Apple still a star without Steve Jobs, but doubts linger

Posted on December 1, 2016 by SoClaimon

ศาสตร์เกษตรดินปุ๋ย : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/news/business/corporate/30296831

This file photo taken on October 05, 2011 shows an ipad 2 displayed on October 5, 2011 in Los Angeles, showing the changed Apple website paying homage to the company's visionary leader Steve Jobs who died from cancer aged just 56. AFP PHOTO

This file photo taken on October 05, 2011 shows an ipad 2 displayed on October 5, 2011 in Los Angeles, showing the changed Apple website paying homage to the company’s visionary leader Steve Jobs who died from cancer aged just 56. AFP PHOTO

October 04, 2016 13:12

WASHINGTON – Five years after the death of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, the Silicon Valley tech giant is bigger and stronger, despite lingering doubts over its future without the visionary leader.

In financial terms, Apple has been an unstoppable juggernaut: Its profit for the 2015 fiscal year was a whopping $53 billion on revenues of $234 billion — both figures doubled since the final year of Jobs’s reign before he died of pancreatic cancer on October 5, 2011.

Apple’s market value is more than $600 billion, below its 2015 highs but more than twice its level of 2011 and holding above Google parent Alphabet as the world’s most valuable corporation.

Still, some analysts question whether Apple — which redefined the smartphone experience with its trend-setting iPhone introduced in 2007 and created a vast ecosystem of mobile applications — is losing momentum.

“It’s really hard to keep up the innovation cycle when you have developed a successful product,” said technology analyst Jack Gold of J. Gold Associates.

“With each successful generation (of a product) it becomes harder. The question becomes, ‘What’s the next big thing?’ and it’s not clear what that is going to be.”

Vivek Wadhwa, a Carnegie Mellon University professor and former Silicon Valley entrepreneur, was more blunt, saying Apple is living off its earlier innovations with little new to offer.

“We have seen no major innovations for Apple” since the Steve Jobs era, Wadhwa told AFP.

With the latest iPhone 7, Wadhwa said, “they market it well but it’s the same device all over again.”

Competing with Tesla?

Apple has moved into new services such as streaming music and mobile payments, and is believed to be working on virtual reality and autonomous driving technology. But the bulk of its revenue and profits still come from the iPhone.

“They haven’t figured out what they want to deliver,” Wadhwa said.

“If they wanted an Apple car it should have been out there now to compete with Tesla.”

Jobs’s successor Tim Cook has won plaudits for his performance keeping Apple on a steady path, even though no one sees him as the same kind of leader.

“Tim Cook is an operations guy, he is great in getting the supply chain to churn out things,” said Jan Dawson of Jackdaw Research.

“He knows his limitations. He knows he is not the most charismatic presenter. He knows he is not Steve Jobs.”

Still, Dawson sees Cook as broadly successful in keeping Apple on track. He noted that Apple has doubled its spending on research and development since Cook took over.

“They stick to a certain price point and a premium experience, and that hasn’t changed from Steve Jobs to Tim Cook,” Dawson said.

Apple has succeeded not by being first in a market segment but by improving and perfecting certain products.

“They weren’t the first to make an MP3 player or smartphone or tablet,” Dawson said. “Apple bides its time and when it can make a significant contribution to a category it comes in and improves the experience. That was true in the Steve Jobs era as well.”

Dawson said it is not clear if Apple would be in a different place if Jobs were alive today, with the smartphone market largely saturated and touch competition from rivals.

“People look at the iPhone and say nothing else has lived up to that, but there aren’t any other technology categories like that,” he said.

Wadhwa argued however that Cook has had chances to “reinvent” the company and has failed to do so.

“He’s basically an operations guy who is living in the past,” Wadhwa said.

Wadhwa posited that Apple, with its vast cash reserves, could buy Tesla and put its highly regarded chief Elon Musk in charge of the company.

“You need a crazy visionary leading the company,” he said.

“People have shown a lot of patience because we all love Apple. And I love Apple. So it’s not too late to save the company.”

– AFP

ICC unveils ‘world first’ humanoid sales robot

Posted on December 1, 2016 by SoClaimon

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http://www.nationmultimedia.com/news/business/corporate/30296812

pic

October 04, 2016 01:00
By KWANCHAI RUNGFAPAISARNTHE NATION

ICC International, Saha Group’s trading arm for fashion apparel and cosmetic products, yesterday announced it use of point-of-sale robots

The first human-like and interactive robot, Din Sor, will be available at the Arrow shop on the second floor of the Terminal 21 shopping complex on Sukhumvit Road (near the Asoke Intersection) from November, as 80 per cent of the store’s customers are foreigners.

The robot welcomes and entertains shoppers and gives in-depth product information in five languages.

ICC International will introduce Din Sor at major chain stores of its apparel and cosmetics brands, including BSC Cosmetology, Thailand Best, and Wacoal.

The company operates about 200 branded stores in Bangkok and other major cities and employs about 6,000 staff.

Din Sor was developed and produced by Thai company CT Asia Robotics, which spent almost six years in research and development on the robot. It is claimed the robot will be able to help businesses in many areas such as caring for the elderly and serving food in restaurants.

Boonkiet Chokwatana, chairman of the board at ICC International, said that the robot would be able to record real-time stock in a store and let staff know if a product was in stock.

“The use of point-of-sale robots will help our branded stores to prevent a loss in sales because of a stock problem,” he said.

“The robot will be connected with the company’s point-of-sale system, so that they will be able to plan and management stock more efficiency.”

He said that the robot would be able to communicate with shoppers in Thai, English, Chinese, Japanese, and French.

Chalermpon Punnotok, chief executive officer of CT Asia Robotics, said that with its factory on Pattanakarn Road, the company could produce about 500 robots a month.

“We have already passed the difficult research and development process and all basics works, which has cost nearly Bt100 million … The rest is all the applied works for their functions to allow our robots to fit in with different specific works required by a business and related sectors, such as hospitals and medical centres,” Chalermpon said.

He said that the robots were connected with Wi-Fi and a cloud server, so that they had no memory limitation.

Chalermpon said that by the end of the year the company would deliver the first shipment of 500 robots to a local company in Japan, which would use the robots to help care for the elderly. The company has appointed a local distributor in Japan.

“[Thailand] will become an elderly society in the next five years,” he said.

For Thailand, Chalermpon said the company had appointed Techno Medical to look after the distribution of its robots in the medical sector. However, no company had been appointed yet to be its distributor for the mass market.

“We are in the trial process of working with major local hospitals, comprising Chulalongkorn Hospital, Phyathai Hospital and Kluaynamthai Hospital, for the development of robots that are able to comply to their specific medical works,” he said.

One-stop SCG unit adopts ‘VIP approach’ to homebuilding

Posted on December 1, 2016 by SoClaimon

ศาสตร์เกษตรดินปุ๋ย : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/news/business/corporate/30296800

October 04, 2016 01:00
By THE NATION

NAKHON RATCHASIMA

SCG Home Solution, a one-stop service centre and building-materials store, has announced a new service strategy called “VIP Approach to Customers’ Homebuilding Needs” based on findings from a nationwide study of its customers.

It says it has invested Bt50 million in the strategy, which will enrich customers’ experience with greater efficiency of its one-stop offerings.

The company is targeting sales growth of 10 per cent this year and plans to expand this retail network to 47 stores by the end of 2017.

“Based on our vision to contribute to quality home and living of Thai people, SCG Home Solution is differentiating our retail channel this year by implementing a ‘VIP Approach to Customers’ Home-building Needs’,” said Manit Boonprasert, dealer-based retail director at SCG Cement-Building Materials.

“Designed to maximise customers’ satisfaction, this new service strategy comes with the slogan ‘Start Building a Home with no worry’ to present products as systems and solutions while addressing different lifestyles and living needs of consumers with the convenience and quality of one-stop service from SCG experts.”

Nationwide survey

A nationwide survey of 1,700 homeowners in SCG Home Solution’s customer base who had a detached house built individually, revealed that 70 per cent had all the work done by a contractor.

Homeowners and contractors often make mutual decisions on the building materials to use, and they look for a one-stop retail channel that is staffed with experts to give them the advice from the start of construction until delivery of a complete home without a cost overrun.

To meet this need, SCG Home Solution developed the new strategy to serve both the owner and contractor throughout the homebuilding process. This is made possible by three provisions.

Software: Siam Cement Group has developed proprietary computer-aided design (CAD) software to help customers change their two-dimensional architectural drawings into realistic 3D images.

This software can provide budgeting information and auto-prepare a bill of quantities (BOQ) quickly and accurately to help minimise cost overruns. Its processing time for a house can be as quick as 15-20 minutes for some designs.

“Peopleware”: Teams of experts in each SCG Home Solution outlet have undergone intensive training in four areas: service excellence, specialised knowledge of each solution, design techniques, and brand knowledge. They are now deployed to all SCG Home Solution stores nationwide to offer consulting and 3D modelling services complete with estimates of building-|material costs for customers’ homebuilding projects free of charge.

Solutions: SCG Home Solution claims unmatched coverage of homebuilding needs with nine solutions by home components: structure, roof, ceiling, wall, landscape, wall and floor coverings, doors and windows, bathroom and kitchen.

In-store presentations of these products and solutions are designed to fit the different needs of customers in different locations, the company says.

From Chaozhou landowner to Bangkok businessman

Posted on December 1, 2016 by SoClaimon

ศาสตร์เกษตรดินปุ๋ย : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/news/business/corporate/30296814

October 04, 2016 01:00

My father, Chia Ek Chor, hailed from Chaozhou, an area consisting of the eponymous city on the eastern edge of China’s Guangdong province and the neighbouring city of Swatow (also called Shantou).

The village of Pengzhong, Cheng Hai district, where my father was born, is now part of Swatow.

My father’s family had been landowners in the village for generations. Rent collected from farmers meant that my grandfather, an only son, did not have to work. My father was born in 1896, the oldest of five children. He had two younger brothers and two younger sisters. My grandfather died in his 30s, leaving my father – who was still in his mid-teens – to support the family.

The middle brother received good marks in school, and the family decided he should continue his education. At that time, there were no universities in Chaozhou, so he went to a school in Chengdu, Sichuan province, far inland. The family’s income from renting land was only enough to cover his tuition, so my father and his youngest brother embarked on a life of commerce.

Local character

The interior of the Chaozhou region is mountainous, making travel by land all but impossible. In those days, if you wanted to leave home and make a name for yourself somewhere else, the only way to go was by sea.

From the time of the Song dynasty (960-1279), Chinese trading vessels ploughed the waves between China and Japan. When Swatow opened a foreign trading port in 1860, many people from Chaozhou, seeking a new world, set out for Hong Kong, then a British territory, or Southeast Asian locales such as Thailand.

People from Chaozhou had a knack for commerce, and many of them prospered in their new locations. The founding family of Bangkok Bank also came from Chaozhou, as did Li Ka-shing, the billionaire who heads Hong Kong’s largest business group.

It was this commercial-minded aspect of the local character, perhaps, that helped set my father’s feet on the path from landowner to businessman.

In the beginning, he set his sights on vegetable seeds. Chaozhou’s vegetables were well suited to the tropical climate of Southeast Asia, but the second generation of seeds harvested locally tended to produce smaller plants. This meant Chinese people who had migrated southward had to import seeds every year from Chaozhou. My father began selling vegetable seeds while still in China, but soon decided to move to Southeast Asia to pursue the seed business in earnest.

Leaving home

Around 1919, my father moved to Thailand, relying on relatives for support. Until the early part of the 20th century, Thailand had a policy of actively accepting immigrant Chinese workers, and many from Chaozhou headed to the country. Today, there are more than 7 million Thai residents of Chinese origin, accounting for over 10 per cent of the total population. Many are descendants of people from Chaozhou.

There was another reason my father chose Thailand: Because it was the only country in Southeast Asia that had never been a colony of a Western power, there were few big foreign businesses dominating its market. My father figured he had a chance. Arriving in Bangkok, he settled in Chinatown, located along the Chao Phraya, the river that flows through the heart of the city.

Many of the migrants from Chaozhou were farmers, and my father sold them the vegetable seeds he had brought from China. In addition to selling seeds on the street, he also supplied them to local seed retailers. This allowed him to save up enough money to open his own store in Chinatown in 1921. He called it the Chia Tai shop.

The name was taken from part of a Chinese idiomatic expression meaning “to do everything fairly based on ethical principles”. My father had previously started a company in Swatow and had used characters from this same expression for the name.

That was where CP Group began. Even today, Chia Tai continues to sell seeds by the river, just as in olden times.

Dhanin Chearavanont is chairman of the Charoen Pokphand Group. This is the second in a 30-part series of “My Personal History” by Dhanin. It is reprinted with permission from the Nikkei Asian Review.

Digital TV stations to get tax break under new plan

Posted on December 1, 2016 by SoClaimon

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http://www.nationmultimedia.com/news/business/corporate/30296806

October 04, 2016 01:00
By WATCHIRANONT THONGTEP

THE NATION

BROADCASTERS will be able to deduct their expenses fully for digital-terrestrial TV transmission under the “must carry” rule, while the progressive tariff for contributions to the broadcasting fund is expected to start next year.

“We hope that this new scheme will encourage providers of satellite TV platforms to carry both standard and high-definition digital channels for their customers,” Natee Sukonrat, chairman of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission’s broadcasting Committee, said yesterday.

Under this relief measure for struggling TV broadcasters, all terrestrial-based digital-TV operators would have the opportunity to get a full deduction for the cost of transmitting their programmes through satellite networks, which is governed by the “must carry” rule.

This rule aims to ensure that satellite-TV subscribers can access all digital free-TV channels.

In the meantime, operators of satellite-TV networks carrying digital TV programmes will also be eligible for the tax break. The broadcasting committee also approved the new rates for the annual fee collected for the Broadcasting and Telecommunications Research and Development Fund for Public Interest.

Pakdee Manaves, deputy secretary-general of the NBTC, said the new rates aimed to help broadcasters survive the economic downturn, but would not be retroactive.

No digital-TV broadcaster has paid this fee, which is currently a fixed rate of 2 per cent of gross revenue.

The new rates will step up from 0.50 per cent of revenue up to Bt5 million, to 0.75 per cent of Bt5 million to Bt50 million, 1 per cent of Bt50 million to Bt500 million, 1.35 per cent of Bt500 million to Bt1 billion and 2 per cent of Bt1 billion and over.

New Accor chain Jo & Joe targets young travellers

Posted on December 1, 2016 by SoClaimon

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http://www.nationmultimedia.com/news/business/corporate/30296724

Sebastien Bazin (centre)

October 03, 2016 01:00
By SUCHAT SRITAMATHE NATION

ACCORHOTELS PLANS to open a new chain called Jo&Joe in Thailand and elsewhere in Asia, aimed at young travellers, the group’s top executive said.

“Accor plans to open a total of 50 venues worldwide by 2020 in destinations popular with millennials,” Sebastien Bazin, Accor global chairman and chief executive officer, said while visiting Bangkok on Friday.

He added that the new brand reflected the group’s overall strategy, and was based on research and in-depth analysis into the aspirations of millennials – people who reached adulthood around the year 2000.

For Bangkok, the group is eyeing the Khao San, Charoen Krung and Ratchadaphisek areas for the first Jo&Joe property. Outside Thailand, the new brand is scheduled to launch in Paris and Bordeaux (in 2018) as well as Warsaw, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Budapest, Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo and Australia.

Bazin said average room rates would start from 2,025 euros (Bt78,700) a night.

The new brand was created in consultation with its future guests and disrupts traditional codes with a new concept to offer private rental, hostel and hotel formats, he said.

Currently, Accor is the largest hotel operator in Thailand with a total of 68 properties and 15,877 rooms. The group is planning to establish 17 more hotels and more than 4,000 rooms here by 2019. One of these properties will be in the North, three in the East, eight in Bangkok, and five in the South.

Patrick Basset, chief operating officer for East and upper Southeast Asia, said the group managed six brands in Thailand: Sofitel, SO Sofitel, MGallery by Sofitel, Swissotel, Pullman and Grand Mercure. Thirteen of them are in Bangkok.

The group plans to increase the proportion of its revenue from the luxury segment globally from 19 per cent currently to 35 per cent.

“Several [other] new luxury hotels and brands are scheduled to debut in Bangkok. The increased competition will lead hotels to further refine their service and products to meet the needs and desires of customers,” he said.

“Competition can benefit both hotels and customers. However, hotels that can leverage a strong, large network such as AccorHotels will be at an advantage.

“Accor continues to explore opportunities for luxury and upscale hotels in Thailand and Bangkok,” he said.

Asked about the average daily room rate for luxury hotels in Bangkok when compared with other capital cities in this region, he said the ADR in Bangkok was higher than in Hanoi but generally lower than in other comparable capital cities in Southeast Asia, such as Kuala Lumpur. However, Bangkok also benefits from great number of visitor arrivals.

Regarding the termination of the management contract of its affiliate chain Swissotel with Swissotel Nai Lert Park at the end of this year, AccorHotels says it is working to secure new roles within the company for the 320 current employees of that Bangkok hotel.

Gunkul makes case for G2G backing for power projects

Posted on December 1, 2016 by SoClaimon

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http://www.nationmultimedia.com/news/business/corporate/30296713

Sopacha

October 03, 2016 01:00
By ACHARA DEBOONMETHE NATION

GUNKUL ENGINEERING is urging the Thai and Myanmar governments to collaborate in the financing of power-generating projects.

Sopacha Dhumrongpiyawut, chief executive officer of the company, said in an interview that the national-level collaboration would quicken the electrification process in Myanmar, which lacks both financial resources and expertise. Less than 40 per cent of population have access to electricity.

She said a power project could be started quickly if Thailand came up with investment projects and presented them to Myanmar. Under the government-to-government deal, she said, the Thai government could then hire Thai companies for the development. The Export Import Bank of Thailand could play a key role.

“Myanmar is an attractive investment destination, but government collaboration will drive this. China has resorted to this model,” she said. “If this strategy is well planned, Thailand stands to reap more benefits as Myanmar feels more positive towards us.”

In 2011, Gunkul struck a memorandum of understanding with Myanmar’s Ministry of Electric Power for a feasibility study for wind farms with 2,930 megawatts capacity in Mon and Kayin states, the Thaninthayi region, the Shan and Kayah states. Data collection has been ongoing for two years, equipping Gunkul with enough information for its detailed investment plans.

Sopacha said that the test station in Mon State benefited from strong winds, but the hilly terrain may pose difficulties for the transportation of equipment, while a transmission grid is absent in the area.

“It’s still not the right time to invest,” she said. But she added: “There is a high chance in Myanmar if the transmission-grid network is improved. Still, we need a good business model, something that matches the [Myanmar] government’s capacity and its desire to balance energy imports and exports as well as FDI [foreign direct investment] inflows.”

Through a 51-per-cent owned joint venture, Gunkul now operates a 50MW gas-fired power plant in Yangon. In its third year of operation, it is operating at half capacity.

The projects in Myanmar will be a key part in allowing Gunkul to achieve its goal to boost its renewable-generating capacity to 1,000MW within five years.

Aside from Myanmar, it is also expanding its capacity in Japan and Malaysia.

Sopacha affirmed the plan to grow its investment in Japan from less than 200MW now to 500MW in the next three years. Though tariffs have been cut the past two years and the number of projects available is lower, there is a possibility to win another 100MW, she said.

The company will also join a bid in Malaysia for the construction of a 20MW solar farm.

“We are still focusing on expanding investment in Thailand. But given the small pool of available demand and a large number of potential investors, our chance here is very low,” she said.

Diversifying into a generating business in 2014, the electrical and engineering company sat on 403MW capacity in September, on target to boost it to 500MW by the end of this year.

Sopacha is convinced that the company’s financial and non-financial resources are sufficient to support the business goal.

At present, Gunkul employs about 40 engineers for the operating and maintenance of more than 30 power plants in Thailand.

Obtaining project financing is a challenge for newcomers in the sector, but being listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand offers Gunkul offers various funding choices, including infrastructure funds.

Sopacha noted that the company at this point saw no need to launch an infrastructure fund, as revenue from its operational projects were sufficient to finance new ones.

“We will raise capital only when we are offered the opportunity to invest in a very large project with attractive returns,” she said.

Oil, gas exploration

Posted on December 1, 2016 by SoClaimon

ศาสตร์เกษตรดินปุ๋ย : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/news/business/corporate/30296710

Somporn

October 03, 2016 01:00
By SOMLUCK SRIMALEETHE NATION

SONGKHLA

PTT EXPLORATION and Produc-tion Plc (PTTEP) has set a five-year strategy (2017-2021) to focus on Thailand, Myanmar, Indonesia and Malaysia by expanding through both organic growth, and mergers and acquisitions.

“We’re keeping our investment at US$1.7 billion (Bt57.8 billion) for maintaining our existing gas and oil plants (next year), as we also have another budget for expanding our investment and for mergers and acquisitions at $1 billion to $1.5 billion a year,” Somporn Vongvuthipornchai, president and chief executive officer, said in a group interview after a site visit to the greater Bongkot South field last weekend.

“We cannot figure our investment budget for 2017 exactly because we’re still doing our business plan, but our minimum maintenance budget averages $1.7 billion a year for our existing plan.

“A bigger investment budget depends on our business opportunities, as we can say our cash on hand of $3.2 billion is part of our budget for our business expansion in 2017 that will focus on Thailand, Myanmar, Indonesia and Malaysia,” he said.

PTTEP has exploration and production oil and gas fields in Myanmar and Malaysia.

In Indonesia, it also has an exploration business.

In Thailand, the company would cooperate with its partners to bid for the Bongkot gas field that it is currently operating.

It has a 44.44-per-cent stake in the field, while Total E&P Thailand has 33.33 per cent and BG Asia Pacific the remaining 22.22 per cent.

Cutting production cost

The Bongkot field produces about 900 million square feet of gas a day, or about 20 per cent of the country’s demand for natural gas. The field also employs 600 staff.

The National Energy Policy Council, chaired by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, has said the government would put to bid in the third quarter of next year the two major petroleum blocks whose concessions expire in 2022-2023.

The company’s strategy includes expanding in related business that will contribute other income.

For example, the company is studying investing in the LNG (liquefied natural gas) business together with its parent PTT, and studying new businesses such as renewable energy, particularly solar and wind power, minerals and batteries.

“We are studying to expand |our business by focusing on related businesses that we have experience in. That will balance our business during the period of oil price fluctuation,” Somporn said.

The company is also cutting its petroleum production cost by 10 per cent from the average of $34 per barrel to $31-$32 to maintain its net profit margin at nearly last year’s level while the oil price still stays under $50 per barrel.

In the first half of this year, PTTEP earned Bt8.28 billion on revenue of Bt78.28 billion.

Bluport boost for ‘Riviera of the East’

Posted on December 1, 2016 by SoClaimon

ศาสตร์เกษตรดินปุ๋ย : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/news/business/corporate/30296721

Bluport Hua Hin

October 03, 2016 01:00
By KWANCHAI RUNGFAPAISARNTHE NATION

HUA HIN

HUA HIN’S first resort mall, Bluport, opened on Saturday at a cost of more than Bt5 billion with the aim of making the beach town a complete tourism destination for local and foreign tourists, featuring leisure and relaxation, shopping and lifestyle attra

“With the new resort mall, we aim to promote Hua Hin as the Riviera of the East,” said Supaluck Umpujh, vice chairwoman of The Mall Group.

The 200,000-square-metre property is operated by Hua Hin Asset Co, a joint venture of The Mall Group and the Liptapanlop family’s Proud Real Estate, which projects 20,000 visitors a day on weekdays.

Shoppers are expected to double on weekends and triple on festival days.

Bluport would add a shopping element to Hua Hin, which has long played a role as a leisure paradise for Thais, in-bound tourists and expatriates, she said.

“We have seen the development |of many real estate projects in Hua Hin. Many executives have a second home in Hua Hin, where they enjoy relaxing on weekends,” said Supaluck, also vice-chairwoman |of Hua Hin Asset Co. “Hua Hin is a charming city with a long legacy. The city is the seventh best retirement place in the world, and the fifth rising city of Asia,” she said.

The group had continued to revolutionise and advance Thailand’s retail landscape by fashioning a collection of world-class department stores such as Siam Paragon, the Jewel of Asia, followed by the Emporium and EmQuartier, both dazzling duos, said Supaluck.

The development of those shopping complexes had changed people’s lifestyles as well surrounding property projects, she said.

“The emergence of Bluport will also alter the lifestyle of local residents in Hua Hin as well as all related developments. It will be a total completion to the city,” she said.

Pasu Liptapanlop, executive director of Hua Hin Asset Co, said that as a leading developer in Thailand, Proud Real Estate sees a great opportunity to extend its roots in Hua Hin’s tourism industry.

“Hua Hin is Thailand’s most loved resort town and has been tremendously popular among high-end visitors for a long time.

“Thanks to its favourable geographic location as a link between the central and southern regions, and the diversity of attractions, beautiful natural scenery and cultural arts, Hua Hin acts as a hub for Thailand’s trade, commerce and investments in many sectors,” he said.

With more than six million visitors each year and more than 20,000 expats in town, Hua Hin offers hotels and resorts with over 16,000 rooms, side by side with 45,000 condominium units in projects both operating and under construction.

The area will soon be supported by hi-tech infrastructure systems such as the Bangkok-Hua Hin high-speed train and double-track railways.

Through this direction of development in Hua Hin toward its role as an international destination, Proud Real Estate is committed to extending its investment, promoting famous attractions in the town and launching more mixed-use projects, such as the InterContinental Hua Hin Resort, Vana Nava Hua Hin Water Park and True Arena Hua Hin sports complex.

“Among the developments, Bluport marks a huge step in the achievement of the company’s vision.

“Developing insights into the retail business needs an ‘eagle eye’. It is however a new experience both for myself and the company,” Pasu said.

Having “strong content and shopping experience” is very important for today’s development of shopping malls, especially when digital technology and e-commerce allow people to buy products online and from their home.

Loss of star news host hits Channel 3 revenue hard

Posted on December 1, 2016 by SoClaimon

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http://www.nationmultimedia.com/news/business/corporate/30296711

October 03, 2016 01:00
By WATCHIRANONT THONGTEP

THE NATION

AMID SIGNS of a drought in TV advertising in the remaining months of this year, Channel 3 is likely to be among the |weakest performers while GMM Grammy’s One 31 is the rising star after leapfrogging to fourth from sixth place early this year.

“In the first nine months, Channel 3 had been facing difficulties,” Surin Krittayaphongphun, executive vice president of Bangkok Entertainment Co, the operator of Channel 3, said last week.

“For instance, we lost famous TV news host Sorrayuth Sutthassnachinda from morning news early this year, which has resulted in the programme’s revenue plunging 30 per cent so far,” he said. Sorrayuth had been with the station for 13 years.

Although his news team had been trying hard to maintain audience ratings by efforts such as introducing some fresh-face news anchors, the result did not meet expectations.

To maintain its billing rate at Bt220,000 per minute, Channel 3 decided to trim “Rueng Lao Chao Nee” from three-and-a-half hours (6-9.30am) to two hours and 20 minutes (6-8.20am).

The long-running “Woman to Woman” talk show has been slotted in from 8.20-9.30am.

Happier picture for One31

Channel 3 is also suffering from a 30-40-per-cent drop in late-night (after 10.20pm) revenue after moving some top-rated programmes to weekend afternoon to reach a larger audience.

BEC expects to see a 9-10-per-cent decline in revenue this year.

In the first eight months, Channel 3’s rating fell by 23 per cent from the same period last year, according to Nielsen Thailand’s data based on a nationwide survey of viewers aged 15 and above.

This was a different story for the One31 digital channel, which enjoyed the highest growth of almost 100 per cent in ratings.

Dew Waratangtragoon, deputy chief executive officer |of One 31, said fresh and quality dramas including the |phenomenal 17-episode “Pit Sawart” (Poisonous Affections), which hit the highest rating at 5.33 points for its final |episode, had proved very successful.

“We want to keep this momentum up and become a top 3 by the end of this year or early next year by strengthening our prime-time slot from 6.20pm to 10pm,” Dew said.

One 31 is also expanding its target viewership from women to families and men with contents such as situation comedies and sports.

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Tag Archives: Corporate

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WASHINGTON – Five years after the death of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, the Silicon Valley tech giant is bigger and stronger, despite lingering doubts over its future without the visionary leader.

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ICC International, Saha Group’s trading arm for fashion apparel and cosmetic products, yesterday announced it use of point-of-sale robots

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SCG Home Solution, a one-stop service centre and building-materials store, has announced a new service strategy called “VIP Approach to Customers’ Homebuilding Needs” based on findings from a nationwide study of its customers.

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My father, Chia Ek Chor, hailed from Chaozhou, an area consisting of the eponymous city on the eastern edge of China’s Guangdong province and the neighbouring city of Swatow (also called Shantou).

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BROADCASTERS will be able to deduct their expenses fully for digital-terrestrial TV transmission under the “must carry” rule, while the progressive tariff for contributions to the broadcasting fund is expected to start next year.

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ACCORHOTELS PLANS to open a new chain called Jo&Joe in Thailand and elsewhere in Asia, aimed at young travellers, the group’s top executive said.

Share this:

GUNKUL ENGINEERING is urging the Thai and Myanmar governments to collaborate in the financing of power-generating projects.

Share this:

PTT EXPLORATION and Produc-tion Plc (PTTEP) has set a five-year strategy (2017-2021) to focus on Thailand, Myanmar, Indonesia and Malaysia by expanding through both organic growth, and mergers and acquisitions.

Share this:

HUA HIN’S first resort mall, Bluport, opened on Saturday at a cost of more than Bt5 billion with the aim of making the beach town a complete tourism destination for local and foreign tourists, featuring leisure and relaxation, shopping and lifestyle attra

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AMID SIGNS of a drought in TV advertising in the remaining months of this year, Channel 3 is likely to be among the |weakest performers while GMM Grammy’s One 31 is the rising star after leapfrogging to fourth from sixth place early this year.

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