MQDC has formed a joint venture with Japan’s Itochu to develop Whizdom Asoke-Sukhumvit, a 39-story condominium by Benjakitti Park, at an investment cost of over Bt9.5 billion. The Japanese trading company is taking a 38 per cent interest in its first investment to develop property in Thailand for over 20 years.

The joint venture demonstrates both the project’s and Bangkok’s global appeal, said Assada Kaeokhiao, president of the Whizdom brand under MQDC – Magnolia Quality Development Corporation Limited, a Bangkok-based international property developer.

“The joint venture reflects Whizdom Asoke-Sukhumvit as a top-quality asset for residents and investors worldwide, bringing Itochu back to the Thai real estate market, with its prime location, unique design and premium quality,” he said.

“This agreement also attests to Bangkok’s enduring attraction for lifestyle and investment. Amid a cooling market, the outlook remains buoyant for projects that can offer truly unique aspects, such as stunning views over a 450-rai (72-hectare) forest park. We are honoured to partner with a company with the prestige of Itochu, ranked high in the Fortune 500.”

The joint venture agreement was formalised at a signing ceremony at Waldorf Astoria Bangkok in Magnolias Ratchadamri Boulevard (MRB).

Forum held in push for Thai trading hub

The Ministry of Energy targeted Thailand as a LNG/LPG regional trading hub, as it held the “Optimising LNG and LPG Trade in Asia 2019” forum, focusing on business linkages between Thai and international entrepreneurs. The event, held last week at St Regis Hotel in Bangkok, attracted representatives of producers, traders and shippers from over 15 countries.

From increasing energy demand and slowing production of natural gas in the region, the ministry’s support and endorsement for the event was especially timely given the need for supporting the Gas Plan 2015 and reductions in the LNG, LPG and operation costs in Thailand.

LNG and LPG shipping is one of the most efficient means of transporting gas from producing regions to demand centres in Asia, but requires strategic planning of infrastructure and shipping years ahead of schedule.

Asia is the largest consumer of energy in the world, accounting for 42.5 per cent of the world’s consumption of energy, and is the world’s second-fastest growing energy consumption market.

However, natural gas only accounts for 11.5 per cent of Asia’s energy consumption and given the global concerns over emissions and air pollution, is rapidly gaining popularity and has many opportunities for growth.

Thailand’s demand for natural gas and LPG has been growing at 3.6 per cent and 4.1 per cent respectively while production has simultaneously been falling by 2.7 per cent.

In 2017, Thailand has imported over 13.4 million cubic metres of natural gas and that figure is forecasted to increase 10 per cent annually. Imports will cover 71 per cent of Thailand’s natural gas demand and 19.5 per cent of Thailand’s LPG demand by 2036, and this means an increasing reliance on LNG and LPG trading to meet Thailand’s energy needs.

All this means it is more important than ever for Thailand to bring together regional and international stakeholders to ensure that availability of LNG and LPG is sufficient to drive economic growth in Asia, says the Ministry of Energy.

Thailand’s 4.0 energy outlook and policies will take centre-stage as Thailand angles to become a regional energy hub. Thailand, as an early adopter of gas for transportation will also set the example for the neighbouring countries as a leader in LPG utilisation, sharing their knowledge and experience with Myanmar, Vietnam and Cambodia.

New campaign for traditional trade

Ichitan has launched the “Ichitan cartons: Win Mercedes-Benz and Gold” promotion campaign to thank mom-and-pop shops and traditional wholesalers nationwide. Four Mercedes-Benz GLA 200 Urban, valued at Bt2.1 million each, and 200 one-baht gold prizes will be given away. The campaign is designed to boost Ichitan product positioning and strengthen traditional trade nationwide.

Tan Passakornnatee, president & CEO of Ichitan Group Plc, said, “Traditional trade plays a crucial role in our success. They play a crucial role in bringing our latest summer products, such as Ichitan Happy Green Tea, Ichitan Chew Chew and Yen Yen Fun, to consumers nationwide, and help our products maintaining their leadership in the market. To thank them for their contribution and give them chances to win big prizes, we have launched this “Ichitan cartons: Win Mercedes-Benz and Gold” campaign. This campaign could boost our sales by 19 per cent in the summer,” said Tan.

The “Ichitan cartons: Win Mercedes-Benz and Gold” campaign will run until June 15, 2019.

Traditional trade shops and customers nationwide are encouraged to buy cartons of participating Ichitan products – Ichitan Green Tea, Ichitan Happy Tea, Ichitan Chew Chew, Yen Yen and Yen Yen Fun, in bottles and UHT boxes.

Shops and customers can cut the designated part of the cartons, and send them to PO Box 107 Khlong Chan Post Office, Bang Kapi, Bangkok 10240, or drop them at the provided boxes at shops and Makro to enter this promotion campaign.

He said that Robot Maker started its business in 2013 with robotic vacuum cleaner products.

“We are a Thai company. We do original design manufacturing and research and development of our products closely with our partner.”

Thammasorn said that the company sees an opportunity in the market for robotic vacuum cleaner technology, especially in Thailand where there are too many features and prices that do not suit Thai people.

“So we started sourcing and developing robotic vacuum cleaners with our partner, which is one of the top five in the world for manufacturing robot vacuums. We wanted to localise it in order to match Thai people’s behaviour. Today, we have five partners cooperating with us in research and development of our products. In addition, we have also set up our own R&D team in Thailand, with a background in robotics engineering, in order to conduct R&D and prototypes of new products,” said Thammasorn.

“Currently, we plan to only expand our R&D team in Thailand. For manufacturing, we still think that Thailand does not yet have a good ecosystem to support the development of smart home appliances and robotic products,” he said.

“The key challenge in the smart home-appliance market is technology. We compete with time. So we have to move fast and improve our product and service on a daily basis. Our strategy is to provide the best technology at a reasonable price and the best service. This will allow us to grow sustainably in the long term,” said Thammasorn.

Thammasorn said the company expects that within 3-5 years robotic vacuum cleaners and smart home appliances will enjoy average annual growth of between 30 per cent and 40 per cent. The target group of Autobot is those who do not have time for house cleaning and those with modern lifestyle with emphasis on saving time.

Currently there are 5-7 brands, global and local, for automatic house appliances. Autobot is ranked No 4 in the market and aims to be No 1 within the next three years. With after-sales service and warranty, Autobot takes care of consumers until the end of use. Customers can bring Autobot for free cleaning every six months to help prolong the usage up to 5-10 years.

The company has also joined hands with e-commerce giant Shopee to boost sales of Autobot robotic vacuum cleaners in the online market.

“The robot vacuum cleaner, or Autobot, has its key selling point as an intelligent electronic appliance for houses. The company has joined with partners from different countries to develop products continuously. Currently there are world-class products to respond to the needs of modern homemakers who have limited time for cleaning. Autobot helps save time and labour with IOT [internet of things] and AI [artificial intelligence],” said Thammasorn.

Siwagorn Siriwongpanupong, head of business development, Shopee Thailand, said: “Shopee is a choice partner for many brands to grow their business through e-commerce, and we are pleased to see the success and growth of Autobot on Shopee since they first launched in 2017.

“In the past year, the Autobot Official Store managed to achieve a 15 times growth in orders, and is now one of the most popular robotic vacuum cleaner brands among Shopee users. We look forward to even closer collaboration with them, and will continue to work closely with the Autobot team to bring users even more exclusive deals and promotions in the months ahead.”

As part of the collaboration between Autobot and Shopee, Autobot is taking part in the Shopee Brands Festival happening from March 1 to April 4. Users can enjoy up to 60 per cent off on Autobot products and look forward to additional vouchers via the Autobot Official Store on Shopee Mall.

In the domestic market, Autobot has invested between Bt50 million and Bt100 million for brand building, focusing on the online channel and social media.

Katy Ng, head of marketing, Suntory Brands at Suntory PepsiCo Beverage (Thailand) (SPBT), said the firm had spent one year on research and development of an array of beverages under the “goodmood” brand, the first product from Suntory to be launched under SPBT.

The product captures the growing trend of drinking water and aims to pioneer a category called Water Plus, which is premium refreshing hydration offering a healthier alternative.

She said that Water Plus is a hydration beverage with a refreshing taste, designed for the new generation who want to enjoy the experience of drinking water.

Blackcurrant and Yogurt beverages are available in 450-millilitre PET bottles, priced at Bt20 per bottle. Blackcurrant will be distributed only through 7-Eleven stores, starting March14. Yogurt is already available at more than 470,000 convenience stores, supermarkets and traditional stores nationwide.

She said that of the Bt270 million being invested, Bt100 million would go towards production and manufacturing while Bt170 million has been budgeted for marketing, marketing campaigns and activities.

The firm has set up a manufacturing facility in Saraburi province. The plant can produce 800 bottles per minute.

The marketing campaign will include offering samples of 1 million bottles in Bangkok and urban upcountry.

“We are providing the goodmood brand as an innovative product, that targets the young generation with a tastier and healthier beverage. The Thai market is important market for us as it has high growth potential. SPBT will be the first key player to venture into the Water Plus category,” said Ng.

She said that goodmood beverages will create a trend of premium beverages in the country, with sugar at less than 6 grams per 100ml and good taste.

She said the total beverage market in Thailand in 2018 was valued at around Bt35 billion and market growth average was 5 per cent a year. The firm expects the Water Plus beverage category to make up around 30 per cent of total market in the next five years.

Yosuke Yamashita, senior marketing manager, Suntory Beverage and Food Asia, said that Suntory is currently the No 1 packaged-water company in Japan. It includes plain water, natural tasting water and sparkling water. The company has established and driven the Natural Tasting Water (Water Plus) category with its expertise in innovation, continuous investment in brand development and strong market execution since its first entry into the market in 2014. The contribution of the Water Plus category to Japan’s total packaged-water market has increased from 19 per cent to 30 per cent in just five years, and is currently worth Bt9.6 billion.

“We have seen positive growth of less-sugar and no-sugar products. Suntory has a proven success in the Japanese ‘Water Plus’ category, spearheaded by the natural tasting water that is one of our most popular consumer-centric innovations. SPBT believes we can replicate this success in Thailand with Suntory’s expertise and a strong non-carbonated product portfolio,” said Yamashita.

(caption) Katy Ng, left, head of marketing, Suntory Brands at Suntory PepsiCo Beverage (Thailand), and Yosuke Yamashita, senior marketing manager, Suntory Beverage and Food Asia, launch a new beverage brand “goodmood” in the Water Plus category for the Thai market in Japan on Friday.

“We have been developing the TMRW digital bank since the beginning of last year, targeting  three to five million users in the Asean region in the next five years,” said Yuttachai Teyarachakul, managing director and country head of personal financial services at UOB Thai, yesterday during a press conference.

  In regard to customer target, Yuttachai expects 500,000 to 1 million Thai users by the end of this year.

Yuttachai stated: “UOB is targeting a new market segment. Currently, most of our customers are within the ages of generation-x, with generation-y clients making up only 25 per cent of the total”.

Generation-y or millennials are those between 18 to 30 years old, he said.  They are also referred to as the digital generation.

He did not disclose UOB’s investment in the digital bank, saying only that it was part of the Bt28 billion, four-year outlay for digital technology development the bank had allocated for the Asean region.

“UOB chose Thailand as the launching pad for its digital bank in Asean because Thailand’s digital generation makes up one-third of the country’s population. Also,Thailand is ranked top globally in terms of the number of mobile banking users and third for mobile commerce according to the Global Digital Report 2019,” he said.

“The key feature of the TMRW bank is that a customer can register to create a bank account on their smartphones without having to visit a bank branch,” said Nantawan Suri, head of digital banking, UOB Thai.

“They can simply send in a photo of themselves and their ID cards through their smartphones.  Thereafter, TMRW customers can authenticate their identities at any TMRW self-service kiosks located at more than 200 outlets across Bangkok to create both a savings account and everyday spending account,” she explained, adding that they also have the option to create a credit card account.

She stated that the first business phase of TMRW is to set up self-service kiosks in Bangkok, followed by the second phase in the second half of the year when it will team up with the Top Supermarket to offer an additional 100 self-service kiosks throughout the country.

Interest rate for the savings account will stand at 1.6 per cent, while the interest rate for the everyday spending account will be set at 0.1 per cent, Nantawan told reporters during a sideline interview.

“Other unique features of the TMRW bank is the usage of artificial intelligence (AI), aiming to personalise financial services for each individual customer,” she continued. “Our market research suggests that millennial customers want their financial services to be convenient, fast and personalised.”

The bank has strived to meet their demands, Nantawan said. “When they want to contact customer service of the TMRW bank, they can start by using the chatbot which uses machine learning to identify their first languages, including key slangs or mis-spellings in both Thai and English,” she explained.

If using the chatbot does not suffice, customers can call in to talk to an officer who will be able to see the conversation the customer had with the chatbot without the caller having to repeat the inquiry from the beginning, she said.

“One of the key challenges for millennials is that their incomes often lag behind their spending. Hence, the TMRW bank will also have saving incentive mechanisms, such as using AI to remind our customers to save money each month, as well as a built-in game and reward system to encourage them to start saving,” she said.