If there is only one bidder in this new 900MHz round, the NBTC will still allow the auction to take place as the starting price is already high.

The NBTC panel drafting the auction rules will submit the proposed rules for its telecom committee’s consideration today.

Under the proposals, the starting bid price is set at Bt75.654 billion and the bidders each can raise the price by Bt161 million for each round until the bidding ends.

In the previous round in December, they were permitted to raise the price by Bt644 million per round until the licence price reached its full value. Bidders were then able to raise the price by Bt322 million per round.

The NBTC is setting tougher auction rules on this occasion to address the problem of a possible default in regard to payment of the initial licence upfront payment by prospective winners.

This follows the failure of Jas Mobile Broadband – winner of a 900MHz licence in the previous auction – to make such a fee payment by the NBTC’s deadline of March 21.

It is this licence which is now being put up for auction, and the starting price of around Bt75.65 is the amount that Jas successfully offered three months ago.

The total licence payment terms are the same as in the last auction: the winner will pay Bt8.04 billion in the first year, Bt4.02 billion in both the second and third years, and the remainder in the fourth year.

The telecom committee will submit the draft for the NBTC board’s consideration on April 5, and will hold a public hearing on April 22.

Bids will be invited from May 13 to June 12, with prospective bidders submitting documents on June 14.

The NBTC will hold the auction on June 24.

Meanwhile, the NBTC subcommittee assigned to consider possible damage from the Jas case will hold its first meeting today.

Yesterday, during a seminar on the 4G held by Than Settakij newspaper, NBTC telecom committee chairman Settapong Malisuwan tried to convince both Advanced Info Service (AIS) and True Corp to join the new auction round.

Somchai Lertsutiwong , AIS’s chief executive officer, said the company was awaiting the final auction rules and it was the board that would make the final decision on whether to bid.

He also acknowledged that AIS had signed a memorandum of understanding with TOT on March 29 for a strategic partnership to allow AIS to use the agency’s 2.1GHz spectrum for a trial service offering on a non-commercial basis.

True Corp CEO Suphachai Chearavanont said True needed time to consider whether to join the auction in light of the new bank-guarantee condition.

Supawan Teerarat, the TCEB’s vice president for strategic and business development, said the ART campaign was aimed at upgrading the Thai exhibition industry, providing financial support for international marketing activities, developing the exhibition network through collaboration with key government bodies, and collaborating with the private-sector organisations and exhibition-industry associations to help identify market opportunities.

Under the criteria set by the TCEB in partnership with the Thai Exhibition Association and the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry (UFI), nine trade shows have been selected for the ART campaign.

They are GRTE 2016 (Global Rubber, Latex & Tire Expo), Automotive Manufacturing 2016, Assembly and Automation Technology 2016, Food & Hotel Thailand 2016, SIMA Asean Thailand 2016, Thailand Lab International 2016, Beyond Beauty Asean Bangkok 2016, Asean Sustainable Energy Week 2016, and 3W Expo 2016.

The TCEB has developed a three-year (2015-2017) ART campaign with a target to drive 30-per-cent annual growth in the international-exhibition industry, focusing on five fundamental industries according to the Asean Economic Community’s growth trends, namely automotive, energy, food and agricultural products, health and beauty, and infrastructure.

Supawan said that this year, the TCEB was providing more marketing activities to bring in more visitors and buyers for the trade shows. It will create international media support with a testimonial campaign via CNN’s special “Road to Asean” series, which will be broadcast between April and September. In addition, the bureau will organise special awards for the best performance and best recognition.

Jaruwan Suwannasart, TCEB’s director of exhibitions and events, said Thailand had been positioned as Asean’s ultimate exhibition marketplace and a key driver for national economic growth. Thailand is also a regional trade centre and a production and export powerhouse for various industries.

“Thanks to the ART campaign last year with 12 selected trade shows, the number of international exhibitions increased by 31.9 per cent, and the number of Asean trade visitors represented 45.3 per cent.

“These achievements formed a connection between key trade associations in Asean and promoting sustainable growth of the exhibition sector,” Jaruwan said.

He said advertisers had changed their communication strategy by shifting from traditional to digital media because these communication channels allow them to hit their targeted audiences with cost-effectiveness.

“Amid the economic slowdown, brands and marketers are putting more focus on short-term strategies by using digital media to lead customers to make a purchase, including e-commerce, rather than building brand awareness,” he explained.

The DAAT forecasts that spending on digital advertising will rise by 23 per cent to Bt9.927 billion this year from Bt8.064 billion in 2015.

Encouraged by the surge of online video consumption and active mobile Internet users after the full launch of third- and fourth-generation wireless broadband, social-media networks have become the most popular tools to engage directly with target audiences and boost sales.

Arpapat Boonrod, managing director of marketing-information firm TNS (Thailand), said that last year the telecommunication sector led the way in online advertising spending, followed by automotive and skincare, while banking and financial services faced a slight drop.

The rising stars so far this year have been the insurance sector with 44-per-cent growth, followed by non-alcoholic and alcoholic beverages and government organisations.

These findings were derived through a collaboration of the DAAT and TNS Thailand, a media-research firm under the WPP Group. They questioned 23 digital agencies about the ad-spending habits they expected from their clients from the current quarter onwards.

The agencies participating in the survey represent more than 80 per cent of total digital-ad expenditure.

NMG chief executive officer Duangkamol Chotana said in a statement that police should quickly investigate the SEC complaint about alleged violation of stock market rules so as to boost transparency in the Thai capital market.

Based on the SEC complaint, NMG believes it had made a valid argument that the three parties had acted in concert to acquire NMG shares in violation of stock market regulations.

“This case concerning acquisition of NMG shares is a complicated case for the capital market. It’s rather difficult to understand, but some facts have now emerged so we hope that this case will help upgrade the Thai stock market’s regulatory standard,” she said.

News, Polar to fight case

Meanwhile, News and Polar yesterday also issued statements clarifying their positions over the SEC criminal complaint in which the two listed firms and Siwasit were accused of breaking the rules on share acquisition with an intent to illegally take over a listed company.

News was formerly called Solution Corner (1988) or SLC, while Polar was known as Wattana Capital.

According to the SEC complaint filed with the National Police Bureau’s Economic Crimes Division, News, Polar and Siwasit did not comply with the SEC’s rules when they jointly bought shares of NMG in December 2014.

Under the rules, any share acquisition in excess of 5 per cent is required to be reported to the SEC and any share acquisition in excess of 25 per cent of total shareholdings of a listed firm is required to be accompanied by a tender offer to buy the rest of the shares.

Both News and Polar denied the SEC charges and vowed to fight the case in court.

News also told the SEC that its shareholding ratio in NMG had declined because other shareholders had recently exercised their rights to buy new NMG stock.

Airbus Helicopters also sees huge demand in Indonesia, emerging demand in the Philippines, and more room for business expansion in Taiwan, where it plans to enter with its new H145 model for the first time.

In Thailand, Airbus Helicopter’s customers increased from six in 2009 to 14 in 2015. It plans to have 11 H145 in operation by 2017, from the current fleet of 9.

The H145 civilian helicopter is back in Asia to showcase demonstration flights in Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and Taiwan.

The first H145 demo tour in the region was held in Southeast Asia in 2013, covering Thailand and Malaysia, since which time there has been increasing interest in the rotorcraft, especially in the emergency medical services (EMS) and commercial/business aviation segments, he said.

Current and potential customers will have an opportunity to get familiar with this best-selling light twin-engine rotorcraft, which incorporates Airbus Helicopters’ trademark Fenestronand innovative Helionix avionics suite for enhanced safety, increased performance and reduced pilot workload, he added.

Equipped with a large cabin accommodating up to eight passengers – or 10 in special-operations seating – a compact airframe and powerful engines, the H145 features sophisticated mission capabilities and flexibility, especially in high-and-hot operating conditions, the vice president said.

The H145 is the latest member of the 4-tonne-class H145 family, which has a fleet of 1,230 aircraft in service around the world clocking over 4.4 million flight hours.

Although the aircraft is very popular in the EMS and corporate transportation segments, its built-in flexibility makes it the best choice for a wide variety of missions, Lionel Sinai-Sinelnikoff said.

The newest, enhanced H145, which entered into service in mid-2014, has already seen some 54 helicopters in operation in 14 countries, accumulating more than 15,400 flight hours with an average availability of over 90 per cent.