More than 1,000 elephants across Thailand are reportedly affected by food and medicine shortages.

Under its Aob Chang Project launched in 2013, Gulf Group is donating medicines and veterinary supplies worth a total of Bt222,390 to the National Elephant Institute’s elephant hospitals in Lampang province, the Elephant Hospital southern branch in Krabi province as well as the Thai Elephant Alliance Association in Chiang Mai province.

Sitamon Ratanavadi, corporate social responsibility assistant at Gulf, stated on behalf of Sarath Ratanavadi, chief executive officer, Gulf Energy Development Pcl, “There are thousands of Thai elephants that have been affected by the Covid-19 crisis, whether it be through lack of food, medicine or proper care. Gulf recognises the need to address this problem and has therefore joined with the Aob Chang Project, which has worked to help Thai elephants even before the outbreak of Covid-19, to donate money to aid these elephants. Gulf Group is ready to play a part in supporting all those affected — humans and animals.”

“One elephant eats between 150-300 kilograms of food a day. The daily food intake includes grass, corn, bananas, sugar cane, tamarind pulp and watermelon,” Sitamon said. “So, besides ensuring that elephants have enough to eat, we are also helping local farmers earn money from selling agricultural products for elephant food,” Sitamon added.

Gulf Group said it has helped various sectors in the fight against Covid-19 with over Bt49 million financial support support for the procurement of medical equipment, donations of alcohol sanitising gel to small hospitals in Pattani and Yala provinces, as well as cloth face masks for subdistrict health screening teams in 10 provinces. In addition, Gulf Group has pledged to provide over 120,000 meals to poor urban communities across Bangkok.

Ted will oversee the company’s venture capital and business development department in order to boost the company’s ability to compete both domestically and internationally, along with the information technology and corporate public relations departments.

Ted has more than 27 years of experience in both domestic and international companies. He is also a partner at Creative Ventures, Thailand’s first Silicon Valley-based venture capital fund, that invests in global deep tech companies. He has extensive investment experience as an executive adviser to leading companies.

Ted holds a Master of Business Administration degree from Boston College, Massachusetts, USA, and a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from North Carolina State University, USA.

Ted said, “Despite past and present challenges, Intouch has continued to have a profound impact on its stakeholders, the tech consumer ecosystem and society as a whole, so I feel both humble and excited to join a team that understands the importance of creating value, challenging complacency and building sustainability.”

Spencer takes over from Aman Chowla and will report to Wilf Blackburn, regional CEO, Insurance Growth Markets. Wilf reports to Nic Nicandrou, chief executive of PCA.

His appointment follows Prudential’s signing in March 2020 of a strategic, long-term bancassurance partnership with TMB Bank in Thailand to offer life, health and savings solutions to TMB’s nine million customers.

Spencer joined PCA in 2018 as chief operating officer, and has 25 years of experience in the insurance industry across life, non-life and asset management in Asia, Europe, North America and the UK.

“This is a magnificently proud moment for me because it has taken strong belief, determination and indomitable discipline to succeed in this platform,” said Chatchai Thnarudee, CEO of JP Insurance.

“I am grateful to be among all the management team and employees, and also the dedicated staff who have worked day-in and day-out to help JP Insurance succeed in its digital transformation journey. … I would especially like to thank our partners and customers too, who believed in us and gave us continuous business which motivated us to work harder to give them the best products and services.”

The award recognises 20 leading insurance companies in the Asia-Pacific for excellence in digital technology and innovation. The award criteria cover response to market needs, implementation of digital transformation, customer feedback, operational efficiency and pursuing business opportunities for long-term sustainability.

“We are determined to ensure service quality and optimum benefits for customers and partners … the award is another success for JP Insurance’s business transformation and rebranding since 2018,” Chatchai added.

JP Insurance plans to launch blockchain-based travel insurance for customer convenience in the second half of 2020.

The struggles of 200,000 Klong Toei residents have been eased after the IVL Foundation donated Bt500,000 to install disinfectant equipment at the entrance of the community, and to provide bags of essential supplies for 300 families left without livelihoods during the lockdown. The donation will fund operations conducted by the Duang Prateep Foundation, which will also create temporary jobs for 25 people who will be hired to cook food and distribute hygenic necessities to elderly and disabled residents, as well as children in the community.

“The Covid-19 outbreak is affecting the daily lives of people, not only in terms of health, but also in its considerable impact on the labour market,” said Suchitra Lohia, chairperson of the IVL Foundation.

“We realise the importance of collaborating with other charitable entities to help those heavily affected by this unprecedented crisis. The IVL Foundation acts as a helping hand to support communities in relieving their hardship in this difficult period.”

Said Prateep Ungsongtham Hata, founder of the Duang Prateep Foundation: “We have found that numerous people in the community have lost their jobs, affecting the lives of their families as well. This fund supported by the IVL Foundation will be allocated to provide supplies and hygiene necessities for the unemployed, elderly, disabled and young people in the community.

“More help is also welcomed, as there are around 200,000 people living here and many of them are struggling just to survive.”

As COVID-19 continues to spread around the world, Huawei is taking proactive measures to ensure the safety of its employees. The company and its supplier network are working together to address the tough challenges facing production and resume operations. Huawei’s business is continuing as usual and its overall business results in Q1 2020 are in line with expectations.

Networks are a lifeline for people from all walks of life during this public health crisis, so ensuring normal network operations is of paramount importance. Huawei is doing everything in its capabilities to help carriers ensure stable and secure network operations. Together, we are working to meet the network demand created by social distancing as people switch to telecommuting, distance education, and e-commerce for daily necessities.

Since the outbreak, Huawei and its partners have rapidly launched many 5G- and AI-powered medical applications. We are using our expertise in communications technologies to help fight the pandemic and save more lives. The AI-assisted coronavirus diagnosis solution cuts CT scan review times from 12 minutes down to 2, helping doctors improve their diagnostic efficiency. 5G-enabled remote video consultation helps mitigate shortages of frontline experts and increases the efficiency of diagnosis and treatment of critical patients. AI-powered thermal imaging devices can take temperatures, increasing the efficiency of infection prevention and control in public places. In addition, Huawei has been doing its best to get masks, test kits, and other protective supplies to the countries and organizations that need them.

In the Asia Pacific region and ASEAN countries, Huawei has joined hands with countries like Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines, Singapore, Brunei, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Laos and others to address on-ground communication challenges, ensuring connectivity and supporting essential services with innovative technologies during the COVID-19 pandemic.

On April 16, Thailand Prime Minister and Defence Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha visited Siriraj Hospital in Bangkok to observe and follow up on the utilization of Huawei’s AI-Assisted solution provided by Thailand Digital Economy and Society Ministry and Huawei. The Thailand government plans to implement this solution in more hospitals across the country, in order to enhance the performance of medical service and better protect the medical staff.

The AI-assisted technology, supported by 5G network, helped improve the efficiency and effectiveness of diagnosis by automatic analysis of 20,000 CT scan results and comparing with existing database samples, could readily detect 4,000 confirmed cases. In addition, its remote teleconsultation facility helped reduce infection risk for medical staff and lessen the burden on system by expanding the disease control ability to different areas in the country.

“It is our hope that the pandemic ends as soon as possible. We also hope that every patient around the world can be treated and cured as quickly as possible. The outbreak of COVID-19 is another reminder that we share this world and share the same fate. In order to address common challenges such as this one, we need to be united, because a virus knows no borders and may target anyone, regardless of their race, skin color, or wealth,” said Eric Xu, Huawei Rotating Chairman.

A seed that survives the storm will sprout and then blossom. Even though it is impossible to know when the tides of this pandemic will turn, we at Huawei believe that this challenge will be overcome by standing together.

Note: exchange rate at the end of March 2020: US$1 = CNY7.0915 (source: external agencies)

Policyholders can now submit claims for hospital and medical reimbursement online or through their smartphones via the PRUConnect service on Prudential Thailand’s Line channel. Existing submission channels – in person, by mail, or through agent services – remain open.

“Customers can also see the progress of their claims submission and when the claims payments are deposited into their bank accounts”, said Pasalaree Theerasas, Chief Customer Officer, Prudential Thailand.

To activate the new e-claims service, customers simply need to add Prudential Thailand as a friend in their LINE app and follow the instructions to submit claims.

Policyholders with hospital income claims can submit the required documents through the online channel, without the need to provide original medical receipts. This will significantly reduce the time spent in accessing the claims, enabling payments to be settled within three days of approval, said the company.

Customers with medical reimbursement claims are required to upload the original receipts.

The Prudential Customer Service Centre hotline at 1621 is operating as normal, while customers can also reach the company via the Prudential Thailand LINE chatbot and Facebook account.

Policyholders can pay their insurance premiums through mobile banking apps simply by scanning the QR code or barcode on the physical bill or SMS, and then clicking “Pay”.

The firm adds that customers can also continue to receive in-hospital treatment under Prudential Thailand’s hospital network without needing to make payments or claims by using their PRUCare card or National ID card.

Energy giant Banpu Pcl has donated Bt2 million to the Thai Red Cross Society’s nationwide battle against the virus pandemic. The money will help fund the “Face Masks for Protection against Covid-19” project, which has a mission to produce and distribute 10 million face masks and 180,000 sets of daily necessities to Thais across the country via provincial Red Cross branches.

Banpu said it was helping the effort to bring the Covid-19 outbreak under control so as to encourage the country and Thais to get through this crisis as quickly as possible.

“The MEA has been using the same fee calculation model as in previous months with no immediate plans for adjustment,” he said. “The reason that power bills in April may be higher than other months is because of the hot weather in Thailand, which can reach 36-40 degrees Celsius during the day. This prompts people to use air conditioners for longer and at a higher setting.”

The difference between room temperature and targeted air-conditioning temperature grows bigger during summer, he added.

“In other seasons the average room temperature is 30C, which is only four degrees higher than the recommended setting on air conditioners, at 26 degrees. However, when the temperature reaches 40C in summer, air conditioners must cool the temperature by 14 degrees to reach the target, resulting in greater use of electricity.”

“Adjusting an air conditioner’s target temperature down by one degree will consume roughly 10 per cent more power,” he added.

“Another reason for the increase in power bills in the past month is the fact that more people are working from home in line with the government’s policy of social distancing to reduce the spread of Covid-19,” said Jaturong.

“People who stay at home during the day will use electrical appliances for longer periods, including air conditioners, electric fans, computers and TVs.”

“We recommend that users download our MEA Smart Life mobile application, which is available at the App Store and Google Play or at http://onelink.to/measmartlife,” he added.

“The app will help you track your electricity usage, as well as let you conveniently pay your bill via internet/mobile banking.”

MEA also recommends turning on an electric fan when using an air conditioner, since the breeze generated helps achieve the coolness of 24 degrees without lowering the setting on the air-conditioner. AC units should also be cleaned at least twice a year to reduce accumulated dust that can lower efficiency. The Bangkok supplier also advises users to make sure they check electrical wires for any damage, install a ground wire if they haven’t already done so, and unplug their appliances when they finish using them or when they are away.

More info on safe and efficient electricity usage can be found at MEA’s Facebook page, Line: @meathailand and Twitter: @mea_news, or contact MEA’s call centre on 1130 at any time.