporting digital transformation by building a reliable ecosystem as a platform for creating and managing in-game assets and managing digital coupons, which will encourage retail merchants to adopt this channel.

“With nearly one million downloads of the HotNow app, consumers are becoming more familiar with the benefits of earning HOT tokens from merchants and games that they can swap for real-life products and services.

“HOT tokens will steadily play a broader role in daily life and drive circulation for economic activities, as well as the creation and trading of tokens. An increasing number of transactions will support the value of tokens currently traded on the well-respected ‘Stellar Digital Asset Exchange’.

“With more opportunities for consumers and merchants to use HOT tokens, they will become more widespread, which is in line with our vision of making HOT tokens an everyday cryptocurrency.

“Encouraging the use of cryptocurrency instead of cash for transactions is important in today’s world, where we are all connected to the digital economy. Now is the time to boost the use of cryptocurrency, and we have just listed on two more trusted digital asset exchanges, Liquid and KuCoin, in addition to the Stellar Decentralised Exchange. This will expand the HotNow economy to the greater global population. Trading on these two additional exchanges began on February 27, 2019,” added Ms. Nithinan.

KuCoin, launched in 2017, is one of the fastest-growing digital asset or cryptocurrency exchanges in the world. Dubbed the “People’s Exchange,” KuCoin is known for being both easy-to-use and sufficiently in-depth to cater to the needs of novice investors as well as crypto enthusiasts. KuCoin now offers almost 400 trading pairs with a daily trading volume of approximately USD 10.1 million (Bt320 million).

Liquid, launched by leading fintech company Quoine in 2018, is a global liquidity platform backed by the QASH token. Liquid is a cutting-edge platform that allows traders to buy and sell digital assets by way of Bitcoin, Ethereum, QASH, and multiple fiat currencies. With over USD 50 billion in transactions since July 2018, Liquid aims to simplify cryptocurrencies and increase their accessibility to everyday audiences in one place.

The acquisition of Proteus Technologies in late 2018 strengthened HotNow’s technology, enabling the company to develop new features and products more quickly and efficiently. In December 2018, HotNow successfully tested a digital coupon management system with partner merchants in Bangkok and Pattaya, which received very positive feedback.

This year, HotNow will connect more of the online-to-offline world. To grow these connections, and using blockchain technology to ensure they are secure, HotNow is developing an moblie game called “Evergleam Hill.” It’s a single-player game with fully-integrated crypto, open to global users who play the role of a new villager who is prospecting for, mining, and collecting gold. The collected gold can be exchanged for HOT tokens. Other assets such as digital coupons and prizes can also be swapped for HOT tokens that can then be used to buy various brands of real-life products.

Shopee, the leading e-commerce platform in Southeast Asia and Taiwan, joins forces with top international and local brands to launch a mega Shopee Brands Festival campaign from March 1 to April 4.

Shoppers can look forward to attractive deals from over 1,000 Shopee Mall brands, including Unilever, Mamypoko, L’Oreal, Sabina, Homehuk, Naraya and many more, according to its press release.

Shoppers can also enjoy 100-per-cent daily cashback during Shopee Brands Festival1 and 100-per-cent authentic guarantee on all Shopee Mall products.

To top it off, Shopee has also partnered with around 30 leading players across various industries including Visa, KBank, Ananda Development, Foodpanda, Agoda, Nok Air and more; to offer Shopee users exclusive perks during the campaign.

Agatha Soh, head of marketing, Shopee Thailand, said, “Shopee Mall has grown tremendously since its inception. We have received extremely positive feedback from our users who enjoy the premium online shopping experience on Shopee Mall, and also from brands who are able to leverage Shopee Mall to expand their businesses.

Today, we are excited to present our first-ever Shopee Brands Festival, in partnership with top brands across all categories. This event marks the largest co-branded initiative we have launched to date, and with the extensive support from all our partners, we are confident that it will be a great success.”

Siriwan Nitkitjatorn, general manager, Personal Health, Philips Thailand, said, “Our partnership with Shopee and the launch of our official store on Shopee Mall has allowed us to better reach our customers, both existing and new ones. In today’s digital world, the lines between online and offline are becoming increasingly blurred.

As a global leader in health technology, we hope that through our partnership with Shopee, a platform with great expertise and strategic plans, we will be able to further strengthen our brand’s presence in the e-commerce world.”

According to its press release, from March 1 to April 4, users can shop incredible deals from their favourite brands, across three key phases of the Shopee Brands Festival. The event will kickstart with 3.3 Brands Festival from March 1-3, closely followed by 21 back-to-back Super Brand Days presented in collaboration with leading brands in Thailand from March 4 to 24, and closed with a final round of promotions during the 4.4 Brands Festival from March 25 to April 4.

Key highlights include upsized flash sales happening every Wednesday, an upsized number of in-app game sessions during Quiz Day every Thursday, attractive brand vouchers up for grabs and many more.

Non-stop action with 21 back-to-back Super Brand Days

For the first time ever, major international and local brands across categories will participate in 21 consecutive Super Brand Days on Shopee as part of Shopee Brands Festival. During this period, household names, including Unilever, Mamypoko, BabyLove and more; will each offer limited 24-hour brand deals and giveaways. The line-up of brands will be announced in-app and on Shopee’s official social media channels across the next few weeks.

Buy a new condominium on Shopee during Shopee Brands Festival

In line with Shopee Brands Festival, Ananda Development launched their first-ever online store, Ananda Development Official Store, on Shopee. This marks the first time a real estate development company in Thailand partners an e-commerce platform to sell property online. With this partnership, Shopee users can now book ready-to-move Ananda condominiums located in prime locations directly on Shopee, with exclusive discounts of up to 1,950,000 baht, and a special rebate of 3,000 Shopee Coins for purchases made from 3 to 10 March.

Score additional discounts from in-app games and 30 Shopee partners

On top of all the exciting offers from brands, users can also take advantage of additional discounts and 20 million coins to be won from the popular interactive quiz game, Shopee Quiz. Users can also access other iconic in-app games such as Shopee Shake Shake, Shopee Slice, and Spin the Wheel via the Shopee Play page to earn additional coins and vouchers.

For those who love travelling, Shopee has also partnered with popular travel partners such as Nok Air, Booking.com, MSIG, Klook, Rental Car and more to offer exclusive deals for users.

Highlights include:

* Nok Air: As the first airline to open an official store on Shopee, Nok Air joins in the Shopee Brand Festival celebrations by providing up to 60% off Nok Air tickets purchased via the Nok Air Official Store on Shopee Mall. Valid on 3 March.

* Booking.com: Users can enjoy a 10% discount for selected hotel bookings when they access Booking.com via the special Partnerships Privileges page on Shopee from 1 March to 30 April.

* MSIG: Jetsetters can enjoy 13% savings and receive a complimentary Starbucks card (valued up to 600 baht) by using the promotional code ‘13shopee’ when purchasing any travel insurance plan via the MSIG official website. Valid from 1 to 31 March.

“The launch of Shopee Brands Festival marks a major milestone for Shopee, as it reflects the success we have achieved with Shopee Mall thus far. We are thankful for the loyal support of all our brand partners, as we strive to build on our past efforts and continue to deliver a premium and immersive online shopping experience to our users,” closed Soh.

Thammasorn Meerat, Co Founder & Managing Director, Robot Maker, said: “The robot vacuum cleaner or Autobot has its key selling point as intelligent electronic equipment for houses. The company has joined with partners from different countries to develop products continuously. Currently there are world-class products to respond to the needs of modern homemakers who have limited time for cleaning. Autobot is the helper to save time and labour with IOT and AI.”

For this year, apart from updated innovation, Autobot joins hands with Shopee, the leading e-commerce platform in Southeast Asia and Taiwan, to increase online sales.

Siwagorn Siriwongpanupong, Head of Business Development, Shopee Thailand said: “Shopee is a choice partner for many brands to grow their business through e-commerce, and we are pleased to see the success and growth of Autobot on Shopee since they first launched in 2017.

“In the past year, the Autobot Official Store managed to achieve a 15 times growth in orders, and is now one of the most popular robotic vacuum cleaner brands among Shopee users. We look forward to even closer collaboration with them, and will continue to work closely with the Autobot team to bring users even more exclusive deals and promotions in the months ahead.”

As part of the collaboration between Autobot and Shopee, Autobot will be taking part in the upcoming Shopee Brands Festival happening from March 1 to April 4. Users can enjoy up to 60 per cent off Autobot products and look forward to additional vouchers via the Autobot Official Store on Shopee Mall.

For the domestic market, Autobot invested between Bt50 million and Bt100 million for brand building focusing online channel and social media.

The company expects that within 3-5 years robotic vacuum cleaner and Smart Home Appliance with grow 30-40 per cent. The target group of Autobot is those who do not have time for house cleaning and those with modern lifestyle with emphasis on time saving.

Currently there are 5-7 brands of automatic house appliance both global brands and local brands. Autobot has ranked No.4 in the market and aims to be No.1 within 1-3 years.

With after sales service and warranty, Autobot takes care consumers until end of use. Customers can bring Autobot for free cleaning every six months to help prolong the usage up to 5-10 years.

Autobot has received fund from NIA to produce floor cleaning robot first time in the world with first 100 units sold last year.

Autobot can be purchased online via Autobot Official Store on Shopee Mall at https://www.shopee.co.th/autobot_official, as well as B2S and BeTrend nationwide. There will be more 20-30 selling points this year.

The t-shirts will be available for pre-order on JD Central application and website; JD.CO.TH, for Bt390 each from March 4-10. The proceeds of the income will go Ramathibodi Foundation for breast cancer and cervical cancer patients.

JD Central organises the event to mark the International Women’s Day that falls on March 8.

Rvisra Chirathivat, chief marketing officer of JD Central said that according the National Cancer Institute, breast cancer is the main cause of death in Thai women as 1 of 10-lifetime risk of getting breast cancer.

On average, 55 women died from breast cancer every day. Meanwhile, cervical cancer is also another major health problem in Thailand and it is the second most common cause of cancer death in women. Nowadays, cancer kills over 17 Thai women on average.

Recognizing the importance of cancers’ patient well-being, we organize “Joy of Giving” with three Thai famous artists to design t-shirts to raise fund to help patients in Ramathibodi Foundation. This will not only allow them to receive better treatment for a better quality of life but also encourage them to live a happy life.”

Each artist has created a piece of work which reflects ‘Joy of Giving’ concept. Kantapol ‘Gong’ Methikul, a Thai artist who has a reputation in his Teleport Art, creates the work on the theme finding happiness within ourselves.

While Anothai ‘Nae’ Niruttimetee, a young female street artist, uplifts woman patients through an ‘I love you’ American sign language portrayed in playful line drawing. Her concept is an encouragement which begins the moment you decided to encourage yourself. She believes anything could happen if there are hopes and supports of oneself and others.

And Wattanasak ‘Thong’ Chirathivat, a Thai artist, said “Hugging is my inspiration as it is an expression of joy and happiness. Moreover, it is an easy way to convey positive feelings to women. I decided to create my work through different types of tree that not only give us shade and shelter but also a place where we can turn to whenever we need encouragement.”

Be a part to help women who are treated for breast and cervical cancer by pre-ordering 3 limited edition t-shirts on both JD CENTRAL application and website JD.CO.TH on 4 – 10 March 2019 (free delivery). The t-shirts will deliver on 15 March 2019 onwards. #JoyofGiving #JDCENTRAL

Disrupt Technology Venture, 500 TukTuks and Beacon Venture Capital will pursue the goal by getting Thais into the StormBreaker Venture Accelerator.

Stormbreaker Venture is said to be the first edtech-focused accelerator in Southeast Asia, with the backers saying it will “revolutionise Thailand’s education industry and enrich society’s capability and readiness for the digital era”.

They say that the venture has already made great strides towards its goal, with its first batch of promising startups impacting the lives of over 150,000 students since the inception of the programme.

The companies say they are confident that Thailand’s edtech ecosystem can elevate itself into the top echelons of Southeast Asia and create a Thai edtech unicorn within the next five years.

Ready to scale up

The four startups from the StormBreaker accelerator’s first batch have gone through an intense programme and are ready to scale up.

Team Vonder, an educational chatbot pioneer that has transformed the way 70,000 students learn, is among them. It has also helped 30,000 more working professionals.

Team Voxy, an English-learning platform uses artificial intelligence for personalised learning. Team InsKru unites forces across the nation to enhance the way Thais teach by disseminating ideas to over 38,000 teachers and 50,000 students. Team OpenDurian, an industry leader in online education boasting revenues of over Bt49 million, aim to nurture more than 500,000 professionals to respond to the digital disruption.

Stormbreaker is accepting applications for edtech startups to join its second batch until May 17.

Krating Poonpol, founder of 500 TukTuks and Disrupt Technology Venture, said that StormBreaker Venture stages incubation programs for operators in the edtech industry. “This stems from a desire to revolutionise the Thai education system by leveraging technologies in order for the nation to be able to thrive in today’s digital age,” Krating said.

“The first batch of the StormBreaker incubation programme serves as a successful first step in ramping up the capabilities of the education sector to answer the global demands of employment in the age of digital disruption.

“Furthermore, the programme constitutes a step towards realising a goal through which 1 million individuals can easily access quality education and gain new educational experiences within 2020.

“With only four months having passed since its inception, the programme has positively enriched the learning experiences of more than 150,000 students and laid the foundation to place Thai edtech startups on the global stage as members of Southeast Asia’s top thriving edtech ecosystems.”

He said the edtech investment market is showing promising trends and these are catching the eyes of investors.

“This can be confirmed by the amount of VC investments in edtech which is greater than US$9.52 billion (Bt297.98 billion). What’s more, this success was achieved from a pool of only 813 edtech startups and at more than 30 per cent growth,” Krating said.

“Next year holds true to this tend of growth, where global edtech startup investment is expected to exceed US$10 billion. In Southeast Asia alone, it is anticipated to make up more than Bt4.695 billion of the global total, with Thailand accounting for Bt156 million to Bt313 million of this.

“The future of Edtech looks promising and is certain to disrupt and enhance the large pre-existing education sectors, for example in English or other language training, professional reskilling, personalised learning pathways, as well as career accelerators.”