The company has a market capitalisation of Bt11.11 billion (about US$358 million) at its initial public offering (IPO).

SET senior executive vice president Manpong Senanarong said that ILM would list and start trading in the services industry group of the Commerce sector.

ILM is engaged in retail home furnishing, home decoration, household items and electrical appliance businesses. It caters to catering customer demand across all sectors under four brands: Index Living Mall, Trend Design, MOMENTOUS and BoConcept.

Currently, the company manages 36 branches in 21 provinces with 25 distributors in major cities and secondary provinces. The company also operates a network of retailers overseas through 17 agents and franchises in seven countries. In addition, the company produces original equipment manufacturer (OEM) products for overseas customers, while offering commercial space for rent under the brands The Walk, Little Walk and Index Mall in nine branches in Bangkok and major cities.

ILM has a registered paid-up capital of Bt2 billion, consisting of 400 million existing common shares and 105 million newly issued shares, with a par value of Bt5 each. It has offered the entire newly issued shares to the general public via IPO at Bt22 each. Of the newly issued shares, 66.7 per cent were allocated to institutional investors, 23.4 per cent to persons under the underwriters’ discretion, 4.5 per cent to persons related to the company, 4 per cent to benefactors and 1.5 per cent to employees during July 17-19, for a total of Bt2.31 billion.

Bualuang Securities is its financial advisor and lead underwriter, while SCB Securities Co Ltd, Capital Nomura Securities and Asia Plus Securities Co Ltd are the joint underwriters.

ILM managing director Kridchanok Patamasatayasonthi said the funds raised would be used to expand new branches of Index Living Mall and its small furniture stores, while developing new products for its customised furniture products under the Younique brand. The fund-raising would be used to invest in rooftop solar panels, improve factory efficiency and for other projects, as well as loan repayment to financial institutions and working capital.

After the IPO, ILM’s top three major shareholders of the paid0up capital are the Patamasatayasonthi family (73.3 per cent), the Udommahuntisuk family (5.7 per cent), and Nattinai Yuttapatsak (0.4 per cent). The IPO price was set by a book-building process, equivalent to a price-to-earnings ratio (P/E ratio) of 22 times, calculated by using the company’s net profit in the past 12 months divided by fully diluted shares of 505 million shares, representing earnings per share of Bt1.

The company’s dividend policy is to pay no less than 50 per cent of net profit after corporate income tax from the company’s consolidated financial statement and legal reserves. However, the dividend payout may differ from this policy subject to the company’s performance, financial liquidity and necessity of using working capital on operation management, future business expansion plans and due to the economic environment.

Eunjung Lee, senior vice president of global business at Line Corporation, said that Line had entered Thailand six years ago and it remained one of the company’s most important markets.

The firm has launched a strategy this year to tap Thai markets in three areas: online merging with offline (OMO), financial technology (fintech), and artificial intelligence (AI). The firm provides services accessed by an estimated 44 million Thai users.

With the OMO, it goes beyond simply linking online and offline. “It actually unites the digital and real world. By expanding the Line app beyond the online realm and into the offline, and creating a hub for both, the company intends to make the lives of its users even more convenient and comfortable,” said Lee. To help Thai businesses with OMO, the company is introducing the Line Mini App, offering a content management system for companies to help them better engage with their customers.

“We create new services based on the behaviour of users. Under the theme ‘Life on Line’, we believe our three key strategies can help fix people’s common pain points and make daily life more fun and convenient for all Thai users. Line is being more than a messaging app,” said Lee.

In the fintech area, the firm is moving forward to support a cashless society in Thailand as well as offer innovative banking services. Line operates Rabbit Line Pay to support Line Fintech services and is partnering KBank to revolutionise financial services. The fintech business, which operates under the management of Kasikorn Line since its launch in 2018, will see more products being introduced in 2020. Lee said users will be able to better understand their finances, access their credit information and invest safely in four areas: insights, borrowing, insurance, and investment to support a cashless society.

Meanwhile, AI-Line will continue to develop advanced, in-house AI technology, applying it to a wide range of services. For example, AI is helping personalise recommendation features for users as they navigate Line TV, the sticker shop, and ads. In addition, the new Line feature Smart Channel will utilise AI to bring sophisticated and personalised information to users, in a convenient box right at the top of their chat list, Lee said.

Line Thailand’s new CEO, Phichet Ruekpreecha, said that the firm has directions to enable digital transformation of government and provide new solutions as well as platforms to support business.

Phichet said that the firm in the near future will introduce new services such as Line Shopping that will allow users to search and compare prices as well as earn points. It will expand Line Man services to other major cities such as Chiang Mai, Phuket and Pattaya. Line Man delivery services currently cover Bangkok, Nonthaburi, Samut Prakan and Pathum Thani provinces. It also plans to launch Line Man grocery.

“Line Man plans to respond to surging user demand around Thailand and expand its operations to all major cities by 2020. Line Man is partnering Wongnai and Lalamove to provide even better services, including introducing a new eco-friendly initiative to reduce the use of plastic,” said Phichet.

Another upcoming service is Line Melody, which will allow Line Call users to use hit songs for their melodies and ringtones.

The firm will launch Smart Channel, a personalised information channel.

Line Thailand also unveiled a range of professional solutions geared for businesses, as well as the human relations and public sectors. “With the rise of the ‘Industry 4.0’ era, the Line ecosystem is growing as an important and effective tool for business, connecting brands with their customers and improving efficiencies,” Phichet said.

In Thailand today, there are three million Line Official Accounts (OA), with 1.3 million OA for retail business and 180,000 OA in restaurants. That success led to the development of Line OA Plus and OA Plus E-Commerce. “Those services will allow customers to purchase products directly through Line Official Account, without having to switch to other applications,” Phichet said.

Other new services include:

Slide ad – a new type of ad for Line Today that makes messages more attractive and engaging.

Smart Channel – offering a space for advertising on the top of the chat list, so marketers can send targeted messages to the right audience at the right time.

Line Idol – allowing pop stars to communicate and build relationships with their fan base more effectively. Line Idol currently features specialised channels for celebrities and bloggers, and has launched two additional categories — business and sport.

Line’s mobile payment platform continues to grow, said Phichet. There are six million accounts, four million credit/debit cards and five million e-wallets registered with Line.

Line Converge also saw the Line Thailand Awards taking place for the first time, recognising the best performers on the Line platform. Over 26 awards were given out in a wide range of categories, including tech, entertainment, automotive, retail, and the finance industry.

US President Donald Trump agreed on Monday to award licensing deals between American companies and Huawei in a “timely” way, according to media reports.

The agreement was reportedly reached after a meeting at the White House with American tech giants Google, Qualcomm, Intel, Cisco, Broadcom, Western Digital and Micron Technology, which“requested timely licensing decisions from the Department of Commerce, and the president agreed”, said the White House.

The US president has seemingly performed a U-turn on his position on Huawei, as trade talks between the US and China resumed.

In a recent interview with the Financial Times, Ren said that Huawei would learn from its current experience with the US, and while his company was still willing to buy from US suppliers, it would ultimately look to reduce its dependence on American components.

“President Trump’s statements are good for American companies. Huawei is also willing to continue to buy products from American companies. But we don’t see much impact on what we are currently doing. We will still focus on doing our own job right,” he said.

In terms of 5G, Ren said there won’t be any problem with Huawei’s supply. “Our 5G equipment is the best in the world. No other companies will be able to catch up within two to three years. Supply won’t be a problem. Our production lines are working flat out these days,” he told the media.

Huawei, the world’s leading telecommunication equipment supplier and the second-largest smartphone manufacturer, has signed over 50 5G commercial contracts, and shipped over 150,000 5G base stations around the world.

In Thailand, Huawei has been collaborating with the Digital Economy and Society Ministry, and other government offices and partners on the first 5G Testbed project in the country.

“The 5G Testbed project in Kasetsart University, Sri Racha campus, is in line with the government’s policy to accelerate Thailand’s digital-economy transformation,” said Huawei Thailand spokesperson Deng Feng. “Together, we can all cooperate to bring the best 5G network to Thailand, help the transition to 5G technology and transform the industry, so we can connect people for a better quality of life.”

On August 7, Huawei will hold an IoT Industry Summit in Bangkok, Thailand. The Internet of Things, a significant part of 5G, has the potential to be the engine to push forward Thailand 4.0 across the areas of Smart City, Smart Industry and Smart Life.

“We want to satisfy society and people, because our ultimate goal is to serve our customers. Who are our customers? 6.5 billion people, and possibly more in the future for more IoT connections. Therefore, we are committed to creating value for customers and ensuring we satisfy people’s needs,” said Ren.