Last Wednesday, Minor submitted their bidding form titled “Enfranchisement of Commercial Business Management within the Passenger Terminal at Suvarnabhumi Airport” to the AOT.

The bidding document was rejected on the same day, on the basis that they did not have adequate experience in the areas of food, beverage and retail business in Thailand, said Chaiyapat Paitoon, the deputy corporate CFO and strategic planning for Minor.

However, he said, as Minor strongly disagreed with AOT’s position and its rejection of their bid submission, the company has sent the letter asking the airport body to reconsider – and expects a response in the next one to two days.

“We believe [Minor] has adequate experience managing these areas of businesses,” Chaiyapat continued. “This is through its own businesses and through its majority and wholly-owned subsidiaries.”

These subsidiaries include Minor Food Group Plc, Minor Corporation Plc, Royal Garden Plaza Company Ltd and the Chao Phaya Resort Company Ltd. Through these businesses, Minor has experience managing department stores, operating food and restaurant businesses as well as managing retail trade, fashion and lifestyle businesses, he explained.

“Details of the aforementioned businesses are clearly set forth in the company’s Certificate of Experience in Operating Businesses, which was submitted to the AOT as part of Mint’s bid documentation,” according to a letter to the press, which was adapted from the reconsideration request sent to AOT on May 24.

“Mint believes that the AOT bidding process is best served by including all qualified bidders in the process and AOT’s disqualification of Mint is contrary to that result,” the letter continued. “Mint has requested AOT to urgently reconsider its decision in the interest of fairness.” Chayapat did not reveal any alternative business plans for Minor in the event that their disqualification from the bidding process is not reconsidered, insisting that they are now waiting for the AOT’s response.

Minor will continue its five-year-plan, he stated, with the company’s growth trajectory and that of its subsidiaries remaining strong regardless of whether they win the bid to manage Suvarnabhumi airport’s commercial activities.

For example, Mint acquired NH Hotel Group, which is listed on the Madrid Stock Exchange in Spain, towards the end of last year as part of their plan to further expand their hospitality portfolio.

Meanwhile, the Minor Food Group, a subsidiary company of Mint, announced back in March that it would double the number of its restaurants in Thailand and overseas to more than 4,400 over the next five years.

The project’s target customers are university students, freelancers, startup entrepreneurs, tourists and Samyan locals as it target customers. Samyan Mitrtown says it has Thailand’s leading retailers as its partners, and they will offer a diverse range of late-night services to fulfil the needs of customers around the clock.

Thiranant Kornsritipa, the executive vice president for retail business development of Goldenland Property Development Plc, said Samyan Mitrtown is nearing completion. The mixed-use project on King Rama IV is billed as a “new destination” for Bangkok and is due to open in September 2019.  Goldenland has a zone that lies at the heart of this modern retail project.

Samyan Mitrtown aims to be an “urban life library” providing customers with new experiences, especially due to the “24 Hours” zone which aims to satisfy the new generation’s lifestyle needs.

With this investment, Schaeffler will create more than 300 additional jobs in the province. Dinh Quoc Thai, chairman of the province’s’s Committee joined Georg FW Schaeffler, shareholder and chairman of Schaeffler Group and Andreas Siegel, German consul general to celebrate the official opening in presence of government officials, customers, partners and other dignitaries.

Schaeffler said in his speech, “Vietnam was the very first location in South East Asia where Schaeffler invested to build local manufacturing capacity. There are many reasons for our continued commitment to Vietnam. It’s strategic location in Asia, a well-diversified, stable and fast-growing economy with talented, well-educated, ambitious population are just few among them.”

Confidence in Vietnam’s potential as an efficient production hub

Martin Schreiber, President Industrial at Schaeffler Asia Pacific said “The expansion of local manufacturing capacity demonstrates our confidence in Vietnam as an ideal production hub in the Asia Pacific region to serve regional and global customers with best-in-class bearing products and systems.”

Klaus Mueller, Chief Operating Officer at Schaeffler Asia Pacific added that we consider this plant in Vietnam as one of the best performance and modern production facilities in our global network.

The new facility, located at the Amata Industrial Zone in Bien Hoa City, about 50 kilometers from Ho Chi Minh City, will produce industrial bearings and components for a wide range of applications.

Schaeffler first made an investment in Vietnam over 10 years ago when the company started local production of Tapered Roller Bearings (TRB), Radial Insert Ball Bearings (RIBB) and Steering Column Bearings (SCB) in Southeast Asia. With the new investment Schaeffler will increase production capacity of the existing product ranges and add new product lines for extended range of RIBB as well as the flagship product of Schaeffler Group – Needle Roller Bearings (NRB).

Made in Asia Pacific – for global customers

The new plant has been developed on a modular concept with a total building area of 25,000 sqm in Phase 1. “We continue to grow our engineering competency and production footprint with the aim to deliver highest value from our products and solutions to customers in the region and around the world.

This is the second major investment by Schaeffler to expand local manufacturing capacity in Asia Pacific. In 2016, we opened a new plant for automotive products in Thailand and today we are proud to celebrate the opening of this state-of-the-art facility for industrial products in Vietnam,” Mr. Helmut Bode, CEO Schaeffler Asia Pacific said

Products manufactured in Vietnam will be supplied to customers across a wide range of industry sectors including agriculture, construction and mining, power transmission, food processing, textile, paper, steel, cement and two-wheelers (motorcycles).

Industry 4.0 to optimize manufacturing process

The new plant is equipped with advanced production machinery and technologies in line with Schaeffler’s commitment to maintain consistent quality standards worldwide. It is the first plant in Southeast Asia to apply the latest Industry 4.0 solutions developed by Schaeffler. There are 70 Schaeffler condition monitoring devices – SmartCheckTM – installed at key positions inside the plant.

Seunghun Park, Managing Director and Plant Manager Schaeffler Vietnam said “Development of manufacturing sector is a key priority of the Government of Vietnam.

With access to highly skilled workforce and their commitment to deliver best-in-class quality products for our customers, Schaeffler Vietnam has proven to be an efficient production base for the company. In 2018, we achieved the milestone of continuously delivering products without a single quality complain from customers for over two years. Expansion of our production capacity gives us the confidence to achieve even higher standards of quality performance and customer satisfaction while contributing to the growth of the industrial sector in Vietnam,” he added.

The innovative Medpak VIoC solution provides superior temperature integrity, greater convenience and higher cost efficiencies to healthcare customers shipping temperature-sensitive shipments.

The Medpak VIoC solution is a high performance reusable thermal packaging, which comes with energy efficient Vacuum Insulated Panels (VIP) and Phase Change Material (PCM) validated to ISTA (International Safe Transit Association) 7D standards.

The packaging provides 96-hours temperature stability in case of unforeseen contingencies, a critical aspect for temperature-sensitive pharma shipments.

The solution comes fitted with SenseAware®, a sensor-based device, which monitors the shipment location and conditions of the contents and will indicate any deviations from its ideal environment such as temperature, humidity, light exposure and shock events.

This solution is available to customers on a one-way rental basis.  FedEx delivers the pre-conditioned packaging to the customer and transports the loaded box via its global network, which is monitored by an experienced customer service team to track shipment progress.

The solution offers full custodial control from pick-up all the way to delivery of the shipment, including the collection and return of the empty packaging from the overseas receiver.

In Asia Pacific, Medpak VI°C is available to customers in Japan, Korea and Singapore.

Total healthcare spending is expected to surge to US$2.27 trillion by 2026[1] and this has driven up the demand for healthcare logistics.

One of the key challenges faced by healthcare customers is the delivery of temperature-sensitive shipments.  Every year the global pharmaceutical industry suffers a loss of more than US$15 billion worth of products due to temperature variations during transit.

“The sensitive nature of many healthcare products requires strict regulated temperature conditions.  At FedEx Express, we are upping our game by bringing unprecedented levels of visibility and control to the supply chain through innovative means, and at the same time ensuring safety and regulatory compliance,” said Karen Reddington, president, Asia Pacific, FedEx Express.

“The availability of the Medpak VI°C solution in Asia Pacific creates more possibilities for our healthcare customers with its ability to deliver in a cost-effective and consistent manner. Together with FedEx strong global network, this solution will provide customers greater convenience and peace of mind for shipping sensitive packages.”

The innovative Medpak VI°C solution provides superior temperature integrity, greater convenience and higher cost efficiencies to healthcare customers shipping temperature-sensitive shipments, the company said in a Monday press release.

The packaging provides 96-hour temperature stability in case of unforeseen contingencies, a critical aspect for temperature-sensitive pharmaceutical shipments.

This solution is available to customers on a one-way rental basis.

In Asia Pacific, Medpak VI°C is available to customers in Japan, Korea and Singapore.

Total healthcare spending is expected to surge to US$2.27 trillion (Bt72.19 trillion) by 2026 and this has driven up the demand for healthcare logistics.

One of the key challenges faced by healthcare customers is the delivery of temperature-sensitive shipments. Every year the global pharmaceutical industry suffers a loss of more than $15 billion worth of products due to temperature variations during transit.

The strategies are to focus on loans, FX and derivatives, deposits, trade and settlement, and cross-segment collaboration.

In addition, Krungsri JPC/MNC will focus on expanding business opportunities in the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC), with Japan’s foreign direct investment (FDI) to Thailand expected to be stable at $5 billion (Bt159 billion) this year, Yuzo Nakada, Krungsri head of Japanese corporate and multi-national corporate (JPC/MNC) banking, said on Monday.

He added that the Thai corporate segment as well as the retail/ consumer segment of Krungsri, would leverage synergies with MUFG and its partner banks outside of Thailand.

The company will also set up three platform evolution initiatives focusing on operational excellence, data intelligence and professional skill enhancement.

According to JETRO research, there are about 4,500 Japanese companies in Thailand. Krungsri views itself as a vital banking connection for Japanese companies in Thailand, with an estimated 70-75 per cent of all Japanese companies here having accounts with Krungsri.

In 2018, loan volume increased by 16 per cent from a year earlier, while deposit volume increased 10 per cent. The collaborative strengths of Krungsri’s local expertise and MUFG’s global network and capabilities are among the most important factors to enable Krungsri to achieve a “AAA” rating by TRIS Rating.

“To support foreign investment into Thailand by Japanese and other multinational customers, we will focus more on the EEC area,” Nakada said.

“The government’s support for various EEC projects will certainly be one of major growth drivers of the Thai economy and should attract more investments from Japan and other countries, both in the shorter and the longer terms. We wish to play a significant role to contribute to the picture,” Nakada added.

MINT submitted its bid to the AOT last Wednesday but was rejected on the basis that it did not have adequate experience in the food, retail and beverage businesses in Thailand, said Chaiyapat Paitoon, Deputy Corporate CFO and Strategic Planning of MINT.

He added that MINT strongly disagrees with AOT’s position and its rejection of MINT’s bid submission. The company has therefore sent a letter to the AOT asking it to reconsider and expects a response in the next day or so.