An anonymous source from BTS Group Holdings Plc (BTS) said that it has been informed that BSR Joint Venture has passed a preliminarily assessment for its technical bid for the high-speed railway project and is awaiting the official announcement of the State Railway of Thailand (SRT).

The SRT is expected to consider the pricing bids over the coming week and the outcome of the bidding process is expected this month, the source said.

BTS holds a 60 per cent stake in BSR Joint Venture, while Sino-Thai Engineering and Construction Plc and Ratchaburi Electricity Generating Holding Plc each own 20 per cent.

Worawut Mala, SRT’s acting governor, said yesterday that the committee will convene to inspect the document to finalise the scores for the technical bid before considering the pricing bid, adding that it will take about one week to decide the winner.

A contract signing is still expected no later than January 31.

Separately, at the opening ceremony for the 13-kilometre extension of the Green Line electric railway from Bearing to Samut Prakan yesterday, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said that the new link will help alleviate traffic congestion and that input from transport-related agencies was required for development plans for further road and rail works to solve the capital’s traffic problems as a top priority.

Pailin Chuchottaworn, Deputy Minister for Transport, said that the extended and alleviated link will help relieve traffic congestion for commuters between Bangkok and Samut Prakan. Free service and a park-and-ride compound covering 18 rai for 1,200 vehicles at Kheha Samut Prakan station will continue to be provided until April 15 next year.

Regarding the pricing of the fare for the whole Green Line route at Bt65 per trip, this is not found in a transfer agreement but was a proposal of the Bangkok Metropolitan Authority (BMA), said Pailin, who conceded that the proposed fare is cheaper than the Blue Line’s fare of Bt70 per trip for the whole line. The Blue Line has an underground part that carries higher costs.

Fare pricing is determined by agreement between the private enterprise operator and the BMA.

Pakapong Sirikantaramas, governor of the Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand (MRTA), said that the construction of the extension started in 2012 and the Green Line service was extended from Bearing for one station to Samrong in April 2017. There are nine stations along the extended route.

Keeree Kanjanapas, BTS Group Holdings Plc’s chairman, said that he has not yet had official discussions with the BMA for running the Bearing-Samut Prakan extended route and the Mo Chit-Saphan Mai-Khu Khot section and having BTS set the whole-route fare for the Green Line at no more than Bt65 per trip.

“[We] must talk about the fare seriously as the private enterprise which invests does not know whether or not it is able to reduce the fare that much.

But I do not say that it’s impossible. We have to sit down and talk about this matter seriously. Ultimately, it will be me who decides. Now, I don’t think that’s final,” Keeree said.

The cost of the whole Green Line stays at over Bt140 per trip and if the fare is discounted to Bt65 per trip, fares for the Mo Chit-On Nut and National Stadium-Saphan Taksin sections may be reduced.

Keeree said that BTS will be able to discount the maximum fare to lower than Bt100 per trip but serious discussions must be taken on the factors for the possibility and BTS’s gains such as extension of concessions, amendment of agreements or price subsidies.

Aswin Techajareonvikul, CEO of the Big C Supercenter within the BJC Group, said: “In 2018, the Big C’s business keeps expanding. We are recruiting new employees to drive our promising business providing the best shopping experience to our customers.

“In Nakhon Si Thammarat, we are offering the new shop-in-shop concept serving the variety of customers. We also focus on home appliance and electronic products responding to trend and consumer’s interests in electronics and IT products.” Big C operates 147 hypermarkets, 60 markets, 671 Mini Big Cs, which should really be called “Cs”, and 138 Pure Pharmacies, including the e-commerce channel Big C Shopping.

According to its press release, Parisothat Punnabhum, CP Foods’ Senior Executive Vice President for human resources, said the company aims to promote quality of life for persons with disabilities based on its Self-Sufficient Society philosophy.

He added that CP Foods and Charoen Pokphand Group plan to create more jobs for the disabled instead of contribution to disability fund. This has allowed them to achieve self-dependent to lift their quality of life and their families. Ultimately, CP Foods believes that this approach will lead to sustainable social development.

“The contributions has encouraged those persons with disabilities proud of themselves. Instead of offering stable jobs and income, we have also supported those guys to be self-dependent, and gaining access to social services and opportunities. They have become valuable members of company as well as society that they work with,” he said.

As of 2018, the company and its subsidiaries employ 733 employees with disabilities in their operation and community services, such as school for the deaf, temple, and Sub-district Health Promoting hospitals, nationwide.

Parisothat added that the company representatives are frequently making a community visit to ensure that all of them are living comfortably and receiving well treated.

The key highlight for this year is a workshop program to improve awareness on workplace safety and social welfare. The training program, tailor-made for the employees with disabilities, helps them to learn how to access the government welfare such as Disability Living Allowance Health Care, supporting equipment and Etc. as well as improving their occupational safety.

The company also delighted to announce that Ratree Pantamung, one of its disabled employees, was nominated as a role model for people with disabilities of Saraburi province this year.

Visarut Poolvaraluk, director of Major Cineplex, said designer Diego Gronda had created many of the world’s best cinemas such as the Kodak Theatre, which has hosted the Oscars, along with Paragon, Quartier and Mega cinemas.

Icon Cineconic has 13 screens, including one VIP, one iMax, one 4DX and one children’s screen and one living-room screen with a total of 2,781 seats. All the other screens come with Laserplex for laser projection.

The Icon Cineconic is targeting 70 per cent Thai customers.

Fresh off the excitement of Shopee 11.11 Big Sale, Shopee celebrates its anniversary with the launch of Shopee 12.12 Birthday Sale.

This time, it is going all out to reward loyal users, sellers, and brands with a finale of unbeatable promotions; including flash sales starting from as low as Bt12, according to its press release.

Leading brands such as Unilever, P&G, Mamypoko, Sabina, Wacoal, 3M, Asus, and Guy Laroche will be joining in Shopee’s birthday with tons of unbeatable discounts for users.

Terence Pang, Chief Operating Officer said, “Shopee has taken giant strides in the past year and cemented our position as the leading e-commerce platform in the region. We have achieved many significant milestones, such as the most recent Shopee 11.11 Big Sale which broke 11 million orders on 11 November.”

“We launched Shopee 12.12 Birthday Sale to thank all our shoppers, sellers, and brands for their unending support on this journey and to share our success with them. However, the hard work does not stop here, and we will continue to push even more boundaries and drive e-commerce in the region forward.”

Shopee enjoys a landmark year with steady growth in users 

According to Shopee, across the region, it enjoyed robust growth in the third quarter of 2018, with Gross orders and Gross merchandise value (GMV) up 24.0% and 21.1% respectively quarter-on-quarter from the second quarter. The past year was an exciting one for Shopee Thailand, with the following key highlights recorded:

Starting November 26 , Shopee 12.12 Birthday Sale will feature 16 consecutive days of non-stop promotions up till the peak on December 12 to round off a record year. Users can enjoy the hottest products going from as low as Bt12, surprise vouchers, return of popular in-app games, special free shipping promotions and many more exciting deals.

Shopee Quiz will be making its return during Shopee 12.12 Birthday Sale after a successful debut on Shopee 11.11 Big Sale, where over 1.2 million Thai users played the game. With daily sessions starting from November 26, users can indulge in up to 6 sessions on 12.12 Games Day on 3 and December 10, and during the event peak on December 12.

Meanwhile, Shopee’s trademark Shopee Shake Shake in-app game returns for one last run in 2018 with millions of Shopee coins up for grabs.

Leading industry players and brands join Shopee’s birthday with tons of promotions 

In Thailand, Shopee has partnered with many leading brands and industry players to offer users the largest collection of irresistible privileges.

Key highlights include:

Thai AirAsia: Enter the code “SHOPEEBD” to enjoy 12% savings on all flight tickets booked via their official website from 10 to 12 December 2018.

Ibis Hotel: First 12 customers to flash the Shopee app at any Ibis Hotel in Thailand from 12 December 2018 to 19 January 2019 will enjoy a complimentary buffet breakfast at the hotel restaurant.

Sprinkle: Purchase the Shopee x Sprinkle limited edition bottle from 1 December 2018 onwards at 7-11 outlets in Bangkok, Gourmet Market, Villa Market, Golden Place and Fuji UFM. Each bottle comes with a special 50 THB Shopee discount code, limited quantities available.

Banking privileges: Mastercard, SCB, Bay Credit, KTC, and more, will reward users by providing them with even more ways to save this Shopee 12.12 Birthday Sale. For instance, Mastercard is offering THB 500 off with a minimum spend of THB 2,000 for all Shopee users during Shopee 12.12 Birthday Sale.

Download the Shopee app for free via the App Store or Google Play.

Phoon Chiong Kit, the chief executive officer of Maco, said: “VGI Malaysia is one of the biggest out-of-home media providers with exclusive long-term concession rights and numerous subsidiaries in Malaysia and Indonesia.

“Similar to VGI’s exclusive contract with the BTS skytrain network in Bangkok, VGM holds a 10-year concession to manage advertising space across the MRT SBK train line, Malaysia’s newest network, as well as a seven-year exclusive right to operate media at Kuala Lumpur International Airport.”

The foreign ownership cap of 49 per cent at Sabeco will be removed and the maximum rate of foreign ownership will now be 100 per cent, the company said.

Sabeco’s board of directors approved unrestricted foreign ownership on October 30 after removing business lines which required foreign ownership caps.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade currently holds a stake of 36 per cent at Sabeco and Vietnam Beverage, a legal entity established by Thai Bev in Vietnam to avoid the cap of 49 per cent for foreign investors, holds a controlling stake of 53.59 per cent after a US$5 billion (Bt164 billion) acquisition deal at the end of 2017. Vietnam Beverage’s acquisition of more than 343.6 million shares of Sabeco was the largest deal in Southeast Asia over the past three years.

Other stakeholders own 10.41 per cent of the company.

Vietnam Beverage has charter capital of VNĐ682 billion (Bt976 million).

Foreign ownership at Sabeco might not increase to 100 per cent immediately, since the Ministry of Industry and Trade has not revealed any plans to sell its remaining stake, the company said. However, the unrestricted foreign ownership could help ThaiBev become a direct stakeholder at Sabeco.

In the first nine months of this year, Sabeco reported revenue of VNĐ25.5 trillion, a rise of 7.8 per cent over the same period last year, while pre-tax profit dropped by more than 6 per cent to VNĐ3.3 trillion.

The company targets to earn pre-tax profit of around VNĐ4 trillion for the full year, 19 per cent lower than last year.

Sabeco holds a market share of 42 per cent in Vietnam, making it the largest beverage company in the country.