Boasting over 300 brands, and tens of thousands of product listings, LazMall is Southeast Asia’s biggest mall that provides shoppers across the region with reliable services and product quality assurance to get their hands on all they ever wanted, the company said on Tuesday.

To ease shoppers into the year-end shopping bonanza, Lazada also announced the launch of a new extravaganza, dubbed 9.9, across six countries: Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Vietnam.

Themed “All You Ever Wanted”, shoppers can revel in greater discounts and bargains, it said.

From today, shoppers just need to get on the Lazada App to have fun with “Slash It” and “Shake It” games, while at the same time, snag vouchers and great offers.

Thai shoppers can also start adding to cart their favourite products before the 9.9 online sale begins at midnight on September 9.

The advertising spot underlines the listed company’s standpoint in which an insurance service is more than simply claiming the medical expense, but rather being looked after during the rehabilitation phase and seeking a second opinion from medical experts.

These services are offered by the insurer without any additional charges.

Allianz Ayudhya assures that a comprehensive range of healthcare and wellness products will be offered to meet customers’ needs, beyond their expectations, the company said on Tuesday.

“Last year, we launched a series of advertising campaigns focusing on our strengths as the insurance entity that informs the terms and conditions of the insurance truthfully to customers, which was well accepted and, as a result, we saw an increase in the number of customers,” said Patchara Taveechaiwattana, chief market management officer.

“This year, we continue to focus on the concept of ‘courage’ by extending the courage to give more than general insurance offers. Allianz Ayudhya has a wide range of special services designed for our insurance holders. Since these services are new to the market, many customers still do not know the detail of service terms.

“We therefore chose two outstanding services to be presented through our latest advertising film: Nursing Care Service, and Experts’ 2nd Medical Opinion,” she explained.

“In addition, our market research showed that patients or those receiving treatments required some other support, other than claims for medical fees in a hospital. They include second opinion of doctor diagnosis and nursing care at home.

“Allianz Ayudhya understands that patients have to go through difficult times, both physically and mentally. Therefore, we offer these services at no additional expense to customers who are covered by our health insurance policy.

“The TV commercial will play the role of communicating these services to our customers. It also aims to encourage all patients to fight during illness, and Allianz Ayudhya will fight side by side with them,” Patchara added.

Champion, a renowned US lifestyle sportswear is the latest brand added to the company’s portfolio. As a sole distributor, Sport Revolution plans to open eight or nine more stores within 2019.

Pornsak Chinawongwatana, chief executive of Sport Revolution Co Ltd, said lifestyle sportswear segment tends to grow significantly in line with the changes among Thai consumers who are paying more attention to workout and sports, especially the younger generation.

Besides its use for workout purpose, sportwears can be matched with other items for everyday life.

“For target customers of Champion, the company focuses on level B or higher, 60 per cent male and 40 per cent female. We aim for teenagers and early to middle working-age group who have high purchasing power and would like to own unique items that represent their identity. We deploy every channel to create awareness among this group. For digital marketing, we have influencers creating experience and inspire the target group. This will help us to better approach them and match their lifestyle, he said.

Bosher said in an exclusive interview that digital products would allow the bank to serve the country better, making banking accessible and easier for everyone.

“Many Myanmar people do not enjoy banking, so our goal is to make them enjoy. As we believe convenience is important, the best way to provide quality services that are convenient for everyone is digital banking,” he said.

“We are looking at ways to provide digital credit. If you are going to bank through your mobile phone, it is very easy to borrow money. We are going to provide digital credit to allow our customers access to short-term credit facilities.”

He added the bank would bring digital credit experience to the people of Myanmar. Another new product would be digital hire-purchase which would allow its customers to get financing for buying cars, motorbikes or tractors. Currently, those who want to have access to the hire-purchase scheme need to come to the bank and it takes a whole day to complete everything.

According to Bosher, the bank currently focuses on SME (small and medium enterprises) and business banking but it will also prioritise retail banking as an essential part of its growth.

Established in 1993, the bank faced Myanmar’s financial crisis from 2003 to 2012 before it was relaunched in early 2013. Bosher seems happy with the bank’s growth over the past five years. He takes pride in the bank being hailed as well-run, responsible and progressive organisation with good governance.

“At that time, we were the smallest bank in Myanmar with no deposit and loan. We started with zero, and we are now No 5 [among private banks] in Myanmar,” he said. He added the bank upholds the highest standards in terms of credit risks.

New features

The bank now has 75 branches in 39 cities across the country, except some undeveloped regions like Chin State. It has more than 450,000 customers, 27 per cent of whom are using SMART, a convenient digital banking product which was introduced one year ago. Additional new features like SMART Payroll and SMART Salary Advance were recently added to elevate the customers’ SMART experience, he said.

SMART allows its customers to manage their money at a time and place of their convenience – banking services are accessible 24/7 through online and Yoma Bank mobile banking application. Sending money between SMART accounts is free, and SMART holders have access to the over 3,000 MPU branded automated teller machines in Myanmar, where they can withdraw cash without any additional transaction fee. They also have access to over 30,000 Wave Shops throughout Myanmar.

Bosher stressed the importance of the bank’s establishment of Wave Money, a nationwide mobile financial service, in serving the mass market including those living in remote areas where no Yoma branch is located.

“We do not have as many branches as we would like to. And people also need financial services outside banking hours and on weekends. This is why we believe in digital, and using Wave agents will be more convenient,” he said.

The bank currently has two trillion kyats in deposit, 13 per cent of which were represented by its Top 100 depositors. Bosher foresees a significant rise in the next few years thanks to its innovative digital products and new offerings. It has 3,081 employees, with an average age of 34. Fifty-three per cent of its employees are women, and expatriates represent only 0.3 per cent of the workforce.

“Our plan is to do a transformation where all staff are in the right roles by using technology so that we can do more with less manpower,” he said.

To date, Yoma Bank has signed 8 funding partnerships with various microfinance financial institutions (MFIs), and is likely to sign with two or three more MFIs by the end of this year. For the next three years, the bank will apply the facility structure of its MFI scheme to support other industries.

Bolsher said Myanmar’s banking sector needs a stronger regulatory framework to allow local banks to produce more products.

“On the lending side, it is a very small community that can access bank credit. Banks need to be given the freedom to explore products that suit their customers, for example interest rate. We know that informal interest rates in Myanmar are very high. In order for the banks to be able to serve more people, they have to take more risks,” he said.

“Because banks cannot take both risks and returns, we have a very limited community that we can serve, particularly on the lending side. We should be given the opportunity to give Myanmar more opportunities,” he said.

Prior to the move, Takeda served as director of Original Equipment Tyre Sales Japan Division 2, Bridgestone Corp, from 2017.

He said: “I am really honoured and privileged to come and work here in Thailand. I am determined to demonstrate our Bridgestone commitment ‘Customer Centric Culture’ to ensure that customer satisfaction is the priority in every decision that our business makes. Then we believe that we can compete with our rivals and maintain [our position as] the No-1 tyre brand in Thailand.”

Coming to Thailand, with his enthusiasm and proficient experience, Takeda will lead the organisation by efficiency and effectiveness, Bridgestone said.

He will devote himself to and enhance a great collaboration between the company, customers and business partners in all aspects, including economic, society and environment, to build the most trusted brand in Thailand’s tyre industry, the company added.

The JV, Malee Kino Thailand, is teaming up with CP Consumer Products to efficiently distribute the new products across Thailand, Malee Group chief commercial officer Opas Lopansri said on Monday.

“We will create growth through expansion via this venture with PT Kino Indonesia Tbk, which is very strong in Indonesia’s consumer market, especially in the personal-care, food and beverage, and pharmaceutical segments.

“The synergy between our two companies puts us in a great position to produce and distribute lifestyle products that meet the needs of over 330 million consumers in both Thailand and Indonesia,” he said.

Opas added that the move reflected Malee’s market-expansion strategy, which is based on collaboration with partners in various sectors to develop new products as well as sales and distribution channels both locally and internationally.

Thailand’s personal-care market is valued at around Bt154 billion, according to Euromonitor International data from March.

The three market segments Malee Kino is entering in Thailand that “offer great potential and are suited to today’s lifestyles”, Opas said, are: the skincare market, which has a value of Bt70 billion and 6.1-per-cent growth; the hair-care market, valued at Bt29 billion with 6.3-per-cent growth; and the oral-care market, with a market value of Bt8 billion and 7.2-per-cent growth.

“Our business growth was higher than the overall market, which recorded first-year premium [growth] dropping to 8 per cent,” he said.

Thai Life targets its first-year premium totalling Bt17 billion this year, some 15 per cent above the full-year level for 2017, the CEO added.

In a statement received by The Nation on Monday morning, the company acknowledged that its founder and CEO – e-commerce billionaire Liu Qiangdong, also known as Richard Liu – had been briefly detained in the midwestern US city of Minneapolis over allegations of criminal sexual conduct.

Agence France-Presse reported that records from Hennepin County Jail showed Liu, 45, was arrested late Friday night and released Saturday afternoon.

The company said police there had questioned Liu in relation to an unsubstantiated accusation.

“The local police quickly determined there was no substance to the claim against Liu and he was subsequently able to resume his business activities as originally planned,” it said.

The Minneapolis Police Department, however, said the investigation continued, while declining to elaborate on the arrest or allegations.

Founded in 1998, the Fortune Global 500 company is China’s second-largest e-commerce firm after Alibaba.

It partnered late last year with Thailand’s Central Group as JD Central to launch a retail online marketplace in the Kingdom.

The venture, valued Bt17.5 billion, began operations in April.

This marks the third time KTAM has been entrusted as a member registration management company for GPEF, KTAM’s chief executive officer Chavinda Hanratanakool said.