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KBank’s Beacon invests in Robowealth, targets total AuM of Bt30 billion in 2021

CorporateJan 20. 2021Thanapong Na Ranong, right, managing director, Beacon Venture Capital and Chonladet Khemarattana, left, group chief executive officer of Robowealth Group.

By The Nation

Kasikornbank’s corporate venture capital arm Beacon Venture Capital has announced Series A investment in wealth tech start-up Robowealth.

The investment aims to leverage business strengths of both KBank and Robowealth to drive inclusiveness in the capital market by solving three primary issues that prevent Thais from investing – the lack of time, lack of knowledge and lack of capital – aiming for a total Bt30 billion of assets under management (AuM) in 2021, the firms said in a press release.

Managing director Thanapong Na Ranong said Beacon VC focuses on investing in high-potential start-ups, whose innovations and services can deliver real value to KBank customers through the creation of new financial products or services. 

“While we would normally scout for new investments and find collaboration potential with business units, this is the first time we are investing in a start-up that already has a working relationship with KBank,” he said. 

KBank and Robowealth, together with Lu International, launched the FinVest application in late 2020.

Robowealth provides complete solutions for robo-advisory and mutual fund investment. 

“Robowealth Group aims to liberalise the Thai financial industry by providing the public with efficient investment opportunities. Currently, only 5 per cent of Thais invest through mutual funds and the stock exchange,” Group CEO Chonladet Khemarattana said.

“Robowealth’s vision lies within the cooperation to build a stable financial ecosystem under the concept of ‘Empower Future Financial Ecosystem’ through the business to consumer [B2C] and business to business [B2B] schemes. This ecosystem will ultimately help Thais achieve financial freedom sustainably,” he said.

Robowealth currently plays an integral part in developing and offering two prominent investment applications under Robowealth Mutual Fund Brokerage Securities. Both can help investors gain access to mutual fund portfolios with only a miminum Bt1,000 investment. 

Each focuses on different target groups with distinctive and unique product positionings, the press release said. 

The first robo-adviser “odini”, which debuted in 2018, targets ordinary people looking for a simple way to invest through automated ready-made mutual fund portfolios. The customer can either make lump-sum investment or pre-specify the monthly contributions. Two years after the launch, Robowealth has enhanced the odini “with a more premium service under the odini Black sub-brand integrated into the existing application to serve the mass affluent segment better”. 

The second application FinVest debuted in late 2020 as Thailand’s first curated mutual funds investment application. The investment committee, which consists of fund managers and investment analysts, has the primary responsibility of selecting a set of suitable mutual funds from both the domestic and global investment universe based on a thematic investment framework. Then, these featured funds will be directly served to the customer with precise and digestible content to make the final investment decision on his/her own. 

“The robo-adviser could provide a decent return by allocating Chinese and US equities as many tech stocks have greatly benefited from the Covid-19 lockdown,” Chonladet said. 

Thanapong added that one of the main interesting characteristics of successful Thai fintech companies is that their business and models don’t aim to disrupt financial institutions, but instead aim to collaborate with those institutions by bringing together each parties’ unique strength to add value to customers and grow synergistically.

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Bill Gates-led fundraises another $1 billion to invest in clean tech

CorporateJan 20. 2021Bill Gates

By Syndication Washington Post, Bloomberg · Akshat Rathi

Breakthrough Energy Ventures, the clean-tech venture capital fund led by Bill Gates, has raised $1 billion for a second round of investments after backing 45 start-ups with its first billion.

Created in 2016, BEV began funding start-ups just as the second wave of clean-tech investments was gaining momentum. Since then, interest in the sector has exploded. VC money flowing into start-ups that can help cut emissions has soared to $16 billion in 2019 from $400 million in 2013, a 40-times increase, according to a PwC report published last year.

The first clean-tech boom was a disappointment. VCs lost more than half the $25 billion invested between 2006 and 2011. The financial crisis compounded the losses, but experts believe there were bigger problems with the underlying investment philosophy. First, VCs were looking to replicate the success they had seen in internet start-ups, expecting returns from clean-tech investments in less than five years. Second, the types of technologies they invested in were mostly limited to renewable electricity, biofuels and electric vehicles-all of which depended heavily on government regulations to grow.

BEV learned from that failure. It launched a “patient” fund that would run for 20 years, instead of expecting returns in just five years. It also pursued a larger set of technologies, including agriculture, buildings, transportation, and manufacturing. Profit remains the ultimate objective, but BEV set another criteria: companies needed to show a path to scaling up that would cut at least 500 million metric tons of annual CO₂ emissions-about 1% of global emissions.

Software start-ups can be nimble, moving from one idea to another when a business plan doesn’t pan out. That kind of pivot is rare for clean-tech companies because of the length of time and amount of money that needs to be spent before failure becomes apparent.

That’s why BEV relies on a team that consists of academics, entrepreneurs, former government officials, and bankers, along with VC investors. Their mission goes beyond judging an idea and the people behind it to rigorously evaluate the feasibility and potential of new technologies.

“We have built a great technical team and our ability to close a second fund is a testament to their good work,” said Eric Toone, BEV’s technical lead. The first round included investments in complex technologies including energy storage, lithium mining, electric aviation, synthetic palm oil, zero-carbon steel, hydropower turbines and even nuclear fusion.

Even though BEV invests in early-stage start-ups and doesn’t expect returns quickly, the proliferation of clean-energy companies going public via SPACs helped it score its first exit. QuantumScape, which makes next-generation lithium-ion batteries, listed on the New York Stock Exchange in September. Its valuation has shot up to $20 billion from $3 billion even though its batteries won’t hit the market before 2025. “We may have some early wins, but the ultimate impact of many of our investments will require a longer time horizon,” said Rodi Guidero, BEV’s executive director.

As its portfolio begins to mature, BEV will also start focusing on how best to bring the innovations to consumers. “Many of our companies are focused on sectors where policy and regulation play an important role in shaping markets,” said Guidero. “We need to fully understand these factors and the challenges and opportunities they bring to our companies.”

Among the principal investors of BEV’s first fund were Jeff Bezos of Amazon Inc., Mukesh Ambani of Reliance Industries Ltd., Richard Branson of Virgin Group, Jack Ma of Alibaba Group, and hedge fund manager Chris Hohn. Mike Bloomberg, founder and majority owner of Bloomberg LP, is also a backer of BEV. Guidero said many of BEV’s original investors are involved in the second round, along with some new ones, but declined to provide names.

The next $1 billion will go to between 40 and 50 start-ups. While BEV is still interested in a broad set of technologies, it’ll place special focus on “tougher climate challenges” in greener steel and cement, long-haul transport, direct air capture and hydrogen.

In some areas where BEV might not find enough investable start-ups, it intends to launch new companies itself relying on its own technical expertise. “This model has already been successfully executed more than once but the companies have yet to be disclosed,” said Toone.

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Finance Ministry to buy 150 million PTTOR shares; analysts, fund managers upbeat about growth potential

CorporateJan 20. 2021

By The Nation

The Finance Ministry will fully exercise its right to buy 153.34 million shares in the PTT Oil and Retail Business (PTTOR) initial public offering, said State Enterprise Policy Office director general Prapas Kong-Ied on Tuesday.

PTTOR will go public late this month to raise up to Bt54 billion in what looks set to be one of Thailand’s largest listings this year.

“We expect good dividend payments as PTTOR businesses are expected to achieve high growth rates,” Prapas said.

To fund its investment in PTTOR, the ministry will sell about 5 per cent of its Bangchak Corp shares to the Vayupak Fund, he said. The Finance Ministry is the Vayupak Fund’s largest shareholder.

Meanwhile, BBL Asset Management CEO Peerapong Jiraservijinda said his mutual fund will buy 143.15 million PTTOR shares. A cornerstone investor, BBL Asset is making the second largest investment after the Finance Ministry.

PTTOR shares are good long-term investments despite risks including technology disruption, as PTT’s management have shown their capability in managing the group’s businesses, Peerapong said.

PTT is Thailand’s largest filling station operator, while its retail arm PTTOR is best known for its Amazon chain of coffee shops. The company has potential to expand both its filing-station and coffee businesses abroad, he added.

PTT boast a 39 per cent share of the filling station market, operating 1,900 stations in Thailand and 318 in other Asean countries. PTT’s dealer-owned model reduces its risks, said Peerapong, adding the company is in a strong position to make merger and acquisition deals.

The target price of PTTOR shares is estimated at Bt25-Bt27 in the next three years, with projected earnings per share of Bt1.25-Bt1.35, he said. With an IPO price of Bt18 per share, its price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio is 20 times. 

PTT’s non-oil business is a world leader due to high growth rate, added Peerapong.

Chavinda Hanratanakool, CEO and managing director at Krung Thai Asset Management, was also confident that PTTOR’s business would continue to grow. Changing consumer behaviour has seen filling stations become rest stops for travellers, so their convenience and coffee shops are benefiting from travel spending, she said. As such, PTTOR’s share price is expected to rise, said Chavinda.

UOB Kay Hian Securities strategist Kitpon Pripisankit reckoned the IPO price of Bt16-Bt18 is quite high given PTTOR’S past performance of P/E at 23.9-26.9 times. But taking into account its profit forecast this year, its projected P/E is just 16-18 times – making the Bt16-Bt18 IPO price attractive to investors due to potential growth of its retail oil and non-oil businesses, he said. A fair price would be Bt22 per share, he added.

Investors expect PTT will set the IPO price at Bt18, which has upside potential of 20 per cent, said Kitpon.

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GSB grants 110,000 loans in first 4 days of grassroots scheme

CorporateJan 19. 2021

By The Nation

The Government Savings Bank (GSB) has approved around 110,000 loans in the first four days of its borrowing scheme for low-income customers, said president Vitai Ratanakorn.

The bank has set aside Bt10 billion for the scheme, which has received an enthusiastic response from grassroots customers since launching on January 15. Borrowers can apply for loans of up to Bt50,000 via GSB’s MyMo application.

The scheme is also open to self-employed customers who took GSB’s emergency Covid-19 loans last year. They can apply for loans of up to Bt20,000 via the MyMo app from January 23.

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Ratch pays Bt2.7bn for 15.53% stake in Bangkok Aviation Fuel Service

CorporateJan 19. 2021Ratch CEO Kijja Sripatthangkura

By The Nation

Ratch Group today said it had completed the purchase of a 15.53 per cent stake (98,983,125 shares) in Bangkok Aviation Fuel Service (BAFS) from Thai Airways International in a deal worth Bt2.7 billion.

The announcement comes exactly a month after Ratch joined an e-auction of BAFS shares on December 19. The BAFS share-purchase agreement with Thai Airways International (THAI) was made later on December 29, 2020.

THAI transferred the BAFS shares today (January 19).

Ratch CEO Kijja Sripatthangkura said the company is committed to long-term investment in BAFS and will support collaboration to accomplish future growth targets of both parties.

Ratch Group, Thailand’s largest private power producer by capacity, plans to expand investment in infrastructure and energy-related businesses as well as seek strong alliances.

While the investment in BAFS corresponds with the company’s strategic plan, the deal will also strengthen its business via stable revenues from dividend income gained on its investment.

“The transaction was funded by internal company capital. The bidding offer was fair for the growth potential of BAFS. [Ratch], working closely with a financial adviser, cautiously studied prospects of the aviation business, aviation fuel service, and BAFS’s operating performance and business plan and goals,” Kijja said.

Ratch sees good prospects from a synergy between both companies on renewable-energy power plants, digital technology, and businesses related to fuels and energy.

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Thai banking giants hit with double-digit profit drop last year

CorporateJan 19. 2021

By The Nation

Two of Thailand’s financial giants – LH Financial Group (LHFG) and Tisco Financial Group (Tisco) – saw their net profits fall sharply last year amid the Covid-19 crisis.

LHFG’s net profit in 2020 fell to Bt2.05 billion, down Bt1.15 billion or 36 per cent from Bt3.21 billion in 2019.

Tisco’s net profit in 2020 dropped to Bt6.06 billion, down Bt1.20 billion or 16.6 per cent from Bt7.27 billion in 2019.

LHFG’s net profit in the fourth quarter of 2020 alone was Bt205 million, down Bt674 million or 76.6 per cent compared to Bt879 million in the previous year. Its fourth-quarter net profit also dropped by Bt318 million quarter on quarter.

LHFG said the decline came after it used Bt1.09 billion in reserves to support debtors against the risk of non-performing loans (NPLs), resulting in an NPL ratio at the bank of 119.8 per cent.

LHFG’s net interest income last year rose by 4.4 per cent after the net interest margin (NIM) increased to 2.17 per cent from 2.11 per cent in the previous year. Meanwhile, LHFG’s net non-interest income rose by 17.2 per cent year on year from an increase in gains on investment.

Tisco’s fourth-quarter net profit last year was Bt1.63 billion, down Bt229 million or 12.27 per cent from Bt1.86 billion in the previous year. However the bank’s Q4 net profit rose by Bt25 million or 1.55 per cent quarter on quarter.

Tisco said the decline in net profit was due to the economic slowdown amid the Covid-19 outbreak, causing a drop in revenue from the bank’s core businesses, as well as an increase in reserve funds to deal with credit loss.

Tisco’s net interest income in 2020 rose by 2.4 per cent year on year from effective cost management amid a low-interest rate, while its net non-interest income fell by 12.6 per cent year on year due to a decline in fee income.

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Retail investors placed first in queue for Bt54bn listing of PTTOR

CorporateJan 19. 2021

By The Nation

Retail investors will be prioritised in the initial public offering (IPO) by PTT Oil and Retail Business (PTTOR) late this month, in what looks set to be one of Thailand’s largest listings this year.

The ministry will allocate the PTTOR shares for retail investors to book via financial institutions, said Energy Minister Supattanapong Punmeechaow said on Monday.     

The minimum booking of 300 shares will cost around Bt5,400, making them affordable for all, explained Supattanapong, who is also deputy prime minister.

Shares will also be allocated to existing shareholders, institutional investors and the government as a PTT shareholder, he said.

PTTOR plans to raise Bt41 billion-Bt46.9 billion via the IPO. Share booking will run from January 24-February 2 for retail investors, from January 25-28 for PTT shareholders, and February 3-5 for institutional investors.

Retail investors can book shares via three banks – Kasikornbank, Bangkok Bank and Krungthai Bank. Kasikornbank said investors could book via its website from 9am on January 24.

Last week, PTTOR set the price of its 3 billion IPO shares (including 390 million overallotment shares) at Bt16-Bt18 per share, aiming to raise between Bt48 billion and Bt54 billion.

PTTOR will offer 300 million shares to existing PTT shareholders, 595.7 million to retail investors, and 1.71 billion to institutional investors.

Of the latter, 1.26 billion will be offered to domestic institutional investors and 450 million to international institutional investors.

The biggest domestic institutional investor in the IPO will be SCB Asset Management (239 million shares), while the biggest international institutional investor will be GIC Private Limited (215 million).

After the IPO, PTTOR’s registered capital will rise from 9 billion to 12 billion shares, and the company will be listed in the SET50 index with a market capitalisation of at least Bt200 billion.

PTT will remain the largest shareholder with a 75 per cent stake, followed by institutional investors with a 14.29 per cent stake.

The IPO will raise funds to support PTTOR’s five-year expansion plan covering new PTT stations, fuel distribution centres, retail stores and overseas business. The company will also use the funds to repay loans and invest in new businesses.

UOB Kay Hian Securities strategist Kitpon Pripisankit said the price of PTTOR’s IPO has a forward price-to-earnings (forward P/E) ratio of 16-18 times – lower than the forward P/E ratio of oil retail business (17-20 times) and non-oil business (25-28).

“Institutional investors’ demand for PTTOR shares will exceed the number allocated because large companies’ shares are currently attractive,” he said.

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PTTOR launches IPO to raise up to Bt54 billion to fund expansion

CorporateJan 18. 2021

By The Nation

PTT Oil and Retail Business (OR) will launch an initial public offering (IPO) to raise up to Bt54 billion in funds late this month.

Last week, OR set the price of its 3 billion IPO shares (including 390 million overallotment shares) at between Bt16 and Bt18 per share, which will help raise between Bt48 billion and Bt54 billion.

OR will also offer 300 million shares to specific PTT shareholders from January 25 to 28, 595.7 million shares to individual investors from January 24 to February 2, and 1.71 billion shares to cornerstone institutional investors from February 3 to 5.

Of the 1.71 billion shares, 1.26 billion will be offered to domestic institutional investors and 450 million shares to international institutional investors.

Among cornerstone investors, the domestic institutional investor that will obtain the most IPO shares is SCB Asset Management with 239 million shares, while the international institutional investor that will obtain the most shares is GIC Private Limited with 215 million shares.

After launching the IPO, OR’s registered capital will rise to 12 billion shares from 9 billion, and the company will be listed in the SET50 index with a market capitalisation of at least Bt200 billion.

PTT will remain the largest shareholder with a 75 per cent stake, followed by institutional investors with a 14.29 per cent stake.

According to the Securities and Exchange Commission, this fundraising aims to support OR’s five-year expansion plan, such as increasing the number of PTT stations, fuel distribution centres, retail stores and overseas business. The company will use the funds to repay loans and invest in new businesses.

An analyst from Asia Plus Securities said he did not expect the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) to face volatility once OR is listed in February because the company’s market capitalisation will only account for about 5 per cent of total energy shares in the market.

He added that Com7 and TTW will be delisted from SET50 Index, while Taokaenoi Food & Marketing (TKN), BEC World (BEC), Major Cineplex Group (MAJOR) and WHA Utilities and Power (WHAUP) will be delisted from SET100 index after OR’s listing.

UOB Kay Hian Securities strategist Kitpon Pripisankit said the price of OR’s IPO is equal to forward price-to-earnings (forward P/E) ratio of 16-18 times, lower than the forward P/E ratio of oil retail business of 17-20 times and non-oil business of 25-28 times.

“Institutional investors’ demand for OR shares would be higher than allocated, because large companies shares are attractive,” he said.

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Ice cream for dogs? Even pets are eating their pandemic feelings.

CorporateJan 17. 2021Ben & Jerry’s this week announced the debut of Doggie Desserts: four-ounce cups of mostly nondairy frozen treats, one featuring pumpkin with cookies and another with peanut butter and pretzels.MUST CREDIT: Ben & Jerry’s handout photo

By The Washington Post · Laura Reiley

We’ve reached peak pet. There’s really nowhere else to go. Animal shelters are out of dogs. Tech conventions are debuting cat exercise equipment and, more creepily, headless, robotic lap cats with very swishy tails.

How do we know we’ve planted our flag at the pinnacle of pet obsession? One of the best-known premium ice cream companies has gone to the dogs.

Ben & Jerry’s this week announced the debut of Doggie Desserts: four-ounce cups of mostly nondairy frozen treats, one featuring pumpkin with cookies and another with peanut butter and pretzels. It’s nondairy because some dogs, like some people, don’t tolerate lactose well; the base is sunflower seed butter, the same as Ben & Jerry’s nondairy frozen confections for humans.

And therein is the essence. During the pandemic, ice cream sales have surged. Over the 52 weeks ending Sept. 6, in-home ice cream expenditures were up 13.4 percent and unit sales increased by 8.4%, according to data from Chicago-based market research firm IRI.

Creamy, frozen treats have provided succor during these difficult times. And we want man’s best friend to be right there with us on the couch, eating our feelings.

The urge to anthropomorphize and accessorize the animals we live with has gained steam. Between 2013 and 2019, pet stuff has been one of the fastest-growing spending categories, according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Expenditure Surveys.

In 2013, we spent about the same on our pets ($57.8 billion) as we did on alcohol ($55.8 billion). By 2019, we spent $13.5 billion more on our pets than on alcohol: $90 billion to alcohol’s $76.5 billion. We also spent more than twice as much on our pets as we did on major appliances, fresh fruit or tobacco products that year.

Spending on dog treats alone has jumped 44% from 2015 to 2020, with pet owners spending $5.5 billion on them last year, according to data firm Euromonitor.

This is not news to Ben & Jerry’s, and its parent company, Unilever, a titan in the ice cream business. (Its brands dominate the freezer aisle: Magnum, Breyers, Klondike, Talenti, Good Humor and Popsicle.) There have been ice creams for dogs in the past – Frosty Paws, Pooch Creamery, Dairy Queen offers a Pup Cup and Starbucks whips up Puppuccinos so you can watch them scoot the cup around the floor – but this represents the first nonhuman foray into the “super-premium” category.

Lindsay Bumps, global marketing specialist for Ben & Jerry’s and a certified veterinary nurse, says the idea for the product surfaced last February, right before the pandemicreached the United States.

“Treats are such a big category. I might go to the vet with my dog and he did so great I want to take him for a Pup Cup,” she said (companion: a French bulldog named Spock). “It normally takes about 12 months to launch a product, but we had to adjust our ways of working, because we all started working from home.”

Nonetheless, the project entailed a flavor guru (her companion: a Great Pyrenees named Boone who prefers the pumpkin flavor), the innovation team, a nutrition consultant, a regulatory consultant and lengthy negotiations over flavors and size.

Then there was the focus-grouping: According to Bumps, in ordinary times, the Ben & Jerry’s Vermont headquarters has an average of 40 “Canine to Fivers” on premise any given day. Still, these work-from-home dogs weighed in.

Cat owners are restive now. What about us? According to Bumps, dogs have receptors for sweet like humans, while cats do not. Sweet feline folderol would be lost on them.

Bumps suggests trying the product out slowly on pooches, scooping a little into a bowl to see how it is digested. There are no verboten ingredients, such as chocolate or coffee, but it’s still a good idea to take it slow. She says more flavors will probably be added down the pike.

The treats – offered in mini-cups or multipacks priced between $2.99 and $4.99 – will debut next week but won’t be located in the B & J section next to Cherry Garcia or Chunky Monkey. They will be in the frozen “novelties” section next to bars and ice cream sandwiches. Might a human eat them by mistake?

“They are very clearly for dogs, with dog tags for the flavor names,” Bumps says, and the stories of the flavors’ namesakes, Ben & Jerry’s staff dogs Pontch and Rosie, on the back.

But what if you accidentally grabbed a cup for yourself?

“You can absolutely eat them. I’ve tried,” Bumps says. “They are delicious.”

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Green light for north, west, east expansion of Suvarnabhumi airport

CorporateJan 15. 2021Transport Minister Saksayam Chidchob

By The Nation

The Airports of Thailand (AOT) got the go-ahead on Friday for the northern, western and eastern expansion of Suvarnabhumi airport at a cost of Bt60 billion, said Transport Minister Saksayam Chidchob.

The plan was approved at a meeting between the committee tasked with boosting the airport’s capacity, the National Economic and Social Development Council, the Finance Ministry and AOT.

The East expansion and West expansion projects each will boost capacity by 15 million passengers per year and each cost over Bt7.8 billion.

The northern expansion will serve 30 million passengers per year and cost Bt41.26 billion.

The AOT told the meeting that the airport needs to expand after seeing 60 million passengers per year pre-Covid-19, while the existing main passenger terminal could only cater to 45 million per year.

The AOT is also developing a third runway, which will raise capacity from the current 68 to 90 flights per hour, lifting passengers per year from 60 million to 90 million.

The proposed expansion is due to be vetted by the Cabinet in March.

The bidding process to build the northern expansion is expected to take six months, with construction due to be completed in September, 2023. Construction of the eastern and western expansions is slated for completion in January 2024.

AOT president Nitinai Sirismatthakarn said the AOT is ready to make investment as planned. It has cash flow of Bt32 billion.