The government’s Marine Department has sanctioned QR code payments in collaboration with Kasikornbank and Chao Phraya Express Boat Co Ltd.

A pilot programme has begun at Bangkok’s three busiest piers – Nonthaburi, Phrannok and Sathorn – for Orange Flag and Yellow Flag boats.

Chao Phraya Express Boat hopes to see up to 30 per cent of its passengers using QR code payment, between 7,000 and 10,000 per day.

Chairperson Supapan Pichaironarongsongkram said the company was working with KBank to better serve commuters as Thailand seeks to become a “cashless society”.

With the Marine Department’s support, it developed the QR code system as an additional payment method for the company’s 35,000-plus customers who use the service at 40 piers every day.

The projection is in its latest “Worldwide Semi-annual Internet of Things Spending Guide Asia/Pacific (excluding Japan)”, which was released on Tuesday.

IDV is a global provider of market intelligence, advisory services and events for the information technology, telecommunications and consumer technology markets.

China will account for 64.2 per cent of the overall spending ($187.3 billion) in Asia-Pacific excluding Japan in 2018 and likely maintain its dominance with a five-year compound annual growth rate of 12.8 per cent during the forecast period, 2017-22.

Adoption of IoT technology in other countries in the region is also steadily gaining ground, with South Korea and India accounting for 9.8 per cent and 8.8 per cent respectively of overall technology spending in 2018.

Chainid said Property Perfect holds 51 per cent of the joint venture company, PF-Sekisui JV Co Ltd, with the remainder held by Sekisui Chemical. It has registered capital of Bt200 million.

The company will develop modular homes for the new phases of Perfect Masterpieces, starting in four locations: Krungthep Kreetha, Ramkhamhaeng, Chaeng Wattana and Rattanathibet. Some 74 units will be built with a combined value of Bt2.23 billion, targeting high-end customers with an enthusiasm for technology and innovation.

“The company has continually forged partnerships with foreign partners as one of our strategies in elevating our standards and brand image to the international level,” Chainid said at a press conference.

“Sekisui Chemical is part of this strategy. Sekisui’s modular homes are an innovation directly imported from Japan, and are recognised for their advanced construction technology. Modular homes represent quality even in the construction stage.

“We’re confident that we can strengthen our business with modular homes, to offer an alternative to our customers. In this respect, we have maintained our goal to become the leader in the top-end housing segment in the next three years, with the market share in the segment set to grow to Bt4 billion per annum from Bt2 billion. Our partnership with Sekisui will quicken our development progress and raise our share in the premium segment.”

Sekisui Chemical Co Ltd president Shunichi Sekiguchi said the partnership unites both companies’ strengths and creates a new business synergy. Property Perfect stands out in terms of land selection, the pleasant environment of its housing projects and its marketing expertise when dealing with Thai customers, Sekiguchi said.

He said Sekisui’s strengths lie in its high-quality products and modular home construction expertise both in Japan and Thailand, supported by a factory capable of handling various designs. Sekisui can now take part in developing quality housing projects with a pleasant environment for customers in Thailand, from the designing to production, delivery and after-sale services, he said.

Sekiguchi said that Sekisui’s modular homes in Japan highlight quality and simple designs. These qualities will be replicated at Property Perfect’s projects, with some modifications to better meet Thais’ lifestyles. The modular technology will be applied for the sections requiring high efficiency, while the conventional structure will be maintained, he said.

Sekiguchi said that the Sekisui homes, comfortable and environmentally friendly, are the result of “a perfect combination of Japan and Thailand’s construction technologies”, as well as the application of technologies “like a precisely controlled steel structure, precise and thoroughly monitored assembly, an air factory system for quality indoor air, high heat insulation through an air-tightness system, on top of high-quality and durable materials”.

Sekisui Chemical Co Ltd is the third foreign company to set up a joint venture with Property Perfect.

Last year, Property Perfect established a joint venture firm with Japan’s Sumitomo Forestry to develop condominium projects in Bangkok, with properties now in the construction stage. The company also set up a joint venture firm with Hong Kong-based Hongkong Land to develop a residential project in Bangkok worth Bt4 billion.

“We will set up more joint venture firms with different partners as part of our aim to boost our business expansion in line with our business plan,” Chainid said.

“We are also learning more about the business from our partners, including in areas such as construction technology and systems, and financial support.”

AIS picked up bid documents for the single licence to be offered on the 900MHz spectrum and for the 1800MHz spectrum, for which nine licences will be put to bids. Its subsidiary Advanced Wireless Network (AWN) also collected one application for each of the spectra offered, as did DTAC subsidiaries DTAC TriNet and DTAC Broadband.

The lone 900MHz licence to be auctioned by the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) will comprise 5MHz bandwidth, and the nine licences for 1800MHz will each be for 5MHz bandwidth.

Potential bidders have until August 7 to pick up the bid applications, which became available on July 9. The forms must be submitted to the NBTC on August 8.

The auctions of the 900MHz licence and the 1800MHz licences will be held on August 18 and 19, respectively.

NBTC secretary general Takorn Tantasith said he was confident many telecommunications operators would take part in the auctions, but that it remained to be seen how many of them would do so.

Earlier, the NBTC had planned to offer only the 1800MHz licences in an auction set for August 4. It had to change the schedule and revise the auction terms and conditions to the present framework after the three telecom operators declined to submit bid applications on the deadline of June 15. All three cited their sufficient bandwidth for long-term needs.

DTAC yesterday raised two concerns on the bid conditions for the 900MHz licence.

The first concern is the requirement for the bid winner to be responsible for installing equipment to prevent a possible jam|in signals between the 900MHz bands used by telecom operators and |the other 900MHz band earmarked for communications involving proposed high-speed train services.

The NBTC will allow the 900MHz bid winner in the upcoming auction to deduct a maximum of Bt2 billion from the licence upfront fee for the cost of installing anti-jamming equipment.

Rajiv Bawa, DTAC’s chief corporate affairs and business development officer, said that the Bt2 billion cap would not cover the cost of filters and implementation incurred by the bid winner, which has to install the system at telecoms operators and for the radio equipment of the planned high-speed train operators. DTAC estimates these costs will be significantly higher than Bt2 billion.

Aside from the costs, the winner of the 900 MHz spectrum will be solely responsible for all operational risks relating to the interference. The installation of filters at the base stations of the other operators – required to be done by the bid winner – would not be possible in practice, Bawa said.

DTAC reiterated its intention to make a thorough assessment of the final auction guidelines before deciding whether to participate in the auctions.

The company remained committed to working with the NBTC to work towards the resolution of the issues it flagged with the 900MHz terms, in order to ensure that the sale for this spectrum has “favourable conditions”, Bawa said in a statement yesterday.

Separately, AWN yesterday paid to the NBTC the second instalment of the upfront fee of its 900MHz licence. The total value of the second instalment is over Bt4.301 billion (including VAT).

It also placed a bank guarantee for the combined the third and fourth instalments of more than Bt68.045 billion (including VAT) with the regulator.

AWN won the bid to clinch the licence in 2016.

It will have to pay the third instalment of more than Bt4.301 billion by July 16 next year and the remaining instalment of over Bt63.744 billion (including VAT) by July 16, 2020.

According to DTAC’s filing to the Stock Exchange of Thailand about its second-quarter financial results, the interim dividend payment is worth more than Bt2.391 billion in total. The payment date is August 10.

The company posted a second-quarter net profit of Bt179 million, down 76 per cent year on year, largely due to lower earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation and higher depreciation and amortisation expenses, partly offset by lower income tax.

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The rating reflects the company’s robust investment process, very strong investment resources and multi-layered risk controls, Fitch said.

It also reflects SCBAM’s sound investment performance, strong investment-management franchise and systematic communication with mutual, private and provident-fund investors.

The main blockchain for the platform is Everycoin, which is a cryptocurrency with liquidity.

The ultimate goal is to be a hub and a standard for cryptocurrencies, in order to allow people around the world to use the currencies in their business and trade.

The side blockchain works as an ATM system, responding to instant transactions such as payments, deposits and transfers.

The system connects TabiPay with currencies worldwide, Aaron Jin, chief executive officer of Aaron System, said on Monday.

At the same time, TRIS assigned a rating of “A-” to the listed firm’s proposed issue of up to Bt2 billion in senior unsecured debentures, due within 10 years.

The company will use the proceeds from the new debentures to refinance its existing debentures.

The feature is built into the existing HSBCnet Mobile Application.

The introduction of Trade Transaction Tracker in Thailand follows its launch in Britain, Hong Kong, India, Bangladesh, Australia, Singapore and China.

It will be extended to other markets in the future, head of commercial banking Krisda Phatcharoen said.

He added that HSBC has been significantly investing in digital innovation to make global trade simpler, better and faster for our customers.

In today’s fast-changing world, there is increasing demand by businesses to run international business activities using mobile phones.

“It is important to keep our services competitive and the Trade Transaction Tracker is an innovative tool to simplify the entire trade transaction tracking process, allowing businesses to better manage their global trade flows anytime and from anywhere,” Krisda said.