Along its ambitions for the fifth generation of telecommunications services, the company yesterday launched two smartphones, under the Galaxy A series, aimed at millennial and Generation Z consumers in Thailand.

D J Koh, president and chief executive of the IT and mobile communication division at Samsung Electronics, said that, from this year, the industry is entering the era of 5G.

“People are interested how 5G will change our lives, such as the way gaming capabilities will be much improved, with much faster streaming and other services,” Koh said. “The user experience will be much changed as well. Samsung’s role is to ensure the best use of 5G and AI technology to lead the new era.

“The smartphone market is very saturated. Samsung is focusing on the next 10 years with its business roadmap, rather than considering mergers and acquisitions.”

He said that 5G will entail machine to machine innovation. “The user experience based on the machine will be different, such as with intelligent devices and voice commands,” he said. “The biggest change will come from the user experience. The firm therefore will announce 5G smartphone devices in the USA in May and Europe in early June.

He said Samsung is working with many partners to launch a flagship model. “Open collaboration and a win-win business model are important and this includes listening to millennials for product development and building trust among employees,” he said.

“Thailand is one of the most important markets in the Southeast Asia region. In the next two to three years millennials will account for 50 per cent of the demographics in Thailand. Young Thai generations like to embrace new things and love social media – we’ve worked on launching a new product to wow Thai millennials.”

He said the new Samsung Galaxy A70 and A80 smartphones are a great fit for millennials.

He said the Galaxy A70 is built with Samsung’s latest innovations and upgraded features.

“It showcases a stylish design, large infinity display, enhanced triple camera, powerful battery, powerful performance with 8 GB of RAM and seamless connectivity,” Koh said. “This smartphone is designed for digital natives who want to capture, connect and share life as it happens.”

The Samsung Galaxy A80 comes with Samsung’s first rotating camera.

“It lets people seamlessly capture the world around them with the same high-resolution lens, front and rear,” Koh said. “When users select the selfie mode in the camera app, the three cameras automatically pop-up from the back of the phone and rotate. The innovative camera mechanism delivers the same extraordinary triple camera experience.”

The A80 also features with a 48MP main camera.

“Users can now shoot vivid images day and night. With ToF Technology (Time of Flight), the Galaxy A80’s 3D Depth camera offers live focus videos by scanning objects for measurement and depth. Built with an ultra wide angle lens with the same viewing angle as the human eye,” Koh said.

“The Super Steady video mode helps you effortlessly capture content by reducing video shake to ensure smooth, pro-level Action Camera. And with other intelligent camera features such as Scene Optimizer that can recognize and enhance up to 30 scenes, and Flaw Detection that automatically identifies glitches before you click, you’ll never miss the perfect shot. It also enabled by the rotating camera, people can experience an uninhibited view with Samsung’s first New Infinity Display.

“Featuring a 6.7-inch FHD+ Super Amoled screen, the Galaxy A80 brings you content in vivid detail, letting you get fully immersed in every game, video, photo and story. Galaxy A80’s Dolby Atmos lets you lose yourself in the sound with a 360-degree audience experience when using earphones or Bluetooth speakers.”

Shopee, the leading e-commerce platform in Southeast Asia and Taiwan, reinforced its commitment to supporting the growth of Thailand’s SMEs and local entrepreneurs, via the launch of Shopee Bootcamp.

According to its press release, the campaign is an empowerment initiative designed to train, upskill and mentor Thai SMEs and entrepreneurs. It is supported by the Office of Small and Medium Enterprises Promotion (OSMEP), the Department of Business Development of Ministry of Commerce (DBD) and key industry leaders including Advanced Info Service PLC (AIS), Kasikornbank PCL, Thailand Post Co., Ltd. and LINE Company.

Agatha Soh, head of Marketing, Shopee Thailand, said “SMEs form the core of Thailand’s economy, representing more than 42 per cent of the country’s total GDP.

As a homegrown company, we are committed to driving the growth of SMEs in Thailand, and providing them with the necessary resources to navigate, adapt to and thrive in today’s highly dynamic digital landscape. Earlier this year, we signed a Memorandum of Understanding with OSMEP and DBD as part of a joint pledge to supporting Thai SMEs, and to drive forward Thailand’s economy.

Shopee Bootcamp is a reinforcement of our unwavering commitment to this cause, and we aim to help participating SMEs increase their sales by at least 100% through this program.”

The project is an intensive 3-month CAMP that comprises an all-rounded approach to SME education which are Curriculum, Assignment, Mastering and Privilege.

Lalida Jiranuntapravat, deputy director-general of the Department of Business Development (DBD) shared, “Shopee Bootcamp showcases the increased synergy between the Thai government and the private sector, as we combine efforts to develop Thailand’s SME segment. We are very pleased to see Shopee take the lead on this, and we trust that it is a big step forward in driving the country’s economy as a whole.  We believe that continuous upskilling is becoming increasingly crucial, and look forward to working with Shopee to help SMEs increase their competitiveness in today’s 4.0 digital economy era.”

Wachira Kaewkor, acting unit director of Data and Situation, of the Office of Small and Medium Enterprise Promotion (OSMEP) said, “We are confident that our collaboration with Shopee to empower Thai SMEs can not only help them increase their own revenue margins, but also consequently, help to drive economic growth in Thailand. We want to provide SMEs with the necessary support to improve their productivity and capabilities to sustainably compete on a global scale, starting with Shopee Bootcamp.”

Shopee Bootcamp is open for application from 2nd April 2019. For more information, please visit http://www.shopeebootcamp.com.

The 8,500-square-metre playground will also serve as Thailand’s first driving school for children.

Panjaphathara Angkasuwan, director of HBL Group’s happiness strategy, said the playground was built in cooperation with Megabangna shopping centre. The site, located on a three-storey building behind IKEA, is divided into eight zones, namely:

Harbor Land indoor playground;

Roller Land indoor rink;

JumpZ trampoline park;

Adventure Land;

Laser Battle;

Motor City;

Game Land; and

Bit Playground.

The playground, believed to be the largest in Bangkok, targets families in the east of the capital and tourists on family vacations who need somewhere safe to take their children to.

Panjaphathara said that apart from being the largest playground in Bangkok, Mega Harbor Land is also among the five largest indoor playgrounds in the world.

What makes this playground unique is its 1,000sqm Motor City, where youngsters can try their hand at driving and learn traffic rules. The aim is for them to grow up to become good motorists in the future, Panjaphathara said.

Some rides are also designed to take the weight of adults, so parents can enjoy rides with their children.

Mega Harbor Land is expected to have more than 100,000 visitors in the first quarter of this year.

“We want to help children develop a good mentality through a pleasurable experience. We also want parents to take a break and enjoy themselves with their children. With this in mind, we developed activities that families can even apply outside the playground,” Panjaphathara said.

Meanwhile, Paphitchaya Suwandee, Megabangna’s chief executive officer, said the shopping centre’s aim is to offer visitors more than just shopping, and is expanding its edutainment zone to offer different experiences to people.

Mega Harbor Land, the CEO said, will serve as a powerful magnet for families in Bang Na and nearby areas and is expected to considerably increase the number of visitors to the shopping complex.

Apart from the playground in Megabangna, HBL Group has also built Harbor Land Pattaya, Harbor Land Tukcom Udon Thani, Harbor Land Tukcom Chon Buri, Harbor Land Tukcom Sri Racha, Harbor Land Fashion Island and Harbor Land Gateway Bang Sue.

Grab will also seek to invest aggressively, with a commitment to make at least six investments or acquisitions across the region this year. Underpinning Grab’s growth is the backing of SoftBank and other key strategic investors who have invested over $4.5 billion in Grab’s current Series H round.

Last month, Grab secured a $1.46-billion investment from SoftBank Vision Fund. Grab’s partnership with SoftBank runs deep, and the two companies have been working together since 2014.

“I met Masayoshi-san last week where he gave his unlimited support to power our growth,” Anthony Tan, Grab’s co-founder and CEO, said yesterday.

He added that support from strategic investors like SoftBank and others will allow the company to grow very aggressively this year across the verticals of payments, transport and food. At its current growth rates, the company expects to be four times bigger than its closest competitor in Indonesia and across the region by the end of the year, as the company aims to emerge as the leading super app in Southeast Asia.

“We see massive opportunities to expand our business and continue to serve its customers, driver-partners and merchants across Southeast Asia,” Tan said.

Grab president Ming Maa shared details of the business outlook. “In line with the tremendous transformation that Southeast Asia is currently undergoing, the opportunity is ripe for us to further grow in domains like healthcare [and] financial services amongst others,” said Maa.

“Amongst other key markets, Indonesia in particular will see us invest a significant portion of fresh proceeds, where we are on track to be four times larger than our nearest competitor and remain the leader in on-demand transport,” he added.

Grab’s Indonesian business is expanding rapidly, with revenue more than doubling in 2018. Grab has 62 per cent of Indonesia’s ride-hailing market, according to ABI Research.

GrabFood is growing rapidly in Indonesia, operating in 178 Indonesian cities from 13 at the start of last year, with delivery volumes growing almost 10 times in 2018.

The past year has seen a significant expansion of the Grab ecosystem through partnerships with global industry leaders such as Toyota, Hyundai, Microsoft and Mastercard.

Grab also inked partnerships with regional industry leaders like Thailand’s Central Group and Kasikornbank, Indonesia’s OVO, Bank BTN and Bank Mandiri, Singapore’s United Overseas Bank, Philippines’ SM Investment Corporation, Vietnam’s Moca and Malaysia’s Maybank, amongst others.