KFC fans should not definitely miss the menu as it will be available only 20 days from October 4-24.

Waewkanee Assoratgoon – General Manager KFC (Thailand), YUM Restaurant International (Thailand) said KFC has been continuously creating and developing a variety of menus by presenting in a modern and stylish way, creating a yum and fun ambiance for KFC consumers.

“Spiciness is the main character in Thai food and is the popular flavor to many Thais. Ever since the beginning of the year 2018, we have taken spiciness into account when creating some new menus. We keep rotating various menus from time to time and many of them were well received by Thai consumers. It is the success which we are very proud of”.

In term of behavior and interest, new-generation consumers tend to look for new eating experiences. For them, food should look nice, taste good and offer exciting and interesting experiences, which serve as a good reason for them to share their photographs on their social media.

With a profound understanding of its customers’ need, KFC breaks all the food routines and furthers the success of serving spicy dishes through launching “Zabb on Ice” menu, the ultimately innovative, super-tasty spicy ice cream with the highlight of its rich vanilla ice cream coated with prime-quality Belgian chocolate.

The ice cream, spiced with the ingredients used in Wing Zabb and salted with potato flakes, will be sold in a limited period of only 20 days, from October 4-24, at a special price of only Bt39.

“With an exotic taste, unlike any others, the sweetness and spiciness of this menu, we are confident that it will create some fun and motivate consumers’ taste bud besides enjoying it together with other KFC’s popular menus.”

As of June 2018, there are a total of 650 KFC branches nationwide, of which 248 branches are operated by Central Restaurants Group (CRG), 146 branches are managed by Restaurant Development (RD) and the last 256 branches are run by QSR of Asia (QSA) creating over 15,000 employments nationally.

 SMC also recorded Bt19.23 billion in total asset as of the end of June.

SCB is tapping into a huge base of medium- and small-sized restaurants amid the uptrend of foodists. The new partnership will equip restaurants with greater business capability by making a Total Restaurant Solution available to them to connect with their clientele more completely. Among the solution’s highlights, “Mae Manee x Wongnai POS” is a restaurant management module with profound features including dynamic QR code – the easy scan-to-pay technology that specifies the amount being billed to solve under/overpayment due to incorrect input by the payer. Besides, its information management system will increase the efficiency of restaurant operation. The solution will enable restaurants to expand their customer base, contribute to a strong ecosystem, and bring the best experiences to restauranteurs and their clientele. In addition, food delivery feature will be added in the near future as an option for customers who prefer this service. SCB expects to grow the vendor base for SCB QR Code Payment to 1.5 million and increase the payment activity to 14-15 million transactions this year, the bank’s senior executive vicer president, head of retail leading products, head of retail payment and head of facility management Apiphan Charoenanusorn said yesterday.

SCB currently has a strong base of 1.2 million vendors who accept QR payment.

The cross-border payment platform is now officially active for both Thai and Singaporean customers travelling between the two countries.

“The VIA alliance is aimed at unifying Asia’s fragmented payment systems by connecting different mobile wallets across the region,” said Arthur Lang, CEO of Singtel’s International Group.

“The current problem with mobile wallets is that there are so many of them targeting the same market. So Singtel and AIS are working together to differentiate ourselves to our local customers,” he said.

In 2017, there were more than 80 million tourist arrivals across the Singtel Group’s markets in Asia. Of this, over 1.5 million visitors travelled between Singapore and Thailand, and numbers are expected to grow steadily.

“This partnership offers Thais a seamless digital payment experience at home and abroad, and adds a new dimension which will take the cashless society to the next level,” says Somchai Lertsutiwong, the AIS chief executive.

AIS and Singtel are promising a transparent and secure way to use their mobile wallets to pay in their home currencies at competitive exchange rates when in Singapore and Thailand. As for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), VIA offers a cheaper alternative to adopting credit or debit card payment systems, Arthur added.

The VIA service will be accessible to more than 42 million LINE chat users in Thailand.

Thais who are travelling to Singapore can now use the Rabbit Line Pay application to purchase a wide range of products and services in Singapore from up to 20,000 shops including KFC, Pizza Hut, Breadtalk, taxi rides and 7-Eleven.

When in Thailand, Singaporean customers can now use the Singtel Dash mobile application to purchase various goods and services including popular shopping areas such as CentralWorld, Chatuchak Weekend Market, MBK Centre and JJ Mall.

Thailand now has up to 1.6 million shops accepting Singtel Dash payments. To make purchases, customers can simply scan the merchant’s QR code or let merchants scan their unique QR code in the Singtel Dash or Rabbit Line Pay app.

“Customers from other mobile network operators will also be able to benefit from the VIA platform as long as they have a LINE chat account. In making Thailand a cashless society, it is no longer necessary to hold back the VIA platform from customers who are currently subscribed to other mobile network operators,” Somchai said.

The group also received positive feedback from its recent roadshow in Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and Hong Kong, he said yesterday.

So far 164 buyers have booked senior care and living units at the Jin Wellbeing County project located in Rangsit, Tanatip said.

The group and home buyers will start to make ownership transactions in December this year, so quick-cash flow will increase by the end of this year and first quarter next year, he said.

The group is ready to make home transactions for 494 units out of a total 1,380 units, with prices between Bt4 to Bt6 million per unit.

The monthly average booking on residential units are about 20 units now, he revealed.

Apparently, those who buy senior living units plans to stay not only for investment purposes, since buyers age over 50 years and 60 years account for 80 per cent and 63 per cent respectively, he said.

The Jin Wellbeing County project aims to attract the upper-middle income group or those whose income is Bt80,000 monthly.

The THG has also launched a new senior care and living residential project in Pracha Ulthit area. The Thonburi Health Village with 412 units aims to attract the middle income group. Unit prices start from Bt1.9 million, with sales for the residential units scheduled to start in September next year.

Tanatip said that the general hospital business has started to reach saturation in Thailand. The industry has to look for new business opportunities, such as specialised hospital and wellbeing services for senior citizens, he said.

“The THG spots a rising demand of senior care and living services due to our ageing society, so we’re trying to meet market demand,” Tanatip said.

“Other medical service operators and property developers are watching whether our projects will be successful,” he added.

Property developers have so far been reluctant to launch senior care projects. As they are not specialists in medical services, they could offer only a universal design for their residential units, he said.

He assured that the group will not be constrained by rising expenses for medical doctors and nursing staff in senior living projects, as it they could train caregivers to provide nursing with each in charge of four rooms. The senior living project does not need more physicians or nurses, he said.

Over the past two years, the group has invested about Bt5-6 billion in its core business of medical services and related businesses.

The group recently to the road in Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong and received good feedback from investors who are looking for opportunities in the healthcare sector.

They know that Thailand has been recognised as a medical hub and the high quality of services in the region, Tanatip said.

For new investments overseas, Ar Yu International Hospital, a joint venture with a local partner in Myanmar, has started to operate and will have a grand opening ceremony in December, he said.

The group revenue in the first half of this year was Bt3.4 billion, up from Bt3.1 billion in the first half of 2017. Revenue from its core business of medical service grew 9.2 per cent year on year. Net profit was Bt230 million, up from Bt225 million in the same period last year.

Tanatip expected the group revenues would grow about 10 per cent next year.

Singapore-based Singtel, AIS and KBank will now offer QR code-based mobile payments through mobile wallets – Singtel Dash, AIS GLOBAL Pay and Rabbit Line Pay –  in Singapore and Thailand.

These can be used at all merchants displaying the VIA brand and more than 1.6 million merchants displaying the Thai QR code.

The VIA alliance is the first initiative of its kind to connect both telco and non-telco mobile wallets across borders to create a region-wide payment network that will enable consumers to use their local mobile wallets when travelling, Singtel said.

The Singtel Group will progressively expand the alliance to include other regional associates – Airtel in India, Globe in the Philippines and Telkomsel in Indonesia – working within each country’s regulations, the company added.

“We would like to make it easier for travellers as they could convert mileage points into cash discount directly when they buy air tickets, said Teranuj Koomsap, Thanachart Bank’s executive vice president and head of retail and small business product development.

Customers of the so-called “Blue Diamond” can choose from 16 airlines – both budget and premium – to fly to major attractive tourist destinations worldwide, according to the bank. Top outbound tourist destinations among Thai travellers include Tokyo, Osaka, Seoul, London, Paris, Zurich ,Oakland, Singapore and Sydney. Clients could also choose to travel in the country under the rewards programme.

Building on the findings from big data analysis, the bank aims to serve consumers who like travelling and want to be able to use mileage points without limitations. Most airlines offer mileage points but the reward of discounted tickets is usually limited only to each airline or a group of airlines.

Thanachart Bank’s cardholders will get one mileage point for every Bt12.50 they spent at participating restaurants when they use the card to shop. If they make a payment on related travelling services, they will get a mileage reward on every Bt8.33 spent. Moreover, if they spend foreign currency, they will get rewards for every purchase equivalent to Bt6.25.

For other items, every Bt25 in spending will earn one mile. Mileage points could be applied to first, business and economy class tickets. Each 1,000 points would be equal to Bt100 in discounts, or customers could pay instalments for four months at a 0 per cent interest rate.

The bank has partnered with Global Union Express, one of leading air ticket booking service companies, Teranuj said.

For its new card, Thanachart targets clients with monthly incomes of Bt50,000 and up. The bank now has about 500,000 cardholders, a growth of 5-10 per cent from the previous year. With the Blue Diamond card, the bank aims to increase its new clients next year by 10-15 per cent.

The bad debt of Thanachart’s credit card business is currently about 3 per cent, compared to a market rate of about 5 per cent, and that has ensured that the bank could manage credit card repayment very well, she said.

Rising oil prices are unlikely to affect tourism as travellers usually give weight to other factors as they plan their travels, she added.

The 133-megawatt facility, operated by subsidiary Amata B Grimm Power (Rayong) 5 Ltd (ABPR5), located at Amata City Industrial Estate in Rayong, is now supplying power to the buyer, Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat).

“It’s another project executed without a hitch, setting another good record for BGRIM’s power development,” said President Preeyanart Soontornwata.

Electricity from ABPR5 is delivered to Egat under a 25-year supply contract under the Small Power Producer (SPP) scheme.

Meeting the commercial operation date (COD) for the new facility allows the SET-listed BGRIM to achieve its revenue and profit projection as well as consolidating the group’s overall capacity of 2,045 MWs.

It also means that ABPR5 is helping to strengthen the security of power supplies in the country, she said.

ABPR5 became BGRIM’s third co-generation facility built in Amata City Rayong, with a total installed capacity of 399 MWs.

With ABPR5, BGRIM now has a total of five co-generation power plants in operation at Amata City Rayong.

The addition of ABPR5 raises the number of power plants operating on commercial basis under BGRIM in Thailand and abroad to 33, 15 of which are co-generation, 15 solar, two hydropower and a diesel-fuelled.

Development of additional power plants, with a combined installed capacity of 1,081 MW, is underway.

BGRIM has to date secured long-term contracts to deliver 3,126 MW to buyers.

Meanwhile, it has set up a subsidiary in Malaysia known as B Grimm Power (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd with a registered capital of 1 million ringgit .

The subsidiary will pursue power business opportunities in the country, which is develping its energy sector, according to Preeyanart.