It said it now had exclusive premiere rights in the region to top NBCU TV series including the critically acclaimed “Mr Robot”, “Difficult People and Hunters” and the “The Magicians”.

“The Magicians” is based on Lev Grossman’s best-selling novels and the new series will come to iflix this month. Each show will be available for the first time in Thailand only on iflix.

James Bridges, iflix group chief content officer, said the firm was thrilled to strengthen its partnership with NBCU, which began with our acquisition of Mr Robot last year.

Adding more upcoming exclusives, along with an “outstanding selection of the studio’s most iconic titles”, allows iflix to further expand on the considerable breadth and quality of content we already offer our members, he said.

Belinda Menendez, president of NBCU- niversal International Distribution & Net-works, said the multi-year deal was an exciting evolution in NBCUniversal’s relationship with iflix. “We are thrilled to be able to complement iflix’s ambitious content strategy by licensing such a compelling and broad range of quality series to the service, maximising value for subscribers,” she said.

“This has allowed us to come up with products that address the lifestyle needs of our customers and respond to the limitations of every market where they are launched. As a result, our products have been well received by the CLMV [Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam] market.

“Most orders come from traders and those who cross the border to find products, given that the advent of the Asean Economic Community makes it easier to do so,” he said.

TCC exports to 36 countries around the world, with shipments accounting for about 80 per cent of sales.

Aphisak said that when it comes to its Chaokoh-branded items, TCC is the No-1 brand among Thai consumers, with an estimated market share of 60 to 70 per cent.

“However, when looking at Mae Ploy, we have to say that this brand is much better received in foreign markets than in the domestic market. Now that Mae Ploy has been well received worldwide, we’re looking to refocus on the domestic market,” he explained.

“We look to growth of 5-10 per cent for the brands every year …If we can achieve our goal over the next three years, our sales will grow to Bt7 billion [from Bt6 billion in 2014],” the MD said.

While there is no clear-cut figure on the market share claimed by competitors, TCC’s estimate of Chaokoh’s share is based on product popularity, order levels and the number of products on the shelves as observed nationwide, he said.

However, given the current market situation, the likelihood of the global economy continuing to struggle over the next few years, and new players entering the market, it is quite a challenge to maintain a 70-per-cent share, he added.

“For our Mae Ploy brand, it turns out that overseas customers find it more difficult to find Mae Ploy products in Thailand than abroad. As a result, we have taken a careful look at our products … thinking that we should place greater focus on the domestic market to allow more Thais to experience the taste, too,” Aphisak said.

The company continues to improve the brand’s production facilities, investing to bring the production line up to a high standard – and to reach a capacity that can satisfy demand.

This year, TCC is buying more machines and improving the production line further, as well as adding environment-friendly facilities.

Apart from the Bt300-million investments in new machinery for its Chaokoh and Mae Ploy factories, the company has since the end of 2015 further modified its wastewater-treatment plants, expanded its warehouses and enhanced its boilers, as well as installing new equipment to increase the speed and efficiency of the production process, which is expected to cost about Bt100 million, he said.

These investments will allow the Chaokoh factories to achieve a production capacity of 120,000 tonnes per year, against 80,000-100,000 tonnes currently.

The focus is on the brand’s coconut milk, coconut water, and fruit and vegetable products.

Mae Ploy factories, meanwhile, will reach an aggregate production capacity of up to 20,000 tonnes per year, with a focus on sweet chili sauce for chicken, curry pastes and chili pastes.

The expansion will enable TCC to expand the market not only in Thailand, but also in high-potential markets in Europe, China, Japan and Singapore.

“We also plan to become better known as a global brand, and this year we are partnering with Liverpool Football Club, which brings us not only a better global brand image but greater access to different groups of customers with diverse lifestyles worldwide,” he added.

AWN is a wholly owned subsidiary of Advanced Info Service (AIS). The planned joint trial service will last six months, after which they will sign other contracts as part of their partnership to provide third-generation cellular service on TOT’s 2.1GHz band. During the trial period, TOT is expected to gain Bt300 million per month from wholesaling its spectrum to AWN to jointly provide the service.

A TOT source said the first issue was that AWN would have to report to TOT about the progress of the joint service.

Moreover, TOT has to urge AWN to agree to lease the 2G-900MHz network equipment under the TOT concession. The state agency expects to earn Bt2 billion a year in network rental fees for five years from this planned deal.

TOT will also have to urge AWN to agree to lease the 13,000 telecom towers that are currently subject to a dispute between TOT and AIS over their ownership.

The state agency expects to earn annual rental fees of Bt3.6 billion from that deal with AWN. In parallel, TOT and AIS have to settle their dispute quickly.

Recently the Office of the Attorney-General advised TOT to refrain from signing this contract with AWN pending the complete clarification of its legal aspects. TOT had asked the A-G’s office to examine the revised draft of the contract and sent its representatives to explain details of the proposal.

The office replied to TOT that it should not enter the contract unless it obtains clear answers from relevant state agencies TOT has consulted on whether the planned partnership complies with the Public Private Joint Venture Act of 2013 and the Frequency Allocation Act of 2010. If it is found that the deal does not comply with those laws, this would invalidate the memorandum of understanding on the partnership signed between AIS and TOT on March 29.

As TOT plans to enter this contract with AWN, not with AIS, TOT should find out first if AIS owns more than half of AWN or controls AWN management. TOT should also examine whether AWN is in a position to take on the financial responsibility required by the terms of the contract.

The Office of the Attorney-General said that during the joint test of the service, during which AIS will allow its subscribers to use TOT’s network and vice versa, TOT should get a clear answer from AIS first on whether TOT will have to pay for its use of AIS’s network during the test. If so, will TOT itself or its subscribers pay those costs?

The office also advised TOT not to sign the contract unless it completely settles the dispute with AIS over the ownership of the telecom towers under the concession, as the joint service trial would require the use of equipment on the disputed towers.

“We now are combining the strengths of our four key units after the organisational restructuring. With the pooling of resources, we will be able to share knowledge. However, we have no plan to cut jobs,” Songkran Sethesompobe, chief executive of the Leo Burnett Group and Publicis One Thailand, said yesterday.

Brands under the Publicis One Thailand umbrella include Leo Burnett, Arc, Alpha 245, Publicis, Nurun, Saatchi & Saatchi, Razorfish, Starcom, MediaVest, and ZenithOptimedia.

The new way of management is expected to support business growth in the near future as each unit has its own strengths. For example, Leo Burnett Group Thailand, which yesterday celebrated its 50th anniversary in the Kingdom, is recognised as a leader in communication, corporate social responsibility and creative work. Publicis is an expert in dealing with international clients as well as those in the health and beauty industry.

Meanwhile, Saatchi & Saatchi Thailand is a working place for younger people and Starcom Mediavest is a specialist in media investment and management.

After the change, the 150 staff members at Leo Burnett had more opportunity to collaborate with the other 250 employees in the network, Songkran said. This will also help the group offer clients more holistic plans and creative solutions.

The CEO said the group expected revenue to surpass the ad industry’s growth this year, estimating about 3-5 per cent.

“Our performance at Leo Burnett in the first quarter was right on track. In the current quarter, my company has received a number of new assignments from clients. This reflected that brands and companies are confident enough to spend money on advertising, particularly the telecommunications, information technology and automotive industries,” he said.

This year, Leo Burnett is welcoming new big-name clients Total Access Communication (DTAC) and Ovaltine. Currently the firm manages about 40 clients.

Songkran acknowledged that the mushrooming of digital agencies to cash in on the surge of online media usage was a threat to his company. But he believes that with the international expertise in its network and its holistic approach to communication, it can create more value for its clients than those rival agencies.

Surapant said the board wanted to maximise the benefit to CAT from the deal with DTAC.

The board will consider any new proposal at its next meeting.

After the board approves the plan, CAT will submit it to the minister of information and communications technology and the Cabinet for consideration. If all goes as planned, CAT is expected to launch the 4G service with DTAC in fourth quarter, he said.

Under the existing plan, CAT was to lease 85 per cent of the currently idle 20MHz to DTAC and the rest to mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs). DTAC would also have to provide 9,500 base stations to service this project until 2018.

The more the project is delayed, the greater will be the impact on CAT’s quest for new revenue sources, Surapant said.

CAT previously awarded a concession to DTAC to operate 50MHz of the 1,800MHz spectrum, of which half is being used. Later the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission combined 5MHz of the unused band with other portions of the 1,800MHz spectrum for auction late last year. Then the NBTC allowed CAT and DTAC to upgrade the remaining 20MHz idle band jointly until 2018.