As the only building connected to BTS Bang Na, it offers access to Bangkok’s transport network, with easy access to Suvarnabhumi airport, service stations, public buildings and shopping centres.

Noelle Coak, the Regus chief for Thailand, Taiwan and Korea, said: “The latest Regus opening is perfectly placed at the gateway to the industrial and manufacturing hub of eastern Thailand, which includes Samut Prakarn, Bang-Na-Trad, Bang Pu and Bang Prakong, making it an attractive option for businesses across a broad range of sectors.

“This opening is an opportunity to improve and strengthen services to clients whilst providing businesses with easier access to a flexible office. Bhiraj Tower at Bitec offers attractive, spacious interiors not found elsewhere in the Bang Na area.”

Regus has 146sqm of coworking space, including 109 office rooms, 306 work stations, a 301sqm business lounge and two meeting rooms.

The space is fully furnished by Regus, offers high-speed internet and has a staffed reception.

Clients can choose between interior or window offices, or from several suites made up of a small office with meeting rooms.

Further flexibility is offered based on client’s needs, with a range of price points and options to add or reduce workspace as necessary, depending on the client’s current and future requirements.

“IWG is forging a new working culture across the world via the brands it operates. In Bangkok, Regus, part of IWG, the global operator of leading workspace providers, has already made great waves in the workspace revolution, with 18 locations in Bangkok and 21 across Thailand.”

He said Regus would also open an office in Chiang Mai this year.

  Wipawinee and Tharapat Chaisutthiroj left behind the security of company pay cheques to pursue a new start as entrepreneurs when they saw a business opportunity to develop an innovative product line that makes use of the husks – usually considered waste in farming.

They joined up with a Malaysian friend with expertise in research and development. The friend, who lives in the United States, had suggested they go into business together.

Since 2010, the company that they established has produced a range of kitchen accessories made from the husks and the business has enjoyed export success in Europe and the United States. Sales are averaging Bt20 million a month, said Tharapat, who is director of Husks Green Co Ltd, in an interview with The Nation recently.

Tharapat said that, together with the Malaysian partner, they established a company in Singapore called Husks Green International in 2010. The business conducted research and development activities until the partners felt they were ready to launch their first product in 2012.

Using a manufacturing facility in Malaysia, they laid the foundations for the venture’s export success. The inroads into Europe and the United States were aided by a long-established welcoming attitude among consumers in those markets for environmentally friendly products.

“Our first product was a coffee cup and then we went on to develop other kitchen items such as a dish, a bowl, drinking glass, chopping board and the like. All of our products are made from rice husks,” Tharapat said.

Buoyed by their success with the overseas shipments, the company moved the production plant from Malaysia to China, taking advantage of the lower costs. The company continued to carry out research and development in Malaysia.

In another sign of confidence for the company, it set up marketing and distribution operations in Thailand with the establishment of Husks Green Co Ltd in 2017, with registered capital of Bt1 million.

“We decided to open our business in Thailand as part of our plan to expand our market presence into Asian countries,” Tharapat said.

He said the export success encouraged them in their ambitions for the Thai market, which they entered last year with a focus on corporate customers wanting to offer premium products to their customers.

To support its plans for Thailand, the company has begun negotiations with Ecotopia, a marketplace for eco-products at Siam Discovery in Bangkok, for distribution of the products.

The company has also opened a Facebook page for online sales.

“We believe that this is the right time for us to distribute our products in Thailand, as Thai people are becoming increasingly concerned about the environment and are more open to buying eco-products. This is especially true of the young generation,” Tharapat said.

To aid the company’s promotion efforts, Tharapat submitted two of the products – tableware and a chopping board – as entries in the Thailand Green Design Awards 2018 (TGDA2018).

Both products received awards at the event, which was conducted by the Kasetsart Agricultural and Agro-Industrial Product Improvement Institute (KAPI) of Kasetsart University. The winners were announced in March.

The tableware won in the category of life enhancement under the corporate group in the awards, and the chopping board came second in the resource-efficiency category for the corporate group.

“When we won those awards, that helped us to promote our products to the market,” Tharapat said.

He said that if the products enjoy more success in the Thai and Asian markets, the company may set up a new manufacturing plant in Thailand, attracted by the greater access to rice husks as the raw material for the products.

The company reported total revenue of Bt1.28 billion and a net profit of Bt97 million in the first quarter of this year from renewable energy businesses and zinc trading, the company’s managing director Francis Vanbellen said yesterday.

The first-quarter performance met its expectations even though it is lower than last year’s first quarter net profit of Bt313 million after the company ended its conventional zinc business and transitioned into renewable energy and zinc trading.

Profit margins from the trading of zinc cannot be compared with the profit from zinc operations last year from low-cost zinc ores inventories.

Nevertheless, PDI remains confident in the positive outlook of its business performance this year.

It has predicted high profit for the year, mostly from renewable energy and the management of existing obsolete assets from the zinc business.

Vanbellen said the company invested successfully, especially in renewable energy during its business transition.

Currently, PDI has solar farms in Thailand and Japan with a combined capacity of 50 megawatts, with full contribution of revenues and profit this year.

PDI will further optimise its operating solar farms under PDI Energy to assure robust production and targets, expanding the capacity to 100 megawatts. It is eyeing opportunities to invest in other potential businesses to grow income, profits and increase returns to shareholders.

Customers can also use the K Plus app, with minimum purchases of Bt100, for a chance of winning an iPhone 8. The promotional campaign runs until July 15.

Vathit Chokwatana (far right), executive director of Sahapattanapibul PLC Koichi Hirose (second right), managing director of Saha Lawson, and KBank’s Wirawat Panthawangkun (second left).

Salinla Seehaphan, corporate affairs director, has signed a memorandum of understanding to purchase 150 tonnes of low-glycaemic index (low GI) rice to sell at Tesco Lotus stores, providing a distribution channel for farmers.

The 1kg packs will cost Bt60.

Low GI rice is a healthier choice, especially for diabetics and those watching their weight. The rice will be available at all Tesco Lotus hypermarkets from May 15.

Tesco Lotus said it continued to support rice farmers through its direct-sourcing programme, working with agricultural cooperatives in northeastern provinces who supply jasmine rice under the Tesco brand. The direct sourcing programme allows rice farmers and cooperatives to bypass middle merchants, get fair prices and have a secure distribution channel, the retail giant claimed.

Brown has served as Agoda’s chief operating officer since 2014 when he was promoted from chief product officer.

Current Agoda CEO, Robert Rosenstein, will become chairman of Agoda and special adviser to the CEO of Booking Holdings, Glenn Fogel. In addition, current product chief Omri Morgenshtern will become the operating chief.

“Rob’s vision for Agoda when he co-founded the company was unparalleled at the time. He recognised the immense opportunity in APAC [Asia-Pacific], and built a brand with strong loyalty and brand awareness in the region,” said Fogel. “Our business will continue to benefit from his knowledge of the APAC region and his expertise in digital technology trends, and we couldn’t be more excited to see John step into the role of CEO.”

“John has touched almost every facet of the Agoda business over the past eight years, actively contributing to the company’s strategy and expansion,” said Rosenstein. “Without question, John is the right choice to next lead the Agoda business, and I look forward to continuing to work alongside him and Omri as chairman, along with Glenn as we look to develop our global strategy further.”

Brown joined Agoda in 2010 from the Boston Consulting Group. He has a BA from Yale University and an MBA in finance from Wharton School.

Consolidated losses narrowed significantly to Bt26.88 million from Bt295.57 million during the same period last year.

Revenue grew by 5.6 per cent from the same quarter last year to Bt4.32 billion as average cost per seat declined and more passengers were carried, despite the rise in fuel costs.

“The result is better than expected and it clearly shows that our business turnaround plan has continued to bear fruit and we are on the right course for recovery,” Nok Air CEO Piya Yodmani said.

Adoption of new marketing initiatives which allow Nok Air to capture several market segments, increased competitiveness, stricter cost control enforcement and productivity enhancement have contributed to improved financial result, he said.

Those improvements allowed Nok Air to better deal with the 23.2-per-cent increase in fuel costs in the period, Piya noted.

The airline was able to fill more seats in the quarter, thus achieving an average of cabin factor (the proportion of seats filled) of 93.8 per cent, 6.1 points higher than last year in the same quarter.

This year the airline carried 3.8 per cent more passengers with a tally of 2.52 million, up from 2.43 million in the same period last year, thanks to the surge in passengers on its expanded Chinese traffic.

The quarter saw Nok Air increase aircraft use by 21.5 per cent to 10 hours per aircraft per day from 8.23 hours, contributing to higher productivity.

Piya said at the end of the quarter, Nok Air operated a fleet of 29 aircraft, down from 31 a year ago. The airline added two domestic routes in the first quarter to a total of 25, while its international scheduled routes remained unchanged at three.