“The food and beverage industry in Myanmar is booming. As the industry grows, and hotels and restaurants focus on giving their guests the best dining experience, we expect strong demand for products that improve operations, food safety and quality,” she said.

The company started operations in January and officially opened its showroom last week after an investment of US$1 million (Bt35 million). It can stock about 5,000 items, including hygienic materials for housekeeping. The list could be expanded to 40,000 thanks to Sia Huat, a partner factory in Singapore, and Premium Distribution, a local supplier.

S&P Foodservice is a joint venture of Sia Huat and Premium Distribution. Both help bring some of the world’s top brands such as Cerabon, Safico, Giesser, Atlantic Chef, Cambro, Arcoroc, Spiegelau, Shoes For Crews, Solia, Waring, Nikko, Lacor, Carlisle, Studio William and Efay to the market.

“Products that were previously difficult or impossible to find in Myanmar are now available or can be sourced easily,” Ow said.

Its customers include international hotels like Novotel, Sedona and Parkroyal; franchise brands like Harry’s Bar, Yakun and Killiney; Myanmar’s own Kandawgyi Palace Hotel and Jasmine Palace Hotel; independent restaurants such as Le Planteur, Sharky’s and Gringos & Chilangos; and home-grown restaurant chains such as the Feel Group and Iceberry.

Ow said reaching out to potential customers was a must, to hear what they actually need. A few competitors are out there and more affordable products from China are also featured, but the company’s competitive edge lies with its equal focus on quality products and competitive prices.

“Our range is very wide. If you want something at good value, mostly silk and plastic designs, we have [them]. High [end] brands may be a little bit [more expensive]. In this sense, we can service different levels of customers.

“We also cover the house, mainly for food and beverages for the needs of a kitchen. We also aim to receive schools, hospitals and end users as our customers because we also import hygienic products,” she said.

Promotional events will be occasionally held to reach out to a wider range of family consumers and end users.

“We foresee a lot of positive things such as [the results of the election]. We have [received] a lot of inquiries so far and we hope [for] very high growth potential in the years to come,” Ow said.

Sia Huat chairman and chief executive officer Tan Choon Boon is pleased S&P Foodservice’s performance, crediting the local partner, which is very strong in its field of business.

“Good partners are very helpful in the long term, as we have our strengths while they have their strengths, especially in logistics. For us to come in, we will bring as [much] merchandise as we can,” he said.

Premium Distribution Co managing director Soe Moe Thu is ready to pour more investment into the venture.

“Myanmar’s hotel and restaurant industry, compared [with] our neighbours like Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia, is still small. So it is possible to cover the entire industry in Myanmar.

“If there is a need [for additional capital injection], we will definitely invest more,” he said.

The company’s chief executive officer, Supot Kornprasitwat, said the demand for premium Robusta coffee has shown strong growth especially from European countries like Germany.

The company aims to increase production capacity of premium Robusta coffee by encouraging farmers who grow the coffee plant in Ranong and others provinces in the South of Thailand.

Southern Thailand has the capacity to grow 60,000 tonnes of coffee beans a year. Ranong province alone grows Robusta coffee on 80,000 to 90,000 rai.

“Most of them produce normal Robusta coffee, but we are trying to train them to grow the premium Robusta coffee to match the demands of the premium market.

This will boost their sale price over the community price since we established the business in 2012,” Supot said.

In 2012, the company joined hands with 30 farmers in Ranong to train them on growing premium Robusta coffee.

They were successful in growing about 5 tonnes, which sold for between Bt100 per kilogram and Bt120 per kilogram, more than double the community coffee price average of Bt45 per kilogram. This has improved the quality of life of farmers in Ranong province.

“We support farmers by training them on how to grow premium coffee and also find markets at home and overseas,” he said.

With the initial success in developing premium Robusta coffee under the band ‘Gong Coffee’, up to 30 per cent of its product is exported, especially to Germany, while the rest is for the domestic market.

The company plans to join local investors in Phuket to open its first coffee house under the brand ‘Gong Gong’ in Phuket.

The company will also expand the export market to the US, Australia, and other countries in Asia when it succeeds in boosting production capacity from 20 tonnes last year to 50 tonnes in this year.

“This will drive our total revenue to Bt10 million in this year and also improve the quality of life of the farmers as they will be earning much more than before,” he said.

So far their requests for porting service are still pending.

AIS and DTAC might consider appealing to the watchdog the NBTC orders to quickly port these mobile phone numbers to True’s networks within three days from last Wednesday. AIS and DTAC can lodge the appeal within 15 days.

AIS will hold a press conference today to report that its 2G subscribers would not any suffer service disruption after the NBTC granted the 900MHz licence to True Move H Universal Communication (TUC).

This follows the Telecom Committee’s schedule to consider granting the licence to TUC today. Once TUC picks up the licence, AIS has to switch off its 900MHz cellular service. According to the NBTC, the licence will go into effect after midnight tomorrow.

Last Friday TUC informed the NBTC that it will offer its 900MHz spectrum to AIS free of charge for three months for AIS’ 2G customers to use after the service switch-off. AIS has yet to respond to the offer.

Ways to prevent service disruption

Early last week the regulator called meetings with AIS, TOT and TUC to seek ways to prevent service disruption to the 400,000 AIS 2G customers who risk disconnection after the service shutdown.

However, AIS and TUC declined to agree with each other’s proposal. An NBTC source said the refusals were due to a sense of dignity. Initially TUC, a 900MHZ licence winner, offered to let AIS use its 900MHz in return for paying a fee of Bt450 million a month.

AIS has insisted on using the band of the other 900MHZ winner, Jas Mobile Broadband, to serve about 400,000 of its 2G customers.

It will also roam 8 million 2G customers of its subsidiary Advanced Wireless Network on the 1800MHz band of DTAC.

AIS and DTAC have already reached an agreement on this roaming deal. The NBTC rejects AIS’ idea of using Jas’ band, saying the band should be kept for Jas.

The battle between AIS and DTAC on one side against True started in February when True launched a campaign to mainly lure 2G-900MHz subscribers from AIS by allowing them to apply for porting their mobile phone numbers at 7-Eleven’s nationwide branch network.

AIS and DTAC criticised the campaign for allegedly not complying with the NBTC’s rules, but the watchdog later ruled that the campaign complies with its rules.

According to the NBTC, True gained the most new users from mobile number porting last year, followed by AIS and DTAC.

Andy Farrow, managing director for China and the Pacific Rim at Godiva Chocolatier Asia, said Godiva had a long history and rich heritage and was available through retail stores in more than 100 countries around the world.

“We are not just an ordinary chocolatier, we also provide a luxurious lifestyle to our consumers. We have Godiva Chocolate Cafes in Shanghai, Beijing, the Middle East and London luxury department store Harrods.

“The Godiva Chocolate Cafe is not only a place for people to buy our chocolate, but also provides a place for them to sit down and enjoy chocolate pastries, desserts and chocolate beverages made from premium Godiva chocolate,” Farrow said.

“Supported by a dedicated team, Godiva’s international operations have grown strongly over recent years, with revenue almost doubling over the past four years.

“We are very confident [that] entering new markets including Thailand will continue to drive this growing momentum.”

Farrow said Asia was a dynamic region that played an important role in Godiva’s growth, and would continue to do so in the future.

“Asian consumers recognise brands with 90 years of rich heritage and craftsmanship such as Godiva. As for our Asian mission, we are committed to expand the Godiva network by bringing the world’s ultimate chocolate indulgence to where it is appreciated.

“We have big plans to expand [the number of our] stores across the region to deliver the full experience to all chocolate lovers. We are constantly evolving our recipes and creating new ideas with our top chef-chocolatier team in order to [satisfy] Asian customers. Therefore our chef-chocolatiers are also hosting chocolate schools around Asia to share their knowledge.

“Moreover, innovation is key as one of our marketing pillars. Godiva launches new products and new packages both on an international and localised level to meet the global demand.

“In Asia, Japan is the largest market, [in which we have] operated for more than 50 years. China is a fast-growing market with 69 stores.

“To date, Godiva has invested and operated in HK, Singapore [and] Taiwan. We also have franchises in Macau, Indonesia, Malaysia and Korea.

“The sales [in] Asia [are] really significant, almost 50 per cent of our global sales. We expect the contribution from the Asia region to reach 65 per cent in five years.

“For the Thai market, we expect that the growth will be double-digit every year [over] the next five years. In partnership with Chocoholic, we also plan to expand Godiva into neighbouring countries such as Vietnam, Cambodia [and] Myanmar, since Thailand can be the gateway to these countries,” Farrow said.

Akradej Srichawla, president of Chocoholic Co, a subsidiary of Everest World Co, said Chocoholic was strongly confident in Godiva as the world’s most famous brand for premium chocolate.

Chocoholic has allocated more than Bt10 million to implement several marketing activities such as grand openings to create brand awareness among target consumers and product workshops to enhance brand relationships and stimulate sales. It will focus on online marketing, as social media are the best way to connect with customers.

When it is launched in July, the Godiva flagship store at Central Embassy will be in a boutique cafe format providing a wide variety of product lines such as gift-box collections, chocolate beverages, and a speciality dessert menu.

TUC made a similar proposal to AIS earlier this week, but on the condition that its rival had to pay Bt450 million per month for spectrum use.

NBTC secretary-general Takorn Tantasith said the regulator would wait until Monday for AIS to consider TUC’s proposal.

The NBTC might delay the date for actually granting the licence to TUC until March 21 in order to give time for AIS to move its users to TUC’s 900MHz band, he said.

“If AIS refuses this TUC proposal, the NBTC may have no choice but to order it to shut down its 2G service next week, on the day that the telecom committee grants the 900MHz licence to TUC,” he added.

The telecom committee is due to convene on Monday to consider awarding the licence to TUC, and is expected to grant the licence the same day.

Once the licence is awarded, AIS has to shut down its 2G 900MHz service so that the NBTC can reallocate the licence to TUC.

AIS is expected to announce its position on Monday, stating that customers would be able to be continue to use 2G service.

Around 400,000 2G customers will be affected once AIS shuts down the 2G service.

AIS has 8.4 million 2G users in total, of whom 8 million are on its affiliate Advanced Wireless Network (AWN), with the remainder on its own network.

Once AIS shuts down the service, it has to stop using these 400,000 phone numbers.

The NBTC held meetings with TUC, AIS and state agency TOT on Wednesday and Thursday to seek ways to prevent AIS 2G customers from being adversely affected.

Bt450m per month

TUC proposed that AIS could use its 900MHz band to serve these 2G customers, at a cost of Bt450 million per month, but AIS declined to accept its rival’s proposal.

AIS said the 8 million 2G users with dual-band (900 MHz and 1,800MHz) handsets at AWN could still roam with Total Access Communication (DTAC).

For 400,000 customers on its own network, it would roam them on 5MHz of the 900MHz band of Jas Mobile Broadband, the other 900MHz licence winner, it said.

The regulator told AIS that it could not do so, as the NBTC had to keep the 900MHz band for Jas.

Suphachai yesterday said he did not understand why AIS kept insisting it would use the Jas band, instead of TUC’s. AIS was acting as if it had won the licence, not Jas, he suggested.

AIS’s network roaming with DTAC’s 1800MHz will cover only 3 million to 4 million of AIS’s 2G subscribers, given that 1800MHz has smaller coverage in rural areas than 900MHz, he added.

TUC completed payment of the first instalment of the licence upfront fee – Bt8.04 billion, plus value added tax of Bt562 million – to the NBTC yesterday, and handed over a bank guarantee for the remaining upfront value of Bt73.036 billion, including VAT.

Executive director Supasit Pokinjaruras said VTE forecast revenue to quadruple to Bt2 billion this year and result in a net profit, provided there are no additional investments that will affect the bottom line.

According to the presentation materials provided to stock analysts yesterday, VTE forecasts its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) to grow from Bt91 million this year to Bt134 million next year, Bt391 million in 2018, and Bt621 million in 2019.

The company, which is listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand, booked net losses for three consecutive years: Bt106.14 million last year, Bt358.93 million in 2014, and Bt518.90 million in 2013.

Executive director Aung Thiha said VTE was confident of securing about 90 equity megawatts of power projects for its portfolio within two years. These will consist of two small solar plants in Japan with installed capacity of 2.4MW and 10MW, a 25MW biomass power plant in Japan, the 25MW Biliran Solar Power project in the Philippines, and a 220MW solar-power project in Minbu, Myanmar, in which it plans to acquire a 12-per-cent stake.

In five years, VTE is confident it will have a total of 500MW of power-plant capacity in its portfolio, including those in which it holds equity stakes or acts as a contractor, he said.

Soraj said VTE had found a buyer for its Bangun Jaya Citra Mandiri coal mine in Indonesia, for which it earlier booked an impairment loss of US$2 million (Bt70 million), and thus would reverse that loss item on its balance sheet after the finalisation of the transaction.

Aung Thiha said VTE expected its solar-farm mega-project in Myanmar to continue despite the change in government there. The group plans to start construction of the first phase of the project, which will have 50MW capacity, by next quarter.

Regarding its solar farms in Japan, Supasit said VTE intended to acquire each project after it commences operations, beginning with the first 2.4MW project that will be complete in June, and then the 10MW plant that will be finished next year.

“But the highlight will be the biomass power project, because biomass is expected to be the next wave [of investment opportunities] in Japan,” he said.

The company expects to know whether it can go ahead with the biomass plan for Japan by the second quarter, Aung Thiha added.

VTE also plans to capture some additional revenues from operation and maintenance (O&M) and engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) of power plants, with the Biliran solar project in the Philippines likely to be among the first.

Supasit and Aung Thiha, who co-developed the Minbu solar-farm project in Myanmar, together took about a combined 10-per-cent stake in VTE last year.

The company yesterday also introduced Sitthiporn Ratanopas, former chief executive of the Electricity Generating Authority and Electricity Generating, as the new chairman of its advisory committee, and his daughter Xanxana, former finance director of Double A (1991), as chief financial officer.

VTE’s share price closed yesterday at Bt3.26, up 9.26 per cent from Thursday’s closing price.