Tag Archives: Corporate

True ‘not in talks’ to acquire DTAC

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TRUE & DTAC

USANEE MONGKOLPORN
THE NATION August 15, 2016 1:00 am

TRUE CORP chief executive officer Suphachai Chearavanont has denied rumours that True is in talks with Total Access Communication (DTAC) about the acquisition of shares in its mobile-business rival.

He said yesterday that True had never engaged in such talks and that DTAC’s foreign strategic partner, Norway’s Telenor, had never made a proposal to True to buy its shares in DTAC.

However, if Telenor wanted to sell its shares in DTAC to any potential buyers, True would be keen to consider such a purchase in order to expand its business empire, he added.

Rumours about Telenor’s desire to exit the Thai market have circulated from time to time since DTAC’s failure to clinch any spectrum licences from the auctioning off of 900MHz licences and 1800MHz licences late last year.

Recently, one rumour even had it that DTAC and True are conducting due diligence as part of True’s purported move to take over the cellular operator.

Every time a rumour about Telenor’s plan to exit Thailand surfaces, DTAC has confirmed that it still has a strong position in the market and can leverage its current spectrum portfolio to offer competitive 4G services.

Last month, Gunn Waersted, chair of the board of directors at Telenor ASA, and Sigve Brekke, president and CEO of Telenor Group, on the occasion of their visit to Thailand, met Information and Communications Technology Minister Uttama Savanayana to discuss the government’s digital-economy development.

During the visit, Telenor remarked that it remained committed to the development of a digital Thailand and would continue to invest for the betterment of mobile services and Internet for all.

DTAC has encouraged the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission to establish a clear road map for utilisation of the Kingdom’s telecom spectra, including planning for the auctioning of more licences in the 1800MHz band, along with the 850MHz, 700MHz and 2600MHz bands. The NBTC recently unveiled the new spectrum reallocation plan it had drawn up for its upcoming new NBTC board.

Some telecom analysts believe that this clear road map for spectrum reallocation is one of the factors contributing to the rise in DTAC’s share price.

The mobile operator’s share price rose steadily from Bt31.25 at the close of stock-market business on August 4 to Bt37.50 on August 11.

DTAC’s concessions for the 1800MHz and 850MHz bands expire in late 2018.

Its subsidiary, DTAC TriNet, holds the NBTC’s 2.1GHz licence.

True group last week reported to the Stock Exchange of Thailand a second-quarter consolidated net loss of Bt370.7 million for the parent company, compared to a net profit of Bt1.39 billion in the same period last year.

Singha Estate finalising hotel acquisition deal in UK

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http://www.nationmultimedia.com/business/Singha-Estate-finalising-hotel-acquisition-deal-in-30292930.html

INVESTMENT

SUCHAT SRITAMA
THE NATION August 15, 2016 1:00 am
Naris

Naris

SINGHA ESTATE is eyeing more hotel acquisitions in Europe, especially Britain, as well as planning to open hotels in major tourist destinations in Thailand and elsewhere in Southeast Asia.

Chief executive officer Naris Cheyklin said the company expected to close hotel-acquisition deals in Britain this quarter.

Singha Estate and its Thai partner, Fico Group, are working on a final study for further expansion. If they are able to finalise these deals, they will secure more than 200 rooms in Britain.

He said hotels in Britain right now could be acquired for as much as 10 per cent below market rate because of the weakening of the pound sterling after UK citizens voted in June to leave the European Union.

A hotel-industry source who did not want to be named said Singha Estate might spend up to Bt700 million to acquire three hotels, one in Scotland and two in UK England, with 70 rooms in each property.

Last year, S Hotels and Resorts (UK), a wholly owned subsidiary of Singha Estate and Fico Holding (UK), a part of Fico Group, signed a 50:50 joint-venture agreement to form FS JV Co in the United Kingdom to acquire Jupiter Hotels for about 155 million pounds (Bt8.5 billion) from Patron Capital and its partner, the Royal Bank of Scotland.

Jupiter manages 26 UK hotels operating under the Mercure brand, with a total of 2,883 rooms. Most of the properties are owned freehold. It also manages a further six hotels for other owners in Britain.

Naris said Singha estate was also looking for hotels in other countries such as Maldives, Vietnam, Malaysia, Cambodia and Myanmar (Bagan, Inle Lake and Mandalay). In the domestic market, it hopes to open more hotels in key tourist destinations such as Phuket, Pattaya, Hua Hin, KohSamui, Krabi and Khao Lak.

There are two Thai hotels in Singha Estate’s portfolio: Santiburi Beach Resort and Spa on KohSamui and Phi Phi Island Village Resort in Krabi province.

Expansion into Maldives would serve high-end holidaymakers, while hotels in Southeast Asia would serve the growth of mass markets.

For Maldives, Singha is considering various options, including joint ventures. Major Thai hotel chains Dusit International, Centara and Minor International have already entered the famous resort islands.

“For overall future expansion, we will focus on acquisition of existing hotels over the next three years and after 2019 we will invest by ourselves,” Naris said.

He added that by 2020, Singha Estate should increase the number of hotels in its portfolio from 28 (26 in Britain and two in Thailand) to 40, with total room numbers increasing from about 3,000 to 5,000.

In that year, revenue from the hotel unit should increase from Bt2 billion this year to Bt8 billion. Of that amount, Bt5 billion will come from the domestic market and Bt3 billion from overseas. However, revenue from the hotel unit will remain at 40 per cent of Singha Estate’s total income, which is targeted at about Bt20 billion in four years.

To prepare for long-term growth, Singha Estate recently established a sister company called SHR Co, apparently an abbreviation of “Singha Hotels and Resorts”. SHR is a holding company and that plans to list on the Stock Exchange of Thailand in a few years.

Under SHR’s direction, the company will initiate several hotel brands ranging from luxury to mid-scale. The luxury brand is Santiburi Beach Resort and Spa in Koh Samui, and all others, both existing and new properties, will be positioned as four-star hotels.

Over the last few years, Singha Estate spent more than Bt9.1 billion on its hotel business. Of that investment, Bt8.5 billion was for hotel acquisitions in Britain, Bt300 million to Bt400 million for renovation and expansion of Santiburi in Koh Samui, and Bt200 million for acquisition and renovation of Phi Phi Island Village Resort in Krabi province.

IBM to open innovation centre in the Kingdom

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http://www.nationmultimedia.com/business/IBM-to-open-innovation-centre-in-the-Kingdom-30292929.html

INNOVATION CENTRE

NOPHAKHUN LIMSAMARNPHUN
THE NATION August 15, 2016 1:00 am

US-BASED giant IBM plans to open a full-fledged innovation centre in Thailand later this year to combine its cognitive computing technology with customer experience and design thinking.

In addition, IBM and its Thai partner Digital Ventures will organise the world’s first IBM Watson Business Case competition here later this year to promote financial technology or “fintech” start-ups.

According to Parnsiree Amatayakul, country general manager of IBM Thailand, the innovation centre will provide an eco-system for businesses and educational institutes to help deliver new products and services to drive the country’s digital economy.

IBM has also opened a Watson Centre at Marina Bay in Singapore to connect 5,000 professionals in cognitive solutions in the Asia-Pacific region, including researchers, data scientists, software engineers, developers and analytic experts.

The planned innovation centre in Thailand will also leverage IBM’s successful cases around the world to enhance the potential of local clients and partners.

Citing free courseware and usage of IBM’s Watson Application Programming Interface (APIs) on its cloud platform, Thailand can leapfrog by developing skills needed for the country’s new S-Curve industries and Thailand 4.0 roadmap.

According to IBM, the cognitive computing technology integrates a total of five fields, namely big data and analytics; artificial intelligence; human-computer interaction such as speech, translation and machine vision; knowledge representation, semantics and context; and computing infrastructure.

Most of the data is unstructured and massive such as images, voices and videos, so it is currently difficult for computers to fully make use of them.

For instance, only 15 per cent of organisations at present benefit from data analytics. However, big data is becoming a key to boost business competitiveness as more and more enterprises become fully digitised, allowing them to gain insights and competitive advantage.

As for the IBM Watson Business Case competition, Sasin of Chulalongkorn University and Software Industry Promotion Agency (SIPA) will also join as coaches for qualifying teams.

Parnsiree said the contest will serve as a stage for Thai college students and start-ups to learn and showcase their potential.

However, studies show that nine out of 10 start-ups fail because there is no market need. As a result, the competition is designed to focus on solutions that allow business adaptation instead of perfect technology solutions, which may not have business feasibility.

A total of 10 teams are expected to make the final round of the competition and the winner will join IBM Asean SmartCamp as well as the Launch Festival in San Francisco, which is the world’s largest start-up conference.

Thana said Digital Ventures, a unit of Siam Commercial Bank, will also consider investing in the winning team.

Stiff competition forces TV channels to export shows

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http://www.nationmultimedia.com/business/Stiff-competition-forces-TV-channels-to-export-sho-30292928.html

DIGITAL TV

WATCHIRANONT THONGTEP
THE NATION August 15, 2016 1:00 am
Thai heartthrob actor Mario Maurer who was recently appointed by the TAT as Thai tourism ambassador recently posed his selfie shot back-grounded by a huge group of his fans during a meet-and-greet event at a shopping mall in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

Thai heartthrob actor Mario Maurer who was recently appointed by the TAT as Thai tourism ambassador recently posed his selfie shot back-grounded by a huge group of his fans during a meet-and-greet event at a shopping mall in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

DRIVEN BY intense competition in the digital-TV broadcasting industry, leading production houses and broadcasters have been forced to create quality content not only to attract local viewers, but also to distribute and place Thai ‘soft power’ in overseas markets.

Back in 2010, the “Battle of Angels” – a Thai soap opera revealing a love story among flight attendants – was a massive hit in mainland China and made Thai actor Nawat “Pong” Kulrattanarak one of the most popular overseas actor in that country. T-Pop (Thai-popular) culture via entertainment content remains a force in China to this day, as well as in neighbouring countries.

Takonkiet Viravan, who was behind the success of “Battle of Angels”, now serves as chief executive officer of GMM One Digital TV – the operator of One 31 digital-TV channel – and his production houses, Exact and Scenario, continue to export Thai-made soap operas.

“Since we have our own digital free-to-air TV channels, we have had to increase the number of quality television dramas and situation comedies. And most of them have been sold to our long-time partners,” he said. This year, more than 10 TV soaps and sitcoms are being made by the business for broadcasting via this form of media outlet.

Surapol Perapongpipath, director for sales at GMM One Digital TV, said the company also distributed these finished programmes to neighbouring countries such as Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar and China.

Among the exported shows are “Miss Beauty and Talent Thailand, Season 1”, “News Syndrome” and “Leh Ratree”.

“After our shows were aired overseas, our actors and actress also became well-known in those countries. This was a great chance for talented Thai artists to broaden their overseas fan base,” he said.

Srisuda Wanapinyosak, deputy governor for international marketing (Asia and South Pacific) at theTourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), told The Nation that the popularity of Thai soap operas and films that had been aired overseas could help raise awareness of the country.

“We realised the importance of T-Pop in some countries, namely Vietnam, the Philippines, Indonesia and China. Therefore, the TAT recently appointed Thai heartthrob actor Mario Maurer as Thai tourism ambassador in those markets,” she explained.

Mario became a sensation in the acting world because of his performances in a number of top-rated films over the past decade: “The Love of Siam” in 2007, “A Little Thing Called Love” in 2010 and “Pee Mak Prakanong” in 2013. The TAT plans to organise a series of Mario meet-and-greet events in China, the Philippines, Vietnam and Indonesia during the remainder of the year, she said.

Saithip Montrikul na Ayudhaya, CEO of GMM Channel Digital TV – the operator of GMM 25 digital-TV station – said a number of finished programmes, such as “Club Friday: The Series, Seasons 1-8”, “Wanna Be Sup’tar” and “Ugly Duckling”, had been sold to Southeast Asian markets.

Among local production houses, Workpoint Entertainment appears to be going further than its peers, as it has exported 19 format programmes to five continents after jumping onto this bandwagon in 1999.

Thanasak Hunarak, the company’s chief business development officer, said Workpoint had sold at least 10 format programmes and another 10 finished programmes to key markets such as France, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Peru, Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar, Singapore and the US.

Twinings enters Myanmar

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http://www.nationmultimedia.com/business/Twinings-enters-Myanmar-30292823.html

BUSINESS EXPANSION

KHINE KYAW
MYANMAR ELEVEN
YANGON August 13, 2016 1:00 am
Stephen Twining attends the official launch of Twinings tea in Myanmar./Khine Kyaw

Stephen Twining attends the official launch of Twinings tea in Myanmar./Khine Kyaw

MYANMAR has become the 116th market for Twinings, one of the world’s best-selling premium tea brands.

Stephen Twining, a member of the 10th generation of the family that has churned out the premium tea for 310 years, was at the official launch in Myanmar on August 5. He said Myanmar offered a opportunity for high growth, with a large tea-drinking population.

“Tea is well-loved in Myanmar, so it makes absolute sense for Twinings to be here. I am delighted to experience Myanmar’s unique culture and our shared passion for tea,” he said.

“Twinings never accepts anything less than perfect. Today, Twinings tea is enjoyed by millions in 116 countries worldwide, including Myanmar.”

Five labels will be available in the market – Earl Grey, English breakfast, jasmine green tea, pure camomile and pure peppermint.

Market research was conducted before the official launch and the company decided to award the distribution rights to AB Food |& Beverages and Premium Distribution. The products are now available in supermarkets and gourmet stores in major cities and destinations including Yangon, Mandalay, Nay Pyi Taw, Bagan, Taunggyi, Inle, Ngapali and Mawlamyaing – major destinations for both local and foreign tourists.

Twining believes that the demand for high-quality tea will rise as the country opens up.

“We certainly see good prospects here in Myanmar. We will be targeting top hotels. I know Myanmar received nearly 5 million tourists last year. That is also expected to grow a great deal in the coming years. And we will also be looking to partner with supermarkets,” he said.

Twining said the company would focus on maintaining quality rather than thinking about competition. He believes in taking early-bird advantages.

“I think we are the first premium fine-quality tea company here. And we will continue to actively promote ourselves. We are working with our retail partners to reach everywhere” in Myanmar, he said.

Twinings will open a tea parlour in Myanmar in the years to come, as it did in Bangkok.

Innovated ice cream shop offers durian flavour

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http://www.nationmultimedia.com/business/Innovated-ice-cream-shop-offers-durian-flavour-30292807.html

SMES CORNER

Petchanet Pratruangkrai
The Nation August 13, 2016 1:00 am

The creative ice-cream brand IceDEA, established four years ago, is seeing sales take off after introducing a new product with the taste and appearance of a durian.

Prima Chakrabandhu Na Ayudhya, an ice-cream designer and owner of IceDEA Co, said “Thai Durian Ice Cream” was inspired after many elderly Thais and foreign travellers had asked for this flavour.

Prima said she had decided to respond to this demand not just with the flavour of durian, but by shaping the ice-cream product just like a real durian to attract consumers.

“After creating the durian flavour, sales at the shop have increased fivefold, compared with normal growth of about 10 per cent last year,” she said.

For a regular flavour, the price of a scoop of IceDEA ice cream starts at Bt59, but for the Thai Durian flavour, the price is Bt239.

Other flavours on the menu are Grass Brownie, Tonkatsu, Chinese Dumpling, and Steak. Prices vary from Bt159 to Bt179 per dish.

Prima is a graduate of the industrial department of the faculty of architecture at Chulalongkorn University.

Prima, 35, said that as the ice-cream market in Thailand was highly competitive, she wanted to differentiate her products from the mainstream. So she decided to combine ice cream with creative ideas – “IceDEA”.

The IceDEA ice-cream shop is currently located at the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre. In the near future, Prima plans to expnad her shop start an export business after a good response from the market, particularly from mainland Chinese and Hong Kong tourists.

However, before getting too ambitious she has to increase her production line, which now can produce 1,300 pieces of ice cream per day.

For the Thai Durian flavour, the company will use about a tonne of fresh durian each month.

Creativity can help differentiate a business from its competitors. IceDEA is applying to the Intellectual Property Department for a petty patent and for a copyright as an innovated art product.

Central sharpens focus on Vietnam

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http://www.nationmultimedia.com/business/Central-sharpens-focus-on-Vietnam-30292735.html

INVESTMENT

KWANCHAI RUNGFAPAISARN
THE NATION August 12, 2016 1:00 am
Jariya Chirathivat, right, representative of Central Group and Central Group Vietnam, and Sanan Angubolkul, left, president of The Thailand-Vietnam Business Council, and chairman and president of Srithai Superware, pose at forum, entitled ‘Fostering Econo

Jariya Chirathivat, right, representative of Central Group and Central Group Vietnam, and Sanan Angubolkul, left, president of The Thailand-Vietnam Business Council, and chairman and president of Srithai Superware, pose at forum, entitled ‘Fostering Econo

CENTRAL Group will focus on launching all of its strategic businesses in Vietnam, its second-largest market.

“There are many businesses, especially hotels and shopping malls, that have not been yet been developed in Vietnam by Central Group. We will also continue the expansion of our existing businesses in the country,” Jariya Chirathivat, a representative of Central Group and Central Group Vietnam, said yesterday.

Central Group employs 11,500 people in Vietnam. Most are Vietnamese. They work at the group’s stores, logistics centres and head office.

Central Group Vietnam was established in 2011 with the debut of a 450-square-metre Supersport store, along with Crocs and New Balance stores, in the Vincom Centre Ba Trieu, the most luxurious shopping centre in Hanoi.

The company now runs 26 stores in Vietnam – 11 Supersport, nine Crocs, five New Balance and one Speedo store.

However, it will triple its presence in Vietnam with the acquisition, along with Nguyen Kim, of Big C Vietnam’s 43 branches comprising 33 hypermarkets and 10 convenience stores in a 920-million-euro (Bt35.7 billion) deal.

The “C” of Big C stands for “Central”, because this brand was created by Central Group.

“We will continue the expansion of our major retail chains in Vietnam. We plan to open four to five stores every year from each of our major retail chains, comprising Big C, Nguyen Kim and Lan Chi Mart,” Jariya said.

“Our future investment in Vietnam will be through joint ventures with local partners in the country so that we can transfer our know-how and experience and grow the business together.”

Sanan Angubolkul, president of the Thailand-Vietnam Business Council and chairman and president of Srithai Superware, said the outstanding characteristics of Vietnam, compared with other neighbouring countries, was the government’s stability and its policy to promote foreign investment.

The Communist government has also revised laws and regulations to make foreign investment more convenient and effective.

“The Vietnamese government decided to participate in various bilateral and mutual trade deals, especially free-trade agreements and the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which will benefit the country’s exports to the US and Europe,” he said.

“Trade between Thailand and Vietnam is expected to increase dramatically from US$14 billion last year to about $20 billion in 2020. Thailand is now ranked as the seventh-largest foreign investor in Vietnam, up from 11th last year,” he said.

Stanley Kang, chairman of the Joint Foreign Chambers of Commerce in Thailand, said Vietnam offered huge investment opportunities for Thai investors, thanks to the Vietnamese government’s decision to ratify the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal, which can enhance shared trade benefits by eliminating barriers in the expansion of exports into countries.

“We will propose to the Thai government the introduction of the Thailand Plus team in Vietnam, Myanmar and Indonesia to help support and facilitate Thai investors who have expanded their business into these markets,” he said.

The Thailand Plus team will be officially set up in Thailand next month with representatives from the government, including the Commerce and Foreign ministries and Board of Investment, as well as the private sector, such as business councils and associations.

The team will conduct insight studies about trade and investment regulations to be advised to the Thai government to enhance government-to-government discussions in order to remove those trade and investment limitations.

MINT reports 60% rise in H1 net profit

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http://www.nationmultimedia.com/business/MINT-reports-60-rise-in-H1-net-profit-30292725.html

FINANCIAL RESULT

THE NATION August 12, 2016 1:00 am

MINOR International (MINT) reported net profit of Bt4.3 billion for the first half of this year, a 60-per-cent increase from Bt2.69 billion in the same period of last year thanks to the strong performance of the group’s restaurant and hospitality businesses.

Excluding non-recurring items and the non-recurring revaluation contribution from the Sun International portfolio acquisition in the first quarter of last year, MINT’s net profit increased by 9 per cent in the first half of this year compared with a year earlier.

A company press release yesterday said the non-recurring items included a revaluation contribution from the Tivoli acquisition in the first quarter of this year and a fair-value adjustment of investment in the BreadTalk Group in Singapore in the second quarter.

Minor Hotels reported a net-profit increase of 73 per cent in the first half, reflecting its strong acquisition capabilities as well as the solid operational performance of its existing hotel and residential portfolios, MINT said. Minor Food reported a net-profit increase of 34 per cent in the first half and of 67 per cent in the second quarter.

These year-on-year increases were primarily a result of the strong performance of the Thailand and China hubs, a higher contribution from Minor DKL in Australia after Minor Food’s increase in shareholding from 50 per cent to 70 per cent last November 2015, and the fair-value adjustment of investment in BreadTalk Group upon the change of investment status from available-for-sale investment to investment in an associate.

Meanwhile, Minor Retail reported a year-on-year net profit decrease of 41 per cent in the first half, primarily due to the pre-opening expenses of two new brands, Brooks Brothers and Kojima Premium Denim, which were launched in the second quarter.

Thai Optical on track for 10% revenue growth

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http://www.nationmultimedia.com/business/Thai-Optical-on-track-for-10-revenue-growth-30292714.html

OUTLOOK

THE NATION August 12, 2016 1:00 am

THAI OPTICAL GROUP is maintaining this year’s revenue-growth target at 10 per cent after reporting revenue of Bt964.59 million and net profit of Bt108.15 million in the first half, up 11.22 and 28.22 per cent respectively from the same period of last year, said Sarath Teganjanavanich, vice president for business planning and finance.

He said the strong performance stemmed from overall market growth, especially in the premium segment, while the company also applied efficient cost controls.

Thai Optical will pay interim dividends to shareholders next month, he said.

He said the recent roadshow in the United States by the company’s executives demonstrated the confidence Thai Optical’s product quality, especially its value-added or premium segment.

Additionally, the launch of LeafEco, a plastic lens made from bio-based material, has attracted high interest because of the concerns about global warming.

The company claims LeafEco helps reduce carbon-dioxide emissions at the beginning of production while yielding similar optical characteristics and production costs as petroleum-based lens.

The company continuously puts emphasis on research and development to bring out innovative products and services, Sarath said.

He said a new automated prescription-lens production line was expected to be completed by year-end after an investment of more than Bt350 million. The commercial operating date is due in the first quarter of 2017.

This production line is aimed at elevating the company’s service level, enhancing the opportunity to acquire new accounts as well as revenue generation thanks to its 24-hour, seven-day service. An additional LeafEco production line will serve the environmentally conscious market. These factors are expected to maintain the company’s annual growth at more than 10 per cent.

At present, the company’s revenue contribution is 95 per cent international sales and 5 per cent domestic sales. Its major markets are Europe, North America and Asia-Pacific.

Within the Asean Economic Community, Thai Optical believes Vietnam has the highest growth potential, as Vietnamese consumers are confident in the quality of Thai products. The next growth markets are Malaysia and Singapore.

Grammy’s digital channels ‘will hit revenue targets’

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http://www.nationmultimedia.com/business/Grammys-digital-channels-will-hit-revenue-targets-30292661.html

WATCHIRANONT THONGTEP
THE NATION August 11, 2016 1:00 am

GMM Grammy still believes that its two terrestrial-based digital TV channels will achieve their revenue targets, thanks mainly to content strategy, even though advertisers have been tightening their budgets this year.

“Our super-prime-time slots from 6.20pm to 10pm have been fully booked by advertisers. With this full occupancy, the channel has decided to raise advertising rates by 15 per cent, effective next month, from the previous rates announced early this year,” Surapol Perapongpipath, director for sales at GMM One Digital TV, the operator of One 31 channel, said yesterday.

This decision follows a big improvement in the channel’s ratings this year after adding more top-rated dramas, situation comedies and game shows.

GMM One chief executive officer Takonkiet Viravan said that among the top six free-to-air TV stations, One 31 anticipated the highest growth in audience ratings. Between January and late last month, One 31 posted 0.629 rating point, a 63.5-per-cent jump from the same period last year.

The channel is preparing new programme line-ups for the remaining months, including top-ranked US format show “The Bachelor”, which will be made into a local version by production house Kantana Group.

Surapol said One 31’s business performance in the first half was higher than projected, so he believed that full-year revenue would hit the target of Bt1.8 billion.

Meanwhile, Saithip Montrikul Na Ayudhaya, CEO of GMM Channel Digital TV, the operator of GMM 25 digital TV station, said her channel was now on the right track in terms of revenue earnings.

Challenging economy

“So far, we have made more than Bt400 million in revenue, which is already on par with last year’s. Our projection for this year is Bt800 million,” Saithip said.

She acknowledged that doing business amid an economic slowdown was quite difficult, but her team had offered more flexible and valued packages to attract and retain advertisers and sponsors. For example, they could place their products in the programmes, participate in on-ground events and get online exposure via rerun programmes on YouTube and Line TV.

Before commencing the production of a top-rated drama, GMM 25 has to propose the project to potential clients to make sure they will invest in it. For example, a new version of “O-Negative” will start production soon, having been fully booked by advertisers and sponsors.

Affiliates such as GDH, GMM TV and GMM Bravo, which act as content providers for the channel, have followed the same strategy to ensure that they receive sufficient funds to make each programme profitable.

Early this year, GMM Grammy budgeted about Bt2 billion for content production for both digital channels.