Chemico Inter Corporation recently announced the opening of its second health and beauty centre in Thailand, located at its existing complex in Bangkapi, Bangkok, at an investment cost of Bt350 million, said managing director Prasop Palakornkitti.

Currently, the company has nine health and beauty centres globally. It plans to expand its presence to Africa in the near future, aimed at increasing revenue by 15 per cent. Headquartered in Thailand, Chemico has branch offices in many countries -including the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, India, Russia and The United Arab Emirates, employing more than 400 staff .

In India, the company has expanded its operation to New Deli from Mumbai.

“We emphasise on specialty products from renowned suppliers around the world to satisfy the needs of consumers. Moreover, we also provide quality and quick delivery as well as technical services from suppliers, sales representatives and application lab staff,” he said.

Chemico group has been expanding its business both locally and internationally. Apart from building new offices and warehouses, Chemico group has also given importance to its cosmetics and food laboratories, with continuous increases in investment in these areas.

“Our primary mission is to set up laboratories in every country we have estab

lished an office, with all facilities having the same format and standards, to provide added value to our cosmetics, home care, food, and dietary products,” said Prasop.

HOSPITAL GETS BOOST THROUGH DONATION

TCC Technology Company Limited (TCCtech), represented by Suda Trisirikul, director of human resources and administration, and Waleeporn Sayasit, corporate communications director, recently donated 10 sets of computers and peripherals to Phrong Madua Community Hospital, represented by Khanita Tungkittiwat.

TCCtech realises the importance of having access to technology, as well as an efficient infrastructure for the hospital to increase the overall quality of community healthcare services.

INSURER POSTS 3.6% PREMIUM GROWTH FOR 1H

Allianz Ayudhya has reported a 3.6 per cent growth in premium for the first half of 2018. Moving forward in the second half of the year, the company is on track to achieve a total premium of Bt34 billion for the year.

Bryan Smith, president and CEO of Allianz Ayudhya Assurance Plc, said that as of the end of the first half , Ayudhya Allianz posted solid performances in all distribution channels with total premium income growing by 3.6 per cent year on year, to Bt15 billion. The strong financial performance for the first half of this year was a result of a well balanced mix of contributions from three strong distribution channels.

The agency channel remained the most significant, achieving gross premium of Bt6.4 billion and growing by 2.8 per cent. The Bancassurance channel generated premium of Bt5.4 billion, growing by 3.5 per cent. Direct marketing maintained its market leadership for the 8th consecutive year with a total premium of Bt2.5 billion, up 1 per cent.

In May, the company announced its strategic partnership with BDMS, Thailand’s largest hospital network and jointly launched a new high value product called My First Class Health Care @ BDMS, which has received very positive feedback from customers.

For the second half of the year, we have good momentum and are on track to achieve our goal of Bt34 billion in total premium income.” he said.

Artima Suraphongchai, country manager of iflix Thailand, on Tuesday said the company was introducing iflix free entertainment services in various categories, such as movie of the day, iflix Snacks, top regional, premium regional series and international TV series.

Movie of the day provides customers with a fresh and new film every single day, while Snacks offerings are bite-size videos that are easy to consume, with 50 new videos added daily, she said.

“iflix free is completely free for all users, regardless of their subscription status. We offer users one of the largest libraries of hand-picked, quality content to support the behaviours of customers,” Artima added.

She said iflix now had more than 40,000 hours of movies and content on demand, around 1,000 hours of which were Thai content.

It expects to increase Thai content in various categories, such as the Snacks short-form content, in order to drive the business’s number of active users, she said, adding that about one-third is in the form of free content.

The company now has some 3 million users, around 900,000 of whom are active users, the country manager said.

The expectation is that by the end of the year, having announced the new services, the number of active users will hit 2 million.

The company’s service fee is Bt100 per month, and each user is able to access iflix’s on-demand services with five accounts.

This strategy has driven 20 per cent growth for three consecutive years. Baby Gift also applied the concept of Listen to Baby’s Voice as its key message in all its communication. Most of its products have been endorsed by research conducted by leading pediatricians so customers can buy the products with full confidence in their safety and quality.

Aroonsri Piriyalertsak, CEO, Baby Gift (Thailand) Co., Ltd., revealed that currently, parents tend to have no more than two children. The information on the reproduction of Thai mothers in 2018 revealed that mothers have 1.6 children on average. Families from level B to A+ in Thailand tend to have less children; therefore, they carefully select high-quality baby products to ensure their children’s safety. That is why there is so much growth potential in the business of premium baby products.

Baby Gift, which is nine years old, now focuses on partnering with e-commerce websites, which not only serve as a distribution channel, but also enhance the efficiency in managing logistics, finance, transactional fee and after-sale service. The company believes that increasing e-commerce channels will halve delivery costs.

Rise in same store sales as well as expansion of its Thai and overseas subsidiaries also helped boost the group’s results.

It is on track to achieve a 12 per cent year-on-year growth as targted for 2018.

Many new initiatives have been launched in the first half of the year, transforming the business with technology to simplify customers’ lives, creating new experiences on both digital platforms and at bricks-and-mortar physical stores. In particular, Central Department Store introduced a new Omnichannel service “Central Chat & Shop”. Customers can now contact our customer service staff via LINE to not only inquire about products and services, but also make purchases for home delivery or in-store pick-up. This service has become very popular and will be rolled out to other retail units.

Home and Hardlines categories showed good momentum with double digit growth.PowerBuy Online sales tripled from the previous year with launch of the new Omnichannel website.

Supersports has relaunched its flagship store at Central World with an exciting new concept catering to millennials and customers with active lifestyle. The store has been well-received since its opening and continues to do well.

CPN Residential started to bring in revenues having transferred units in the first three projects in Khon Kaen, Chiang Mai and Rayong, marking a key milestone for CPN. Vibrant tourism boosted Centara business significantly in the first half driving up both F&B and room revenues.

Many projects are on track to be launched in the second half, including Central Festival Phuket Phase 2, a luxury mall and lifestyle hub targeting affluent and high-end domestic and overseas tourists, which will reinforce Central Group’s leadership position in Phuket. The project features many attractions such as the “Tribhumi” Theme Park and “Acquaria” , the biggest aquarium in Thailand.

A strong pipeline of new store and mall openings is expected for all formats in Thailand and Vietnam as planned.

Central Food Retail will be

introducing a new concept, “Jingjai Farmers Market” in Udon Thani, bringing organic produce daily from the local farms to. This initiative also aims to generate income for local communities across Thailand as it is rolled out in other provinces.

Also in the second half, customers can expect more features and services to be added to the recently relaunched The1 Mobile Application. Customers will be able to manage their points, whether earning, redeeming or transferring points more easily through the App, as well as checking for promotions, coupons, and shop locations through their mobile phone.

The1 members will be eligible for benefits & privileges across all Central Group business units and the growing list of partners.

Last but not least is the Central-JD partnership bringing Thai products to China and beyond. After announcing the joint venture in the fourth quarter last year, JD Central eCommerce (JD.co.th) had a soft launch in June. Full logistics, payment, customer service support infrastructure has been set up to enhance the online shopping experience.

The grand opening is now targeted for the third quarter. About 4,000 brands carrying over 500,000 items will participate on the platform with great opening special deals and promotions.

As JD Central Thailand will be listed on JD.com’s International website as well, participating brands and merchants will also get exposure and opportunities to sell to a massive Chinese customer base, facilitated by JD’s world-class fulfillment and logistics infrastructure for exports.

Tos attributed Central Group’s good results to the various economic policies and measures launched by the government to boost the economy, promote tourism and improve communication-transportation infrastructure.

“We see a noticeable uplift in shopping sentiment in most product categories from fashion, home, electronics, to food. Increased tourist arrivals further added to the demand and spending at our shopping centers and hotels. Online sales penetration grew sharply as a result of our Omnichannel and On Demand push, which will continue to grow strongly with improvement of logistics infrastructure and networks.

“The government’s agenda to put emphasis on transport infrastructure with its biggest ever investment budget of over US$100 billion is seen as highly beneficial. The planned motorway extension, along with development of high speed trains, efficient logistics and EEC projects, will provide solid foundations for expansion of the service sector in coming years.

By creating better access, mobility and connections between key cities, we can expect property, retail and commerce to prosper on a broader scale nationally.

“This infrastructure investment is very important as it will boost the economic growth of the service sector, shift more population out of the low-income agriculture sector which still employs more than 20 million people, into service and industries. This is a key driver in moving Thailand from a middle-income to a high-income country in the future.”

The corporate giant says the change is driven by the technological revolution that has impacted the company’s businesses, especially its cement and buildings materials lines.

Roongrote Rangsiyopash, SCG president and chief executive officer, said that, under the transformation programme, SCG will shift towards a much closer relationship with end-consumers and become a service-oriented company.

“With such a revolution, especially the emergence of digital technology, it is difficult for me to picture what the end of our transformation process will look like,” he said.

Roongrote said that different companies have different ways of undertaking transformation. But the objective is the same – to satisfy the customers.

He said that SCG has about 3 per cent of the total market for construction materials in the Asean region.

“If we continue to do the same as we have done in the past, it will be quite difficult for us to maintain growth and market share. However, there are more than 90 per cent of market opportunities that remain unmet. We always ask ourselves, if we (SCG) disappear tomorrow, our customers will stay alive,” said Roongrote, adding that SCG places great stress on wanting to be a company that is really needed by its customers.

“We cannot avoid the need to have a gradual increase in revenue contribution from servicing businesses that are set to satisfy our customers, particularly from cement and construction materials, as well as petrochemical products, for which we are turning to a focus on value creation for customers,” said Roongrote.

In July, SCG Retail Holding Co Ltd, SCG’s subsidiary for business cement-building materials, became a strategic shareholder in Indonesia’s PT Catur Sentosa Tbk Adiprana via a rights issue. The move will accelerate the growth of Mitra10, a brand of modern home centres for building materials in Indonesia.

“Indonesia is a huge potential market with a population of more than 260 million and more than 70 home centres available in the market. For Mitra10, we have 27 home centres in Indonesia, and we want to open between three and five new branches every year,” said Roongrote.

For Thailand, he said, SCG recently announced a partnership with Boonthavorn, a leading and large-scale home decorating retailer to enhance its retail business and power distribution network. The partnership will unveil a new home retailer brand that provides customers with a variety of designs of interior and exterior decorating products with full and integrated high-quality services from consultation and design to installation.

“Under the partnership, SCG will help Boonthavorn to service their customers via the company’s strong dealer network, especially in the provinces,” said Roongrote.

He said that the agent or wholesale system would be changed dramatically to a so-called “fulfilment system”, which is defined as the steps involved in receiving, processing and delivering orders to end customers. Under the new system, individual dealers will tend to manage supply chain and customer-service activities in their owned territory.

Roongrote said that, as an example of the new trends, the development of the automobile industry is undergoing a shift towards electric and smart vehicles and that requires the vehicles to be lighter. As a leading manufacturer of parts made from petrochemical materials for such vehicles, SCG will be able to better serve auto makers in this innovative field.

“We need to make a significant change every year, and to achieve a major makeover successfully in the next four to five years,” said Roongrote of the petrochemical business, which includes the production of materials ranging from upstream monomers to downstream polymers including polyethylene and polypropylene. “As an ordinary manufacturer in the past, we only moved our organisation to become a lean structure as the most effective way to raise efficiency.

“We were concerned only to not cause any problems for the environment in order to be a good corporate citizen in society. However, for today’s business circumstances, such environmental friendly practices are not enough. All stakeholders, especially our customers, expect us to do better to sustain the business and our society in the long run. We need to use our valuable resources more effectively, as well as to eliminate and recycle any waste that occurs in our manufacturing process.”

He added that today business organisations think more about adjusting themselves to the new challenges by bringing the principle of the circular-economy to their management process and communicating this to customers.

“For SCG, we want to cut the amount of single-use plastic in our manufacturing process by half in the next four to five years. We will develop our recycling technologies and allocate bigger investments in such green innovation initiatives,” said Roongrote.

He said that SCG has adopted the circular economy practice at its headquarters in Bangsue, which is on a 134-rai plot and employs about 8,000 staff.

“We have turned our headquarters into a smart campus, where people are encouraged to use products of the highest utility and value at all times as well as to manage waste effectively,” he said.

“We would like to have a pilot project being done by the private sector to enhance the sustainable development initiative with greater management and control of waste, not for the company ourselves but for creating a better society.”

Pratana Leelapanang, AIS’ chief consumer business officer, said yesterday that the bulked-up capacity would enable the company to maintain existing 4G customers and woo new ones.

AIS has around 22 million 4G users, as of the second quarter of this year, out of its total pool of mobile phone subscribers of more than 40 million.

AIS’ bullish views were expressed after its wholly owned subsidiary Advanced Wireless Network Co Ltd (AWN) on Sunday won an additional 10MHz bandwidth (combined uplink and downlink frequency) on the 1800MHz in an auction run by the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC).

Combining the new bandwidth with its existing 30MHz of 1800MHz means that AWN will operate on a contiguous 40MHz bandwidth of the 1800MHz spectrum.

This added heft will raise its 4G network speed by between 15 per cent and 30 per cent across all 4G-compatible devices and boost its 1800MHz bandwidth network capacity by around 33 per cent.

Ready to go into service

AIS is ready to add this additional 10MHz bandwidth of the 1800MHz into service after the concession of this additional block under a CAT Telecom concession ends on September 15.

CAT had granted this 1800MHz band to Total Access Communication to offer mobile phone service. The NBTC reclaimed the band for auction on Sunday before the expiry of the concession.

The NBTC divided this whole 1800MHz band into nine lots, each containing 10MHz bandwidth.

AWN and the other bid winner, dtac TriNet, each selected only one lot of the spectrum in the auction.

They proposed the same final total price of Bt12.511 billion to grab their lots, each containing 10MHz bandwidth.

Clinching the additional bandwidth from the auction on Sunday also means AIS will be operating on the biggest telecom spectrum bandwidth of 120MHz.

Of the total, it holds a licence from the NBTC to operate 30MHz of the 1800MHz spectrum, together with the newly won 10MHz of 1800MHz.

It also holds licences to operate 30MHz of 2.1GHz, and 20MHz of the 900MHz spectrum.

The company partnered with TOT to provide the service on the state agency’s 30MHz of 2.1GHz.

Most recently, the listed company was appointed by Electrolux to invest and operate a 0.50MW solar-rooftop system at one of its factories in Rayong, which is expected to reach completion next month.

WHAUP is also eyeing to sign another 10MW contract this year, chief executive officer Wisate Chungwatana said on Monday.

Moreover, the company is in discussions with potential customers in WHA industrial estates and other industrial customers, expecting to sign another 10MW agreement this year, Wisate added.

WHAUP already has nine solar-rooftop power plants in operation, with a total capacity of 4.8MW.

Prospects for growth in solar rooftop are favourable as industrial customers are becoming more and more inclined towards the use of clean energy, while recognising its economic benefits in saving electricity costs, the CEO explained.

Wee Ee Cheong, deputy chairman and chief executive officer of UOB, and Tan Choon Hin, president and CEO of UOB (Thai), symbolically laid the foundation stone for the 30-storey building.

It will be the main office and centre for the Singapore-based bank’s operations in Thailand and will house more than 3,000 employees.

The Bt4-billion building, in the heart of Bangkok’s commercial district on Sukhumvit Road, is scheduled for completion by the third quarter of 2021.

Wee said: “With more than 80 years of experience operating in the region, UOB has a strong appreciation of what is unique to Asean and what matters to our customers. In Thailand, one of the region’s fastest-growing economies, we have been helping our customers manage and grow their wealth and businesses for more than two decades.

“Our new building reiterates UOB’s unwavering commitment to the country as we continue to support its industry, enterprise, consumers and community.”

The new division will be headed by Doug White, currently country president for Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau.

As the head of the Major Accounts Division for Asia-Pacific, White will be responsible for delivering bespoke, holistic solutions and services to clients and business partners through management of the Chubb Global Services team, global client executives, claims client relationship managers and risk engineers.

In his new role, he will report to Jason Keen, US-headquartered Chubb’s regional head of Property & Casualty, Asia-Pacific.

White has been in the insurance industry for more than 25 years.

He joined Chubb in 2014 as country president for Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau, a post he has held for four years.

Prior to joining Chubb, he was a managing director for a leading broker.