Yanyong Muneemongkolton general manager of Epson (Thailand), said yesterday that in the fiscal year starting next month, revenue growth Ffrom the international market alone, including Pakistan, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam, is expected to be 15 per cent and from the Thai market about 8 per cent.

Revenue will come 79 per cent from the domestic market and 21 per cent from the international market.

The three main products are inkjet printers, textile and signage printers, and projectors.

The firm will provide new products with low running costs, high performance and mobility.

It will also come out with a variety of products such as high-performance printers, mobile projectors and laser projectors.

It will work on increasing customer satisfaction by providing products with low running costs to help customers reduce expenses, increasing their efficiency, expanding their business and finding lightweight and portable devices.

More L-Series models will be launched to respond more comprehensively to the various needs of customers.

Epson projectors’ brightness |will range from 6,000-25,000 lumens.

The inkjet-printer business expects to gain 15 per cent in sales, textile and signage printers 15 per cent and the projector business 8 per cent this year.

The firm will expand its business base in the provincial market. Distributors will be boosted from 166 now to 180 before year-end.

Specialised distributors will |be developed to handle each customer group, including the government-agency group, the textile-industry group and the professional group, namely hospitals and |clinics.

This approach will be applied to emerging Indochinese markets under Epson Thailand’s supervision.

In fiscal 2015, revenue growth from the Thai market was 6 per cent and from the international market 16 per cent. The Thai market contributed 81 per cent of revenue and the international market 19 per cent. The highest revenue gain was in Vietnam.

“On 2015 operating results, we believe our recognised revenue from the sales of all product categories across all markets under Epson Thailand’s supervision must have increased by 8 per cent,” Yanyong said.

“In overseas markets, namely Vietnam, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Pakistan, the growth rate should be as high as 16 per cent.”

The firm in fiscal 2015 achieved the highest growth rate of 15 per cent in inkjet-printer sales. It also gained the No 1 share for inkjet printers in Thailand with 41 per cent.

The main market targets are SOHO (small office and home office) and SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises).

The firm in fiscal 2015 saw |revenue growth from its TM-series printers of 16 per cent, followed |by projectors at 3 per cent and |commercial and industrial printers at 1 per cent.

Worawut Unjai, chief executive of the COL Group, which runs the company, said OfficeMate was the first company in the group to expand into Asean Economic Community countries.

“We will continue to expand to welcome the AEC. We are adding branches in Vietnam, which will officially open this year,” he said.

He said the company had 60 branches in Thailand at the end of last year and would open eight more this year – six in Bangkok and it outskirts, one in the South and one in the North.

New OfficeMate branches will be located at business areas and major cities. The group will also revamp the look and display of products systematically for convenience.

In February, three branches opened at Tesco Lotus Khok Chang in Phitsanulok province, Central Festival EastVille, and Big C Hua Mak.

COL Group is a subsidiary of Central Group, and the operator of many business units, including B2S, Central Online Shopping, Mobile E-Books, and Cenergy Innovation.

Wilawan Rerkriengkrai, managing director of OfficeMate, said that in 2016 the company would continue to be No 1 in office supplies in Thailand.

“We have seen steady growth in every distribution channel, whether throughout stores, our call centre, or online through our website and mobile application, which was launched last year,” she said.

“OfficeMate has new and diverse products for all business types and sizes, so we have better opportunities. The prices of our products are clearly displayed, while our storage and logistics management teams work effectively to ensure speedy delivery, which is important for corporate clients.

“This year, we predict that our sales will grow by 15 per cent to Bt7.5 billion. Of that number, 49 per cent will come from sales at the stores, 36 per cent through the call centre, and 15 per cent through e-commerce.

“We have prepared Bt350 million to support our activities this year, of which Bt150 million will for marketing activities, Bt100 million for opening new branches and renovating existing ones, and Bt100 million for improving our storage, logistics and call-centre systems.”

Worawut said the COL Group posted Bt10.8 billion in total revenue in 2015, up 9.2 per cent over the previous year.

He said the group’s net profit was Bt397 million, thanks to its adjusted strategies and management policy for better efficiency.

The group increased the number of products and services to address customers’ needs and catered to various businesses.

COL Group expects to grow its revenue this year by 10 per cent to Bt11.9 billion.

“In 2015, OfficeMate’s e-commerce revenue increased by 5 per cent, and the growth from the e-commerce business is expected at 55 per cent this year, or Bt1 billion,” he said. “This is in line with the e-commerce trend today, which is growing constantly.

“We are certain that the domestic revenue of OfficeMate will reach Bt10 billion by 2020. Later this year, OfficeMate will launch a viral campaign to reaffirm our status as the best choice for business solutions.

“Our distribution channels and our call centre are very important for our business. OfficeMate never stops improving quality in our automated answering system and our staff.

“In February, OfficeMate opened a new call-centre head office at the Hua Mak town centre, Ramkhamhaeng 27, to facilitate our expansion and increase efficiency. The call centre is systematically managed, and we welcome other businesses that want to come and learn about our management system.”

The company made the move after the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission told it yesterday that it had to shut down the 2G service at midnight tonight, when the remedy period it had granted AIS will end.

AIS executives then decided to seek the injunction to protect its subscribers and to ask for an extension of the remedy period, which the NBTC had granted after AIS’s concession expired last year.

AIS informed the Stock Exchange of Thailand yesterday of its application for an injunction. The company said it was attempting to mitigate the effects of service disruption in accordance with the NBTC’s aim for the best interest of the public and ensuring service continuity.

The SET filing was signed by AIS chief executive officer Somchai Lertsutiwong.

The court yesterday asked the NBTC to explain its position today.

Last Friday, AIS submitted its last request to the NBTC for an extension of the remedy period for its customers 2G on to 900-megahertz spectrum.

It also asked permission to use only the idle 5MHz of the 900MHz band in Lot 1 to ensure continuity of service. Lot 1 was assigned to Jas Mobile Broadband, one of the two companies that won licences last year to use the 900MHz spectrum.

However, the NBTC has insisted all along that it cannot extend the remedy period, citing its telecom committee’s decision requiring AIS to shut down its 2G service when the NBTC grants one of the 900MHz licences to either winner of last year’s auction.

The telecom committee awarded the 15-year 900MHz licence to True Move H Universal Communication (TUC) yesterday, for effect tomorrow.

Suphachai Chearavanont, chief executive officer of True Corp, said after receiving the licence that True would launch the 900MHz service full-scale nationwide at the end of May on 16,000 sites.

Takorn Tantasith, secretary-general of the NBTC, said the other 900MHz licence winner, Jas, had reportedly clinched a loan from foreign banks so it could afford to pay the fees required to secure the licence.

Jas has yet to pay the first instalment of the upfront licence fee. The deadline is Monday.

AIS has about 8 million 2G customers, of whom 7.6 million are with the network of its subsidiary Advanced Wireless Network (AWN) and the rest, about 400,000, are on its own network. AIS will roam AWN’s 2G customers on the 1,800MHz band of Total Access Communication (DTAC).

Takorn believes that AIS’s service shutdown would likely affect only a few of the 400,000 AIS customers because the NBTC last Thursday ordered AIS to hurry to transfer all of its 400,000 2G customers to AWN. The phone-number portability centre can serve 60,000 switches per day.

He also believes that not all of these 400,000 customers are active.

Takorn urged AIS’s 2G-900MHz subscribers to hurry and transfer their mobile-phone numbers yesterday and today before their service is turned off. If they can do so on time, they can continue using their old numbers.

While AIS wants to transfer all 400,000 2G customers to AWN via the over-the-air method on their mobile phones, Takorn said this request could not be granted.

Somchai Lertsutiwong, chief executive officer of AIS, insisted that the NBTC had the authority to consider allowing AIS to use Jas’s band, since Jas had yet to pick its licence up.

AIS has been prepared since the end of the auction of 900MHz licences late last year to ensure all customers can continue calling, he said.

The existing measures to protect consumers began with the launch of the campaign to migrate 2G customers to AWN, followed by roaming them with DTAC and expanding AWN’s network to cover blind spots in coverage.

He said the roaming deal with DTAC had no term. Neither side specified when the agreement would end.

Last week True offered its 900MHz band to AIS to use free of charge for three months to serve its 2G customers.

Somchai said AIS had never been approached directly by True on this matter.

He doubts that the proposal is practical, as it might not comply with NBTC rules and regulations.

The average monthly revenue per user of these 400,000 2G customers is about Bt100.

Somchai said the service cut-off would not affect AIS’s image but that of the whole industry, as the disconnected customers would rush to complain on social media about who is to blame. He does not want to see that happen.

WEH will also purchase 50 per cent of CWP’s Australian business, including 800 megawatts in assets on which construction will start this year.

These assets will continue to be developed by CWP Renewables, which will be integrated with the WEH team to deliver and manage further projects across Asia.

The acquisition marks WEH’s first international investment as it strives to become one of the world’s leading renewable-energy companies over the next decade. Combining WEH’s existing capabilities with CWP’s expertise and talent is expected to strengthen the Thai company, enabling it to accelerate its global growth, as well as the development of its projects in Thailand and Australia.

WEH says CWP has an outstanding global track record of renewable-energy development, with more than two decades of experience in developing and managing 4,200MW of installed capacity across 20 countries.

Since entering the Australian market in 2007, it has successfully developed the 113MW Boco Rock Wind Farm in 2014 and has established a project-development plan totalling more than 800MW.

One of these pending projects is the 260MW Sapphire Wind Farm, which achieved state planning approval in 2013 and federal planning approval in 2014, and it was recently announced as the fifth and final winner of the Australian Capital Territory government’s large-scale wind-power reverse auction.

In addition to its development activities, CWP manages more than 220MW of wind-power assets across two wind farms in Australia.

Mark Crandall, chairman of the executive board at Continental Wind Partners, said: “Since founding Continental Wind Partners in 2007, we have successfully developed and operated a number of wind farms across Eastern Europe and Australia. Given WEH’s strong track record and capabilities, it is an ideal partner to develop what is an exceptionally attractive and exciting Australian [enterprise].”

Emma Collins, chief executive officer of Wind Energy Holding Co, added: “We are very excited with the investment in CWP – it is extremely complementary to our business and will significantly strengthen our development and asset-management capabilities.

“The Australian market offers tremendous potential over the long term and this is the opportune time to invest in the country, with increasing government support and positive moves around certificate pricing promoting the growth of the renewable industry. I look forward to working closely with CWP’s management team as we seek to achieve our global aspirations.”

Nop Narongdej, WEH chairman of the board, said: “Following KPN Group’s purchase of a majority shareholding in WEH, one of our core goals was to leverage and expand from our base in Thailand into attractive renewables markets, both in the region and globally.

“The investment into CWP and its development [plans] is the first of what we expect will be a number of global initiatives for the company, as we move into the next phase of our international growth plans.”

“The venue is entering the second decade this year. It is time to go overseas to get more high-end customers,” Talun Theng, managing director of Royal Paragon Enterprise Co, a member of Siam Piwat, which operates Siam Paragon, said yesterday.

The new markets include Myanmar, Indonesia, Cambodia, Spain and Germany.

This year’s goal is to shift its local and international client ratio from 80:20 to 70:30. Business is expected to grow by 15 per cent, higher than the average of 10 per cent per year over the first decade.

The company projects revenue of Bt250 million, of which 30 per cent will come from exhibitions, 30 per cent from entertainment, 20 per cent from special events and 20 per cent from meetings and banquets.

To reassure customers from overseas, the venue is enhancing its safety and security affairs to meet international standards.

Opened in March 2006 at a cost of Bt800 million, the venue provides space of 120,000 square metres for a variety of events.

Its clients are organisers of MICE (meeting, incentive, convention and exhibition) events, concerts and other events.

“Our marketing strategy has been designed under the framework of ‘MICE3′. E3 refers to exhibitions, entertainment and events,” Talun said.

The venue has been trusted by leading organisations and brands, with average occupancy of 85 per cent or 120 events and a million visitors annually.

Average occupancy for this year is expected to increase.

“This year, we launched our own event-organiser service. The one-stop service aims to facilitate clients better and improve service efficiency,” he said.

It has spent Bt50 million on venue renovation and personnel development with the aim to elevate the image of the venue, adding more luxury and modernity.

The logo of Royal Paragon Hall has been changed to a gold colour to reflect its world-class status.

The lights were also replaced by LEDs (light-emitting diodes), which not only save energy but also create a new ambience for clients. About seven staff will be recruited this year.

For personnel development, the management team has been trained in the Certified in Exhibition Management programme, which is globally recognised in the MICE industry.

On the occasion of its 10th anniversary, Royal Paragon Hall held a seminar on “Trend: Creative for Iconic Events” to share MICE experts’ ideas and experience with the audience, which included those working in the MICE and tourism industry as well as MICE students.

WEH struck the deal to buy the stake in CWP from Continental Wind Partners and the Wind Prospect Group. WEH will also purchase 50 per cent of CWP’s Australian business, including its 800MW development pipeline, on which construction will start this year. The pipeline will continue to be developed by CWP Renewables which will be integrated with the WEH team to deliver and manage further projects across Asia.

Nop Narongdej, chairman of WEH, Ltd. commented: “Following KPN Group’s purchase of a majority shareholding in WEH, one of our core goals was to leverage and expand from our base in Thailand into attractive renewables markets, both in the region and globally. The investment into CWP and its development pipeline is the first of what we expect will be a number of global initiatives for the company, as we move into the next phase of our international growth plans.”

The acquisition marks WEH’s first international investment as it strives to become one of the world’s leading renewable energy companies over the next decade.

“The Australian market offers tremendous potential over the long-term and this is the opportune time to invest in the country, with increasing government support and positive moves around certificate pricing promoting the growth of the renewable industry. I look forward to working closely with CWP’s management team as we seek to achieve our global aspirations,” said Emma Collins, chief executive officer of WEH.

KTIS owns Kaset Thai Sugar Factory, Thai Identity Sugar Factory and Ruamphol Sugar Factory. Kaset Thai Sugar Factory is the world’s largest, with a capacity of 55,000 tonnes of sugar-cane per day. Combined with Thai Identity’s 18,000 tonnes and Ruamphol’s 15,000 tonnes, KTIS has a total capacity of 88,000 tonnes of sugar cane per day.

Even though KTIS is a large company, it cannot avoid the effects from the decline in the sugar price, said chief financial officer Sirivuthi Siamphakdee.

Parphan Siriviriyakul, chief executive officer of KTIS Group, added that by-products of sugar cane would help the company manage costs, so the company must think about how use its raw materials to strengthen its existing businesses.

Last year, KTIS reported net profit of Bt730 million, down from Bt1.36 billion in 2014 because the global sugar price dropped.

Even though the price has improved to 14.26 US cents per pound from 10.5 cents in the fourth quarter of last year, the company acknowledges that the price will not be stable because the supply is higher than demand and the price is determined by Brazil, the world’s largest exporter.

Thailand exports 8 million tonnes of sugar a year, far behind Brazil’s 35 million to 40 million tonnes. Global demand for sugar is 180 million tonnes per year.

Sirivuthi said the supply of sugar-cane this year would be lower than last year because the low rainfall and drought had affected the harvest, meaning the harvest season would finish by the end of this month, not the end of April, as usual.

Sugar-cane production this year is expected to be less than 100 million tonnes, lower than the target of 112 million to 115 million tonnes, because production so far has been only 85.6 million tonnes. However, based on the current sugar price of 14.26 cents a pound, KTIS’s revenue this year will be better than in 2015 and net profit should be similar to what it made in 2014.

“We hope the sugar price this year will stay at 15-16 cents per pound, but if it is below 10 cents sugar operators will face losses,” he said.

The company has to seek more income from sugar-cane by-|product, which should be the new strategy of other sugar companies |as well. Without adjusting, com-panies that rely only on sugar |will be disappointed, he said.

By-products of sugar cane are biomass, ethanol, fertiliser, biogas, electricity and bagasse pulp, |and KTIS is already operating |businesses based on these. However, by-products at present account for only 20 per cent of its revenue, and it wants to boost this proportion to 50 per cent, Sirivuthi said.

KTIS is constructing a plant to make bagasse-ware products from sugar-cane fibres, an incentive that has been supported by the Board of Investment. Construction of the plant is expected to be completed in two or three months. Sirivuthi said the company was seeking partners in the venture.

Biomass is an alternative material to paper and plastic, and is expected to be in high demand in the future. Bagasse-ware products are already quite popular overseas.