Martial back in training with Man United ahead of Real Sociedad test
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 03, 2022
THE NATION
Anthony Martial returned to training with Manchester United on Wednesday ahead of the club’s Europa League clash with Real Sociedad.
The France international has not played since the 2-1 win over Everton at the beginning of October, and he has only played for 135 minutes so far this season due to injury.
United trained without Jadon Sancho or Antony, but the return of Martial will come as a boost to manager Erik ten Hag.
The ‘Red Devils’ can top Europa League Group E and avoid a play-off game if they beat Sociedad by more than two goals on Thursday evening.
Real Sociedad train ahead of Man United test in Europa League
Real Sociedad trained at their base in Zubieta on Wednesday in preparation for a group-deciding Europa League clash with Manchester United.
‘The White and Blues’, who beat Man United 1-0 in their opening game of the group stage, head into Thursday’s final match in Group E sitting three points clear of ‘The Red Devils’ at the top of the standings.
But a 2-0 win for the visitors at Estadio de Anoeta would see United leapfrog Sociedad into first place and avoid a play-off for a spot in the knockout stage of the competition.
Real Sociedad train ahead of Man United test in Europa League
Over 100 Thai and foreign players taking part in 3×3 basketball league
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 02, 2022
The biggest 3×3 basketball competition, “3BL Thailand League”, will be held with more than 100 Thai and foreign basketball players.
Eight men’s and six women’s teams will compete against each other with a combination of Thai and foreign basketball players.
Yoshiya Kato, chairman of YKBK Enterprise Private Limited, said that the company has joined hands with the Basketball Sport Association of Thailand, Bangkok Metropolitan Administration and the Sports Authority of Thailand in organising this event.
It is the biggest 3×3 basketball competition in Thailand and the only league certified by the International Basketball Federation.
He hoped to create a fun, exciting, and interesting atmosphere for Thai people while also improving the standard of the competition, and helping Thai basketball players reach the Olympics.
The first round of the competition will be held on Saturday at CentralWorld from 10am to 8pm.
The second, third, and fourth rounds will be held at the Lan Khon Muang ground opposite City Hall from 10am to 8pm on November 12, 19, and 26.
The final round will be held on December 5 at Siam Square from 9.40am to 4pm.
Apart from this, Thai idol group BNK48 will perform on the opening day this Saturday. Sports fans can attend the event for free or watch all matches online on AIS Play, Siamsport, 3BL Thailand Facebook, 3BL Thailand Youtube.
Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp played down suggestions that his team are in decline, saying it is “not 100% fair” to judge the squad because they have had a number of injury problems this season.
Liverpool were expected to be Manchester City’s closest challengers for the Premier League title, but Klopp’s side are ninth in the standings after 12 games.
Liverpool have lost players including Diogo Jota, Naby Keita, Luis Diaz and Joel Matip to injury while Darwin Nunez has struggled to justify his price tag after being signed as a replacement for Sadio Mane.
Saturday’s 2-1 defeat by Leeds United, their first home league loss since March 2021, was another blow.
Klopp said there was no quick fix and urged patience as the team seeks to pick their season back up.
Q: “Are you ever concerned that this team might just have reached the end of its cycle and it’s in decline now? Is that a concern?”)
“So we are obviously out there and we do this job in public and I think the judgement for this will be later on in the season, or maybe at the end of the season where we say ‘ok, that’s obviously now, that’s it for this group of players’ or whatever, or for this manager if you want, whatever question will be asked then. But at the moment it’s not 100% fair to judge the team because it means the squad obviously, because we never had them (players) available, we miss – especially now up front – top quality (players), which is not helpful, that doesn’t mean the others don’t have (players missing who are) top quality, but with the amount of games, we’d usually make changes but now we can’t do that.” said Klopp
“For sure we will not take risks, but we cannot.. if you watch football a little bit, international football, then you would probably will know that Napoli is in incredible shape, plays incredible football, are top of the table in Italy, maybe the team in form in Europe at the moment. So this is not a game for a massive rotation probably, it’s not about whether we have to win 4-0 or whatever to go top of the group, we want to win the game obviously that’s clear, but the result in the moment is not really important. So I have to make the line up later today, maybe tomorrow morning. We will see and then we’ll go from there.”
Liverpool have qualified for the Champions League knockout stages and are due to host Napoli in their final group game on Tuesday. They are second in Group A and can only secure top spot by beating the Italian side by four goals or more.
Asked if he will field his strongest line-up and attempt to thrash Napoli in order to win the group or rest players as they seek to fight their way back in the league, Klopp suggested they would try to beat Napoli without the scoreline being a major factor, and that rotations to rest some players will occur.
Real German Oktoberfest returns to Thailand after two-year hiatus
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 02, 2022
With the pandemic situation getting better, the German-Thai Chamber of Commerce (GTCC) and the German embassy are organising Oktoberfest this Thursday and Friday.
The GTCC in collaboration with the German embassy will organise Oktoberfest, the world’s largest authentic Bavarian beer festival on November 3-4 at Sofitel Bangkok’s grand ballroom.
Since the event first started in Bangkok in 1980, the number of people attending has been increasing continuously, reaching 1,700 people in 2019, before being suspended for two years owing to the Covid-19 outbreak.
“In spite of the minimisation of the event as compared to the pre-pandemic period, the quality and determination to deliver our guests the best Oktoberfest experience will never be diminished”, the GTCC said in a statement.
The event will brim with Thai and foreign attendees dressing up in traditional Bavarian costumes — women will wear a “Dirndl” (female Bavarian dress) while men will appear with “Lederhosen” (Bavarian male leather breeches). There will be Bavarian traditional dishes such as sausages, braised pork legs, pretzel, sauerkraut, butter-grilled chicken, and especially Paulaner Oktoberfestbier, Oktoberfest’s popular beer from Paulaner, together with other alcoholic brands.
During the first day of the festival, German AmbassadorGeorg Schmidt and GTCC president Michael Welser will be tapping the first keg, a traditional opening ceremony for the festival.
Australia sees growing market for its products in Thailand
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 03, 2022
Jarupong Krisanaraj
Thailand is an ever-growing market for Australian products, the Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade) said, while lauding the strong bilateral trade relationship over the past decade.
In an interview with The Nation, Austrade Minister-Counsellor (Commercial) and Senior Trade and Investment Commissioner, Thailand, Myanmar and Laos, Michael Helleman, said the trade relationship between the two countries is very strong.
He added that Australian beef is considered a best-seller among Thais.
“A variety of Australian products can be found in the supermarkets, such as wine, cheese, mandarin orange and apples,” he said.
Michael Helleman
He said Australian products can help Thai hotel and restaurant operators meet customers’ need for high-quality foods.
“As tourists have begun travelling, Australian products would be a key for Thailand to boost tourism next year,” he added.
David Nation
Meanwhile, Australian Dairy managing director David Nation said entrepreneurs in the Australian food industry, such as food, dairy and horticulture, have the opportunity to trade in the Thai market, thanks to both countries’ strong relationship.
He expected deeper trade ties between the two countries.
“I am proud of Thailand and Australia’s trade relationship over the past decade,” he said.
Separately, Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA) recently hosted the very first Aussie Meat Academy in Thailand, offering professional chefs and foodies a hands-on masterclass in all things Australian beef and lamb.
Several eager, meat-loving Thai chefs and foodies signed up to attend this exciting event, which was held at Cape Dara Resort Pattaya, a luxury five-star hotel on the beachfront in Pattaya.
“Thailand is an ever-growing market for us and the more opportunities we have to help those who cook the food, those who serve the food, and those who eat the food is something we are focused on and will continue to do more,” said Spencer Whitaker, MLA’s market development manager for Asia-Pacific.
Fancy a sago weevil worm nugget for dinner? It’s only served up in space
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 01, 2022
Worms and insects have been part of Thai cuisine for generations, and now they may end up being served up to astronauts in space.
Keeta, a team of Thai food researchers, have come up with edible nuggets made from sago palm weevil worms as part of Nasa’s “Deep Space Food Challenge”.
The Thai team made it to the last 10 after beating nearly 300 contestants.
Keeta’s founder Potiwat Ngamkajornwiwat said the team had come up with the sago weevil nugget to match the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa)’s demand for nutrition for astronauts who go on three-year-long space-exploration trips.
He said the sago weevil worms can be nurtured and turned into food using a 3D printer. The entire operation will require no more than 30 square metres.
In addition, he said, the sago weevil worm is hardy and can survive space travel.
“Insects are popular among Thais, have high nutrition and can be reproduced in large amounts,” he said, adding that this innovation will meet the needs of many businesses, including space travel, space mining or even living on other planets.
“If we receive support from different sectors, it will help Thailand become a world leader in the space food business,” he added.
Team member Sittiphol Koosermmit reckons this innovation can also help tackle food scarcity in remote areas.
“This way, Thailand can be promoted as the world and space kitchen,” he said.
Contestants have until December 16 to submit their creations for the final round, in which five teams will be selected.
The five finalists will then be required to hold on-site demonstrations and sample collection, with the winners being chosen in March next year.
BAAC launches new mobile banking app ‘for convenience of farmers’
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 02, 2022
Nongluck Ajanapanya
Thailand’s Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC) has launched “A-Mobile Plus”, a new version of its mobile banking that offers farmers access to digital banking.
BAAC president Thanarat Ngamvalairat stated during the launch ceremony on Tuesday that the new application is an improvement over the company’s mobile banking services.
Thanarat said new functions and features are being added to make online transactions faster and easier. Users can now buy lottery savings scheme and apply for loans while their personal information is completely secure.
“Local farmers in rural areas make up the majority of our clients. As a result, we anticipate that our A-Mobile Plus will enable them to access banking services anywhere and at any time, as well as encourage them to participate in a cashless society and digital life,” Thanarat explained.
The move comes just a few weeks after the World Bank released a contentious report revealing that rural Thais, the majority of whom are farmers, continue to live in poverty. One of the primary reasons is a lack of banking and funding.
Meanwhile, he has vowed to take any measures necessary to assist farmers in repaying their debts following the recent severe floods.
He stated that the assistance is part of BAAC’s efforts to reduce its non-performing loan (NPL) rate, which is currently 12.5%. The target for bank NPLs is 7%.
“We have already collaborated with the government to implement numerous relief and subsidy schemes for affected farmers. We intend to launch additional projects aimed at assisting farmers in debt management and income generation,” Thanarat said.
He stated that Thai farmers are ready to repay the debt. They are unfortunately unable to do so. Therefore, the BAAC must increase their knowledge of efficient farming, fundamental accounting, effective money management, and product marketing.
Furthermore, he promised to peg the interest rate loan as long as possible if the Bank of Thailand decides to hike the interest rate to stabilise the country’s financial sector.
The announcement comes as BAAC reports its first six-month performance for the current fiscal year, which runs from October 1 to September 30.
During this time, the BAAC has advanced loans totalling 368.745 billion baht, amassing a credit balance of 1.6 trillion baht. Meanwhile, current deposit account totals 1.7 trillion baht. After deducting expenses, the net profit is 1.388 billion baht.
Thanarat confirmed that the bank’s performance remains on track to be a secure rural development bank offering integrated financial services to improve farmers’ quality of life.
We believe that many people recently learning about blockchain technology or investing in cryptocurrency are getting confused with a numerous number of coins to choose from.
One reason that can be explained with such a large number of coins is the use of blockchain technology, which has a continuous development. The development allows them to solve any problem that exists in previous networks, leading to numerous blockchain generations.
Hence, this article will get you to know more about each generation of blockchain, to understand what is the purpose of it being created and what is the problem of each generation following the solution itself.
1st Generation – Bitcoin
(Source: esri.com)
The first time blockchain used in finance was Bitcoin. In this use case, the purpose was to use Bitcoin to remove intermediaries from transaction, to avoid a problem occurring from this system such as a delay in international payment or a fee charged by the intermediaries.
Bitcoin was also created to have a characteristic of “Good Money” in that it was created to have a limited number of coins, 21 million, and to have a mechanism that reduces the number of coins launched every four years. This gimmick is called “Bitcoin Halving” making Bitcoin similar to gold in the digital world.
After Bitcoin was being well-known, there were many networks emerged such as Litecoin which was solved to have a faster transactions than Bitcoin. However, overall, both of them have a relative fundamental.
Apart from that, in October 2022, Guinness World Records just record Bitcoin for being the world’s first decentralized digital currency and for having a total value higher than any other digital currency.
2nd Generation – Ethereum
(Source: imbstudent.donau-uni.ac.at)
The blockchain that has been accepted as a generation 2 is Ethereum. This is because Ethereum was the first network that introduce the use of smart contracts in the blockchain.
The idea of smart contract is an agreement that can be executed automatically if conditions are met.
Smart Contract is similar to programming on blockchain but more transparent as everyone can examine its work process. This is why blockchain can do more than just transferring money.
When having a smart contract, developers can create applications on the blockchain, leading to new use cases such as the Decentralized Exchange used in Uniswap or the Decentralized Lending service used in AAVE.
Furthermore, for NFT, an asset having a unique feature that cannot be interchaged, when people hear this word, they probably think of digital art such as Bored Ape Yacht club or CryptoPucks. However, NFT can be used in various specific assets like real estate, collectibles, vehicles, or even game items.
With smart contracts and NFT, the blockchain has been expanded apart from just transferring money like in the Bitcoin era. However, a problem still exists in this generation such as scalability, which is an expansion of network to be suitable for a large number of users. Therefore, such a problem leads to the development of new blockchain generation.
3rd Generation
(Source: weforum.com)
A major weakness of both Bitcoin and Ethereum is the issue of scalability, or expanding the network to handle higher transaction volumes, which causes a bottleneck leading to transaction delays and higher gas fees.
In order to fix this problem, third-generation blockchains like Cardano, Avalanche, TRON, etc. have been developed. Each network employs a unique set of technologies, such as sharding or sidechain. Some networks have been overhauled by switching from blockchain to a DAG (Directed Acyclic Graph) data structure.
The Ethereum side did not just sit around, as Ethereum 2.0 is being developed to improve speed, smart contracts functions, along with other features, which were partly completed in the September 2022 update of The Merge. This is an update that changed the consensus algorithm from Proof-of-Work to Proof-of-Stake. However, the date for the next update has not been announced, and therefore, we will have to keep an eye out for it.
Nevertheless, the majority of third-generation blockchains are still very new and are not as widely known or used as Bitcoin and Ethereum. Thus, it remains to be seen whether these networks will prove themselves capable of handling massive transactions effectively in the future.
4th Generation
(Source: cloudhm.co.th)
At present, it is still uncertain how the fourth-generation blockchains will develop since the third-generation blockchains are still relatively new, with most of them trying to fix the issues that arose in the second generation.
Some believe the fourth generation will integrate blockchain with AI (Artificial intelligence) technology, while others believe it will focus on mass adoption, making blockchain more accessible to the general public, educational institutions, or small businesses.
However, it is highly likely that the fourth-generation blockchain may arrive sooner than expected due to the leap forward in technological advancement nowadays. In particular, the advent of the metaverse has caused all industries to turn their attention to key infrastructure such as blockchain technology.
Conclusion
Blockchain is constantly evolving like any other technology. Currently, blockchain can be divided into 3 generations:
First generation: solves the problem of making transactions through an intermediary (Bitcoin)
Second generation: smart contracts were added to support new use cases (Ethereum)
Third generation: solves scalability issues and enables massive transactions in blockchain (Cardano, Avalanche, TRON)
Fourth generation: is expected to be about integrating AI technologies or perhaps focusing on mass adoption that will allow blockchain to infiltrate everyday life better.
Citi completes sale of Malaysia, Thailand consumer banking to UOB
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 01, 2022
Citi announced on Tuesday that it has completed the sale of its Malaysia and Thailand retail banking and consumer credit card businesses to United Overseas Bank Limited (UOB) subsidiaries, which includes the transfer of over 3,000 related staff.
The move marks the completion and closing of the third and fourth divestitures of Citi’s restructuring.
The transaction is expected to result in a capital benefit to Citi of over US$1billion.
Citi and UOB first announced the transaction on January 14, 2022, as part of a broader sale agreement covering consumer banking across Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, and Indonesia and excluding the bank’s institutional businesses. As previously disclosed, the sales of the Vietnam and Indonesia consumer businesses are expected to be completed in 2023.
Since announcing as part of its strategic refresh that Citi intends to exit consumer banking across 14 markets in Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Mexico, sales agreements have been signed in nine markets. Transactions have now closed in four markets including Australia, the Philippines, Thailand and Malaysia. Citi is also in the process of winding down consumer banking in South Korea and Russia.
Asia Pacific CEO Peter Babej said, “Today’s announcement is positive for clients, colleagues, and our firm. Citi remains deeply committed to Malaysia and Thailand and we will invest further in both markets across our leading institutional franchise to support clients locally and where they do business across Citi’s network. We thank former employees and customers for their commitment and support and wish them continued success in the future.”
Peter BabejTiti Cole
Citi’s CEO of Legacy Franchises, Titi Cole, said, “With these completed sales, we have now divested four consumer businesses and are making swift and strong headway in delivering on our firm’s strategy refresh. We are confident about the future our former employees and clients will have as part of UOB and look forward to seeing them prosper.”
Tibor Pandi
Tibor Pandi, Country Head, Citi Thailand said, “I would like to thank for a strong support and commitments of our former staff to prepare the smooth transition of the services for our clients to UOB, I wish them all the best for their new career path. Citi Thailand remains a key market for Citi globally and we remain committed and focused on serving institutional clients locally, regionally, and globally as we have for over half a century.
Bangchak continues expanding with more petroleum fields in Norway added to portfolio
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 01, 2022
Bangchak Group continues the expansion of its natural resource business through Norway’s OKEA ASA, of which it is a major shareholder. On November 1, OKEA acquired three petroleum fields namely Brage, Ivar Aasen and Nova fields. The total value of the transaction stood at more than 4 billion baht, with revenue recognition starting from November 1 onwards.
Chaiwat Kovavisarach, Group Chief Executive Officer and President,Bangchak Corporation Public Company Limited, as Chairman of OKEA ASA, Norway, an exploration and production company listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange, stated that as of 1 November 2022, OKEA ASA has completed the acquisition of Wintershall Dea‘s 35.2 % interest in the Brage field, 6.4615% interest in the Ivar Aasen field, as well as a 6 % interest in the Nova development field.
The acquisition also includes the operatorship of Brage oil field. The total value of the transaction amounts to NOK 1.1 billion or over 4 billion Baht.
The acquisition of the Brage field and two other assets represents a significant step in OKEA’s growth strategy, like the acquisition of the Draugen field in 2018. It will not only add over 7,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (BOEPD) of production capacity and bring OKEA’s total production to 25,000 – 27,000 BOEPD in 2023 – 2024 but will also increase OKEA’s reserves by 30 – 40%, and further expand its portfolio and strengthen the company’s position as a leading mid- to-late-life operator on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS).
Moreover, 140 competent and highly experienced offshore and onshore employees from Wintershell Dea will be transferred to OKEA, doubling the number of OKEA employees.
“The acquisition of the operatorship of the Brage field reiterates OKEA’s ambitious growth strategy and reflects Bangchak Group’s focus in balancing the energy trilemma; energy security with energy affordability, and environmental sustainability” Chaiwat concluded.
Real Sociedad train ahead of Man United test in Europa League
Michael Helleman
David Nation
Peter Babej
Titi Cole
Tibor Pandi
