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Tag: bangkok

  • Thai electric car rolls out

    Thai electric car rolls out

    Thailand’s first electric car brand has made its debut amid scepticism from an industry expert about its commercial viability. Vera Automotive, founded on Oct 7, 2015 by five Thai engineers from King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Ladkrabang (KMITL), yesterday introduced the Vera V1 battery electric vehicle (BEV), powered with a battery capacity of 22 kilowatts per hour, which can be registered with the Land Transport Department as a passenger car.

    The maximum speed of the Vera V1 is up to 105 kilometres an hour. It can run up to 180km per charge, which takes six hours to complete.

    Co-founder Wanchai Meesiri said all Vera cars are designed by Thai engineers under the Thai brand, but the company has hired the Chinese carmaker Geely Automotive to produce the BEVs. The company imports the cars as completely built-up (CBU) vehicles to Thailand.

    Vera V1 is subject to all related taxes similar to other imported vehicles, including an 80% import duty, a 10% excise tax for all types of electric vehicles, a 10% interior tax and a 7% value-added tax.

    Yossapong Laoonual, chairman of the Electric Vehicle Association of Thailand (Evat), said it’s a good sign for the country to create its own electric vehicles, even if the vehicles are made by foreign firms.

    A retail price below 1 million baht is affordable for Thai customers, he said.

    But Asst Prof Yossapong warned that any startup that is selling electric vehicles has to plan its marketing strategy carefully, as the Thai car market has many dimensions for consumers to consider, including brand, service and trust.

    “Electric vehicles for Thailand remain very new, and they’re unlikely to become popular or proliferate in the short term,” he said. “If you are a new company or brand, the best solution is to sell electric vehicles as a fleet to other agencies, which are easier to provide after-sales services for.”

    Mr Wanchai said the primary purpose for establishing Vera Automotive is to make Thai BEVs for the local market.

    Managing director and co-founder Werachet Khan-ngern said Vera vehicles aim to capture only a niche market.

    He expects to sell about 100 units of Vera this year.

    “We hope in the foreseeable future the government will come up with clearer policies and supporting measures once the number of electric vehicles increases,” Mr Werachet said.

    He said the firm will provide after-sales services at its head office on Ladprakao Road.

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  • Bangkok to get 14 new malls as Thailand gets the shopping bug

    Bangkok to get 14 new malls as Thailand gets the shopping bug

    Retail space, in particular shopping malls, will continue to grow this year, with health, beauty and pharmacy stores becoming the new retail battlefield.

    Fourteen retail projects will open in Bangkok and its suburbs this year, adding a total of 272,800sqm of space, said Mr Surachet Kongcheep, associate director of Colliers International Thailand. Of the total, five are shopping malls totalling about 178,640sqm, seven community malls totalling 51,850sqm, one department store of 36,000sqm, and one retail plaza with 6,310sqm in an office building.

    Colliers said the seven community malls due to open in Bangkok this year are We Retail Nana with 2,100sqm on Sukhumvit Road, ZY Walk Chula Soi 5 (4,500sqm) on Banthadthong Road, Happy Avenue Don Muang (4,053sqm) on Songprapa Road, Canapaya (17,094sqm) on Rama III Road, Landmark Mahachai (5,000sqm) on Rama II Road, Muang Thong City Park (phase 1, 17,000sqm) on Chaeng Watthana Road, and Hyde Sukhumvit (2,100sqm) on Sukhumvit Road. Fewer community malls are opening this year compared to the past few years, following the lacklustre performance of some community malls in the past one to two years.

    The five shopping complexes to open are Iconsiam, a luxury retail project developed by a joint venture between Siam Piwat Co, the operator of Siam Center and Siam Discovery, and Magnolia Quality Development Corp, the real estate developer under Charoen Pokphand Group, on Charoen Nakhon Road with 51,500sqm, Show DC on Rama IX Road, Ikea@CentralWestgate in Nonthaburi’s Bang Yai district, Gaysorn II near Ratchaprasong intersection with 6,000sqm and G Tower with 7,140sqm on Ratchadaphisek Road. Meanwhile, one department store to be opened this year is Iconsiam with 36,000sqm. Pearl Bangkok is a retail plaza on Phahon Yothin Road with 6,311sqm.

    Outside of Bangkok, several retail projects are set to open upcountry this year. Central Pattana Plc plans to open at least three shopping complexes with one each in Samut Sakhon’s Maha Chai district, Nakhon Ratchasima and Phuket. Robinson Department Store Plc plans to develop three new branches this year. Two are lifestyle shopping complexes in Phetchaburi and Kamphaeng Phet provinces, and the location of the third has not been disclosed.

    TSCA president Wallaya Chirathivat said new investment in shopping malls during 2016-17 has declined to 70 billion baht (S$2.83 billion), down from 100 billion over the past four to five years. Retail investment slowed due to economic slowdown at home and abroad.

    Mr Chatrchai Tuongrattanaphan, adviser to the Thai Retailers Association, said he believes consumer purchasing power will gradually improve this year.

    “The health and beauty sector will be the new retail battlefield this year because Thailand is gearing towards an ageing society, and when people earn more, demand for health and beauty products also rises,” he said.

    The local health and beauty business in 2016 is expected to be valued over 280 billion baht. Health and beauty store chains are Boots, Watsons, Tsuruha, Pure and Matsumoto Kiyoshi.

    Siam Makro Plc, the operator of Makro cash-and-carry stores under CP Group, will slow the opening of new stores in Thailand and shift focus to nearby countries instead. Siam Makro recently set up a subsidiary, Makro Ros, to operate its cash-and-carry store operations in Cambodia. The opening of Makro stores in Cambodia will be under a joint venture with a local partner.

    Domestically, Siam Makro will focus on opening Makro Food Service stores to cash in on the continuing growth of the hotel, restaurant and catering business.

    Meanwhile CP All Plc, the operator of 7-Eleven convenience stores, is expected to open some 700 new stores this year, on a par with last year. Mr Chatrchai said he expects Thailand’s retail market — currently worth 3.4 trillion baht — to grow by 3 per cent last year, and growth in 2017 will probably be higher.

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  • Thai NBTC to relax per-second 4G billing condition

    Thai NBTC to relax per-second 4G billing condition

    Thailand’s telecoms regulator has relaxed an earlier directive requiring per-second billing for 4G services to only require operators to bill half of a service on a per-second basis.

    The National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission’s (NBTC) telecoms committee has decided to change the directive to no longer require operators to charge entirely on a per-second basis.

    Although the initial per-second requirement was introduced May last year, the NBTC has yet to enforce it because it has proven unpopular with affected operators.

    Operators have been resisting the move to per-second billing on the grounds that it would unfairly penalize customers that have signed up to fixed allocation or unlimited call or data plans, stating that charging per second would cost heavy usage customers more than the bucket plans.

    The NBTC requirements would cap 4G tariff rates at 1.13 satang ($0.0003) per second. The requirements were a condition of the 4G mobile broadband licenses issued to AIS and TrueMove last year. Second-ranked Dtac is not required to comply.

    AIS has reportedly warned that the company would have to abolish their existing tariff plans if the directive is enforced, while True Move is appealing the directive in court.

  • Prompt Pay to revamp e-banking in Thailand

    Prompt Pay to revamp e-banking in Thailand

    The digitalization of banking remains a top priority for banks across Asia, including in Thailand. In January 2016, the Thai Bankers’ Association announced plans to develop a new five-year strategy that included digitization and next-generation payment infrastructure, financial inclusion, contribution to society, regional integration, and legal and regulatory enabling.

    Chief among the ambitions of digitization is see between 50-60% of transactions becoming cashless by 2020, up from 25% in January 2016. One of the beneficiaries of this over-arching initiative is e-Payments, which is forecast to account for up to 70% of total transactions by 2020, up from the current 30%.

    According to the Oxford Business Group report “Banking in Thailand goes increasingly digital” three initiatives have been planned to help meet these targets: the development of a payment system roadmap, publication of common standards and establishment of shareable payment infrastructure.

    In July 15, 2016, the Bank of Thailand announced plans to roll out a national e-payment service in partnership with a number of commercial banks as well as four institutions owned by the government. The aim of the project is to further transition Thailand into a cashless society.

    In November 2016, market research firm YouGov polled 1,022 Thai netizens’ views on the service several months after the announcement and subsequent marketing of the service, including a highly public delay of the service in October.

    According to the poll, 74% of polled netizens confirm intent to use the service, suggesting consumers view the service as a welcome advancement to current payment options. Only 7% of those polled have not heard of the service.

    Over half (54%) of those polled see Prompt Pay as enabling them to make payments across multiple channels with internet banking as the most popular option. But 20% intend to use Prompt Pay solely for internet banking, and 15% say they plan to use Prompt Pay for mobile banking.

    The YouGov poll suggests that e-payment services are growing in popularity. About 53% of those polled identified True Money as a service they have recently in the past month compared to 38% over the past 3 months. Linepay and Rabbit were alternative e-payment services also popular among those polled at 17% and 15% respectively.

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  • Fierce competition takes heavy toll on smartphone market in Bangkok

    Fierce competition takes heavy toll on smartphone market in Bangkok

    Thailand’s increasingly crowded smartphone market has wreaked havoc on handset companies’ profit last year, with Japan’s Sharp Corp becoming the latest victim to be quietly forced out of the market.

    Chinese handset maker ZTE Corporation, meanwhile, disputed rumours that the company has decided to pull out of the Thai smartphone market due to stiff competition.

    However, industry veterans believed more intense competition is around the corner this year.

    Sharp confirmed that the company is now inactive in the Thai smartphone market without providing a reason after resuming its presence here just one month ago through Commtiva Technology, a Taiwan-based distributor of wireless communication products.

    Oran Rungsereechaitrakul, former marketing manager of Commtiva (Thailand), said the company had just been verbally informed by its parent firm Commtiva that the group stopped selling Sharp mobile phones from Dec 30 last year.

    Lorna Liang, country manager for device of ZTE Thailand, said the company remains strongly committed to the Thai market despite facing fierce competition.

    “We are continuing business as usual. We have set long-term strategic plans to expand our presence in Thailand after entering the country less than two years ago,” she said.

    ZTE will still focus on the smartphone segment priced 3,000-7,000 baht apiece, where it has a particularly strong presence in Thailand, through distribution channels with mobile operators and retail shops.

    ZTE will roll out 2-3 smartphone models by March.

    Ms Liang also threatened to take legal action against those who spread or publish rumours regarding the company’s alleged business closure before checking with the company, saying spreading false information will cause consumers to lose trust and confidence in the company.

    According to internal reports by Huawei and Oppo, Samsung is clearly dominating the local smartphone market with a 40% share, followed by Apple with an estimated share of less than 15%, with Chinese brands Oppo and Huawei having a 12% and 8% market share, respectively.

    The growth of Oppo was particularly impressive as it rose quickly to become the third largest smartphone brand in Thailand in terms of sales volume for 2016.

    Consumers in this massive market are rapidly being won over by Chinese and household brands that incorporate much of the functionality of an Apple iPhone or Samsung Galaxy, but at a fraction of the price.

    Handset makers are also facing an undeniable shift in consumption trends in the digital lifestyle age.

    Samsung stayed on top of Thailand’s smartphone market last year, despite being battered by the Galaxy Note7 recall and increased competition from China.

    The Korean company recalled the Note7 in September last year after reports of overheating lithium-ion batteries. Replacement phones also ran into similar problems, leading the company to halt production of the smartphone in October.

    Samsung will continue facing stiff competition from Apple in the high-end smartphone market, while simultaneously facing pressure at the lower-end from Chinese makers.

    Overall, the Thai handset market grew by only 2% to 22 million units in 2016 — the smartphone industry’s slowest growth rate for a year.

    Chinese brands Oppo, Huawei and Vivo posted strong growth rates in sales even as Samsung and Apple saw their volumes drop. Other smaller players and newcomers like Asustek, Motorola, Lenovo, ZTE and France’s Wiko will pose competition to the giants this year, which would need to take measures to survive in the market.

    Taiwan’s HTC has already been forced out of the Thai smartphone market, while Sony and LG announced they will sell selective models here.

    Pairoj Thavornsapanant, assistant managing director of TG Cellular World, a leading mobile distributor, said product design and quality as well as strong sales and distribution networks are becoming critical for smartphone companies to succeed and survive in the country’s mature market.

    “Consumer acceptance of a smartphone brand is another vital factor in business success,” he said, adding that consumer acceptance is expected to take 3-5 years.

    Leo Zhao, sales director of Oppo (Thailand), said the local smartphone market has already reached a mature stage as the smartphone has become a must-have device in the digital era.

    Thailand’s smartphone market is expected to grow at the same pace as last year’s 2-3% to reach 25 million units in 2017, he said.

    Mr Zhao said the handset replacement cycle will be faster with Thais expected to replace their mobile phones every 10 months this year, compared with 12-15 months in 2016, because consumers take advantage more quickly of smartphone advances.

    The middle to high-end markets will continue growing faster than the entry smartphone market because consumers prefer superior user experience, faster connection and high-end specifications.

    High-end smartphones priced over 15,000 baht accounted for 6% of total sales in 2016, up from 3.5% in 2015.

    Entry level smartphones priced below 4,000 baht made up 40% of total sales last year, down from 50% in 2015.

    “Thailand’s smartphone industry will see more consolidation over the next few years and there will be less than 10 survivors in the local market,” said Mr Zhao.

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  • Standard Chartered to Exit Thai Retail Banking Next Year

    Standard Chartered to Exit Thai Retail Banking Next Year

    Standard Chartered Plc plans to transfer its Thai retail-banking business to Thailand’s Tisco Financial Group Pcl next year, exiting an operation that the U.K. lender said lacked the scale to generate adequate returns.

    The net asset value is about 5.5 billion baht ($153 million), according to a stock exchange filing by Tisco on Thursday, which didn’t disclose a price for the deal. Tisco shares climbed to a record.

    Standard Chartered will continue to operate corporate, institutional and commercial banking businesses in Thailand, but the small size of the retail operation made it “increasingly difficult to achieve the returns that we aspire to,” the lender’s Thai head, Plakorn Wanglee, said in a press release.

    “It’s very tough to survive in Thailand’s retail-banking business for small players with very fierce competition,” Isara Ordeedolchest, an analyst at SCB Securities in Bangkok, said by phone. “The outlook for banks should improve significantly in 2017 as a consumption recovery and higher government spending will spur economic growth.”

    The Asia-focused Standard Chartered is targeting a turnaround after last year posting its first annual pretax loss since 1989. In a sign that the Thai operations were not a bright spot, the bank in February recorded a $126 million goodwill impairment on its business in the country.

    One unit of Tisco Financial, Tisco Bank Pcl, will take over operations including personal lending, mortgages and deposits, while another, All-Ways Co., will take over the credit-card business, the exchange filing said. The deal is subject to approvals.

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  • Thai telcos bracing for a challenging 2017

    Thai telcos bracing for a challenging 2017

    After a rough 2016 there is no respite in sight for Thailand’s telecoms sector, with operators still dealing with heavy costs accrued from recent 4G auctions, strict competition and OTT challengers.

    AIS CEO Somchai Lertsuthivong as stating that he has never seen as challenging a year for the mobile sector as 2016, after nearly three decades of experience.

    AIS and DTAC, which together have a revenue market share of around 80%, have both cut their financial forecasts for 2016 as a result of these challenges.

    AIS expects to report an eibtda margin decline of between 37% and 38% in 2016 from 45.6% in 2015 due to the rising costs as well as one-off expenses related to the shutdown of its 2G network. Dtac expects its ebitda margin to decline to 27% to 30% compared to 31.8% in 2015.

    Operators expect 2017 to be just as challenging. As well as high spectrum costs, operators have had to grapple with a surge in operating costs as they offered heavy subsidies including free 4G handsets to lure customers.

    The sector will also have to deal with surging data consumption as 4G take-up increases. According to the report, Dtac plans to transition away from competing on price with heavy subsidies, and instead compete by offering a superior customer experience.

    AIS is meanwhile responding to the OTT threat by pursuing more digital partnerships with local content providers and businesses. Operators are also exploring partnering with cable providers to offer triple-play services bundling internet, telephone and TV.

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  • Jubilee Enterprise plans stores for two diamond brands

    Jubilee Enterprise plans stores for two diamond brands

    Jubilee Enterprise, a listed diamond-jewellery retailer in Thailand, has revealed a plan to open physical stores under two strategic brands.

    Chief executive officer Unyarat Pornprakit said Jubilee Enterprise was currently managing two brands, Jubilee Diamond and Forevermark.

    “Jubilee Diamond is a diamond-jewellery brand that the company owns, which is currently the No 1 diamond-jewellery brand in Thailand, with the largest number of outlets, more than 120 branches across the country,” she said.

    “Meanwhile, Forevermark is a diamond brand owned by De Beers Group for which Jubilee Enterprise is Thailand’s exclusive authorised retailer.

    “The business plans for the two brands are different in direction and each will contribute to the company in a different way.

    “Forevermark has so far been in Thailand for less than a year but is the No 1 diamond brand in the world. Forevermark has a unique diamond selection process and works exclusively with top-class diamond cutters, which results in all Forevermark diamonds being stunningly beautiful. The difference is so obvious we can experience it with the naked eye.

    “‘Beautiful’ is one of the promises of the Forevermark brand, where other promises are ‘rare’ and ‘responsibly sourced’. Therefore the plan for Forevermark involves brand education and outlet expansion.

    “We currently only have three doors outlets for Forevermark but all of them perform quite well. We plan to have at least three and as many as five more doors outlets by the end of 2017. We see potential in more locations within Bangkok as well as other major cities,” Unyarat said.

    She said that for now the company only had Forevermark exclusive rights for Thailand, including e-commerce. Thus no plans to take Forevermark outside the country are on the drawing board yet.

    The focus of the outlet expansion for Forevermark will be physical stores in Thailand.

    For Jubilee Diamond, the company is looking into the obvious potential within Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam but no solid plans have been drafted yet.

    As Thailand’s retail developers have started their own overseas expansion, the company’s choice of investment platforms has also increased. Its expansion strategy will likely involve business partners, but not for financial reasons.

    “One of the key trigger points will be when our e-commerce platform is launched. Even without the platform, there are some demands from nearby countries through digital channels. Therefore, physical expansion may not be our first overseas initiative,” Unyarat said.

    She said the budget for next year’s expansion would mainly go into diamond inventory, which can always be liquidated. Normally, the investment per branch expansion is around Bt7 million and Bt10 million. So the total cost for the new outlets would be between Bt80 million and Bt100 million next year. Other costs are significantly less critical, thus make the company’s expansion plan a safe move.

    “Jubilee Diamond’s business plan does not have brand expansion as a key strategy, since the brand is already the largest in the market.

    The key business driver for Jubilee Diamond is market differentiation, which comes from product innovation, a unique brand experience, and supply sourcing strategy.

    “Best-quality diamonds have always been the brand’s key strength, but a few years ago, Jubilee Diamond began slowly introducing a unique brand experience and product innovation,” she said.

    Unyarat said the company’s outlet-expansion strategy would be tied closely with partners that are major retail developers.

    “For the Jubilee Diamond brand, you can expect to find our stores in all major shopping complexes and department stores. So by next year, there should be at least over 125 Jubilee Diamond stores throughout Thailand,” she said.

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  • Soon, fly to Singapore, Bangkok, directly from Chandigarh

    Soon, fly to Singapore, Bangkok, directly from Chandigarh

    The Chandigarh international airport in Mohali will be spreading its wings by connecting two new international destinations and four new domestic stations with direct flights from here.While two more international direct flights to two most sought-after global tourist destinations – Singapore and Bangkok— will start taking off from Chandigarh in March, the direct flights to and fro from Goa, Pune, Chennai and Hyderabad will also start taking off in February and March.

    With this, Chandigarh will have four international flights (two international direct flights to Sharjah (thrice a week) and Dubai daily are already flying since September this year), while the number of domestic flights daily will go up to 25.Today, Chandigarh was connected directly to Leh with Air India (AI), launching a flight between Leh and Chandigarh. The first flight (AI-457) departed from Leh at 08:05 hours and arrived here at 09:00 hours. In the return journey, the flight (AI-458) took off from Chandigarh at 09:40 hours and landed in Leh at 10:20 hours.

    The flight, operated by an A-319 Airbus, will fly on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday every week.Sharing the airport expansion plans for 2017 with The Tribune here today, the airport CEO, Suneel Dutt said besides adding more international and domestic flights, as per the demand and viability, a duty-free shop and more retail shops would also open at the international terminal in the coming days. Also, the international cargo and another aerobridge, which will be the third here, would begin operations in 2017. The domestic cargo and two aerobridges are already functioning here.

    The airport CEO said there are also plans to beautify the international airport terminal further with the expansion of its green belt in the New Year.The newly-constructed integrated terminal building of Chandigarh international airport had already bagged the prestigious Vishwakarma Award for best construction project.

    The new terminal had been awarded for being the best project for well-developed landscapes and interior with art, paintings and mural works. Inaugurated on September 11, 2015, the new international airport had taken off in September, 2016, with the operation of two international flights to Sharjah and Dubai.The terminal building can handle 1,600 passengers during peak hours, with an annual capacity of 4.5 million.

    Fully air-conditioned and equipped with modern facilities, the new building has the facility of three aerobridges, four baggage carousels, 14 elevators, six escalators and 48 check-in counters. The parking area has the capacity for 500 cars and a separate provision for VIP car park and bus parking. Aircraft parking main apron and the cargo apron has a capacity of 10 C-type aircraft and one E-type aircraft at a time. The interior of the airport is decorated with art and mural works depicting the heritage and culture of Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh.

  • AEON collaborates with Siam Piwat to launch “Siam The Ultimate Giving” campaign

    AEON collaborates with Siam Piwat to launch “Siam The Ultimate Giving” campaign

    Praphan Rangsiyopas, Vice President Marketing of AEON Thana Sinsap (Thailand) Public Company Limited, together with Chanisa Kaewruen (third right), Deputy Managing Director Marketing Event and Business Relations Division, and Saruntorn Asaves (third left), Assistant Managing Director Marketing Promotion and Customer Relationship Management of Siam Piwat Co., Ltd., attended the recent launch of “Siam The Ultimate Giving” campaign.

    The Siam Ultimate Giving campaign offers Aeon credit cardholders special privileges, such as movie tickets for two at Major Cineplex cinemas with every 5,000 baht of accumulated purchases at Siam Paragon, Siam Center, and Siam Discovery. With every 2,000 baht of accumulated purchases, cardholders receive two coupons for a lucky draw for chances to win prizes worth over 7.8 million baht, including a brand new BMW 218i GT. The campaign runs until January 15, 2017. 

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  • Thai AirAsia X ends Middle East service

    Thai AirAsia X has completely pulled out of the Middle East, a market that appears unready for TAAX’s long-haul, low-cost business model. The airline, part of Asia’s biggest no-frills airline group, is axing Bangkok-Muscat and Bangkok-Tehran routes launched in June this year, due to poor traffic demand at both ends of the each of the routes.

    The termination of Bangkok-Muscat takes effect on Jan 19 and the suspension of Bangkok-Tehran flights became effective on Dec 5, according to insiders. TAAX has struggled to keep the two routes afloat by rationalising capacities to match actual demand. In November, the carrier reduced the frequency of service on both routes to two flights a week, the minimum level acceptable by the market, down from three flights a week at launch.

    TAAX deploys Airbus 330-300 wide-body jets configured with 377 seats on all its routes. The arrangement did not work out well, leading TAAX to terminate Middle East flights altogether. When TAAX inaugurated its Tehran flight on June 22 and Muscat service on June 28, the airline became the first low-cost carrier to offer regular non-stop services on those routes. TAAX’s departure means that all connections between Bangkok and the two Middle Eastern capitals will be handled by full-service airlines. Bangkok-Tehran flights are operated by Iran-based Mahan Airlines and Thai Airways International (THAI), which commenced service in October. The non-stop Bangkok-Muscat flights are flown by Oman Air, while Thai Airways offers regular services to the Omani capital with a stopover in Karachi.

    Insiders said the poor performance by TAAX was in sharp contrast with a rosy outlook perceived earlier this year. TAAX chief executive Nadda Buranasiri said in May the lifting of economic sanctions against Iran in January had turned Tehran into a new economic frontier and an emerging tourism market.

    “There seemed to be strong initial demand for both routes, but it tapered off to become unsustainable eventually,” said an insider who asked to remain anonymous.

    In a release, TAAX apologised for ending its Middle Eastern services and offered full refunds for affected passengers.

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  • Performance remains key metric in Thailand

    Performance remains key metric in Thailand

    Performance ratings continue to determine pay decisions in the majority of Thai organisations, a recent Aon Hewitt survey found.

    With high turnover rates highest among junior managers and supervisors in the Land of Smiles, there is growing pressure on these staff to maintain their performance levels and prove their worth.

    According to the Total Compensation Measurement Study and Benefit Survey 2016 by Aon Hewitt, performance continues to determine pay-related decisions for 95.1% of organisations in Thailand.

    With junior management and supervisor levels recording voluntary turnover rates of 14%, and involuntary turnover rates of 5.3%, one tactic being utilised is to offer wage increases, with salary increments ranging from 4.7% to 6% in 2016 across industries polled.

    Across the Thai economy, the retail and life sciences sectors offered the most generous wage increase in 2016, with an average increment of 6%.

    On the other hand, the travel industry witnessed the lowest average salary increase, at 4.7%.

    The study also showed that other strategies were used to keep hold of employees.

    For example, 72.2% of employers offered individual performance awards, while 38.9% offered special recognition as short-term incentives to retain staff.

    “The high turnover rate among junior managers should warn employers in Thailand to think about their compensation policies in the context of their overall talent retention strategy,” said Panuwat Benrohman, Country Leader, Aon Hewitt, Thailand.

    Panuwat cautioned that companies have a responsibility to arm junior managers with the skillsets necessary to make the step up from individual contributor roles.

    “With ‘better external opportunities’ and ‘limited growth opportunity’ among the top three reasons for attrition, a focus on learning and development will help employers in Thailand build a strong leadership pipeline from within, while still compensating high performers attractively,” he added.

    A total of 174 organisations across all key industries in Thailand participated in the survey.

  • ‘Cloud’ powers Thai e-commerce group’s regional expansion

    ‘Cloud’ powers Thai e-commerce group’s regional expansion

    In August this year, Thailand’s e-commerce enterprise Ascend Group has finished migrating its existing businesses as well as new ventures to the cloud, a move that is expected to support its ambitious regional expansion plans.

    The Ascend Group owns and operates business-to-consumer (B2C) marketplaces WeMall and iTrueMart, and the consumer-to-consumer (C2C) platform WeLoveShopping. It also operates TrueMoney, a wallet solution for digital payments, among other allied businesses.

    Chaiwat Ratanaprateepporn, Chief Technology Officer of Ascend Group, said the company is looking beyond the country’s borders to expand its e-commerce business in the ASEAN region.

    “Most of the operations we have now in ASEAN are under the TrueMoney business. We have Myanmar and Thailand as headquarters, then we have businesses in Cambodia, Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines,” he said. Services currently consist of mobile wallet, remittance, top up services, bill payments and the e-commerce payment gateway.

    With a combined population of approximately 600 million, the ASEAN region has a booming e-commerce landscape, which is only logical for the Thai group to target.

    The Ascend Group’s cloud journey started in November 2014 when the company adopted a “cloud first” policy. This has allowed the company to reduce infrastructure build time, improve flexibility and accelerate speed-to-market.

    Chaiwat said the cloud journey is among the preparations it is doing for the expansion move.

    “Why we are moving to the cloud? Our TrueMoney business in Thailand has been around for more than 10 years, while our e-commerce business has been around for just over three years. But we want our start-up companies (though they are no longer startups) to have the same capabilities. They were born in the cloud and are using cloud technologies to move fast and offer customers better services,” he explained.

    In the first quarter of 2015, iTrueMart, an e-commerce retail destination for home appliances and electronic products, hit critical mass.

    “We looked for alternative solutions on how we can manage the traffic and cost and using the technology so we decided to move to Amazon Web Services (AWS). Later that year, we also moved some of the services of TrueMoney to AWS as well,” Chaiwat recounted.

    In the second quarter this year, Ascend also moved the services of WeLoveShopping.com completely to AWS. Thus, its three flagship e-commerce websites are already 100 percent in the cloud. For TrueMoney, however, the company is opting for a hybrid cloud strategy because of the different banking regulations in each of the six ASEAN countries, which make it difficult to operate purely on the cloud.

    Chaiwat, who oversees the digital transformation of the company’s IT infrastructure, shared that when the company launched the WeMall in Thailand, they did so without adding new technical staff to implement, operate and support in addition to iTrueMart.

    “And that is because we leveraged the innovative tools and technology of AWS,” he said. “Ultimately all of this innovation will allow us to better serve our customers and create efficiency that will result in better value for people who shop on Ascend Group’s e-commerce properties.

    The company’s goal is to become the leading e-commerce business in the ASEAN region and leverage the digital technology to expand business opportunities for merchants in Thailand and the region.

    Next steps in the cloud

    What is next for Ascend Group’s cloud journey?

    Chaiwat disclosed that the company’s cloud strategy comprised of three steps. The first step or Version 1.0 is moving the services to the cloud, which they accomplished in the past two years. The second step or Version 2.0, which is being implemented now is using the technology the technology to do more optimizations for cost savings, more automation so they can gain better productivity in the workforce.

    The next step or Version 3.0, which will be implemented starting next year, is really moving to more high-end technology as the data and analytics, machine learning and other capabilities that will help us serve the customers better.

    “What we are aiming ahead are data and analytics. Right now, we are data-driven, meaning we use analytics to do reports on how the transactions are growing. But this is business intelligence, not yet analytics. We are aiming to move there using the capabilities of AWS,” he said.

    For companies starting on their own cloud journey, Chaiwat said it is important to identify or define the benefits that they would want to derive from the cloud. It should help in creating guidelines and the roadmap.

    He stressed, however, that going to the cloud is not all about the benefits. “The company has to transform the workforce, upskill them, and adopt a different mindset and way of working,” he said.

    Nick Walton, Head of ASEAN at AWS, affirmed that e-commerce in Southeast Asia is booming, especially e-commerce on mobile devices.

    “AWS has analytics for mobile, which I think will be relevant for Southeast Asia,” he said. “There are two types of e-commerce – the new e-commerce providers (online only) and the bricks and mortar retailers that are adding the e-commerce experience to the mix. We look at the ability to quickly scale up, get promotions to market quickly, make the needs very successful sales. The last thing you want is a very successful marketing campaign that is let down by the website not performing.”

    The other place for e-commerce is analytics. “This is where we see a good application of the AI technologies like Amazon Polly, a service that turns text into lifelike speech,” Walton noted.

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  • AEON joins The Mall Group in “The Magic of Giving” Campaign

    AEON joins The Mall Group in “The Magic of Giving” Campaign

    Waraporn Nilpanich (third left), Vice President Credit Card of AEON Thana Sinsap (Thailand) Public Company Limited, together with Voralak Tulaphorn (middle), Senior Vice President Marketing of The Mall Group Co., Ltd. has launched “The Magic of Giving” campaign to reward AEON credit cardholders this New Year.

    Accumulated spending of every 3,000 baht at the Mall shopping center with AEON credit cards, entitles cardholders to receive a gift voucher of up to 1,000 baht. Besides, cardholders will receive x3 lucky draws for chances to win prizes valued over 1 million baht when spending every 1,000 baht. The campaign runs until January 11th, 2017

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  • Siam Discovery Launched Year-End Campaign to Spread the Love and Spirit of Sharing

    Siam Discovery Launched Year-End Campaign to Spread the Love and Spirit of Sharing

    Siam Piwat, the owner and operator of Siam Paragon, Siam Center and Siam Discovery, invested over 30 million baht in the greatest year-end marketing campaign, which integrates the customer-centric strategy. Interpreting the festive season as the time when people send their love and good wishes to others, the Company launched “Citizen of Love: It’s time to Give Good Love” campaign.

    The shoppers will not only find a wide array of gift items for themselves and loved ones, but also enjoy a big promotion that serves the government’s Shop for the Nation campaign. To add the sentimental value to the campaign, Siam Discovery hosts an art exhibition displaying the genius of the late King Bhumibol, including his great love and generosity for his citizen. In response to the royal wish on endless giving, Siam Discovery will organize “Gifts for Them” CSR activity that gives the gifts to 300 children in Community Children Foundation (CCF) under the Royal Patronage of HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn. During the festive season, the shopping center expected to welcome 80,000 – 100,000 Thai and foreign shoppers a day.

    Year-End Campaign: “Citizen of Love: It’s time to Give Good Love”

    Mr. Charnchai Cherdchoowongthanakorn, Senior Executive Vice President – Retail Business Development, Siam Piwat Co., Ltd., said, ” In each year, December is considered the high season with the greatest spending. However, the shopping sentiment this year differs from the past. Siam Discovery, considering itself as a friend of shoppers, understood their feelings and translated the season of joy into the joy of sharing. It therefore hosts the integrated campaign called “Citizen of Love: It’s time to Give Good Love”. Siam Discovery started from creating its ambience, in which encourages everyone to participate under the concept of ‘exploration, creation, and cultivation’. In addition, it holds an art exhibition to commemorate the talent of H.M. the late King, who worked tirelessly to improve the quality of life of his people. He did this out of love and wanted nothing in return. Moreover, Siam Discovery offers Thai people a space to express their love and give the moral support to one another. The shoppers can take photos and share their love in the Living Room of Love. It also displays the art installation that presents the Royal Rainmaking Initiative Project and Reforestation Initiative Project. The exhibitions are open for the public to help them feel connected.”

    Siam Discovery spent more than 30 million baht on “Citizen of Love: It’s time to Give Good Love” campaign, which includes the creation of shopping ambience, promotion and CSR activity. It expected to daily attract 80,000 – 100,000 Thai and foreign shoppers on average, with 50:50 ratio. The survey revealed that 80% of foreign tourists are Free Individual Traveler (FIT), which are considered high-quality tourists with high purchasing power.

    Launching a big promotion to boost the holiday shopping in response to Shopping for the Nation campaign

    Siam Piwat responds to the government’s economic stimulus policy that encourages the people to shop and use the tax invoice of December 2016 for the tax deduction. Expecting an influx of shoppers, Siam Piwat prepared the staff and equipment to facilitate the shoppers who request the formal tax invoice and to ensure the fast and convenient service.

    In addition, Siam Piwat holds special promotion, to create the unique shopping experience at Siam Paragon shopping mall , Siam Center , and Siam Discovery from now – December 31, 2016. Spending at least 15,000 baht, the shoppers will receive Siam Gift Card worth 1,500 baht. VIZ cardholders and the members of Siam Discovery Mobile Application will enjoy more benefits

    “Gifts for Them” CSR activity for the disadvantaged

    Miss Chanisa Kaewruen, Senior  Deputy Managing Director of Siam Piwat Co., Ltd., revealed, “Besides the value-added promotion, Siam Discovery infuses the sentimental value into the customers’ mind because we believe that our customers care for the society and wish to share good things with the people around them. We therefore come up with “Gifts for Them” activity, inviting the customers to spread the joy to others by giving the gifts to 300 children in Community Children Foundation (CCF) under the Royal Patronage of HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn. The customers can buy gift items for the children on 50% discount and Siam Discovery will subsidize the other half. We will host an event where the donors can present the gifts to the children themselves.

    In preparing the product  to serve the customer demand, Siam Discovery, with the expertise in matching the right products for each lifestyle, has selected the perfect gift items for each target segment. It also displays the recommended gift items on each floor.   To increase the value to the gifts, it offers the personal gift wrapping as the customized service in addition to the regular gift wrapping service.

    In “Think Giving”, Siam Discovery offers a wide variety of products from the Royal Project Foundation, PatPat shop under Chaipattana Foundation, Phufa and Doi Kham as the special gifts for special people. The event will take place on the 5th floor from now until February 19, 2017.

    Customer-centric marketing focuses on capturing the customers’ interest. Siam Discovery therefore launched the marketing promotion activities that add the sentimental value to the shoppers. It expected that “Citizen of Love: It’s time to Give Good Love” campaign will not only increase the sales volume by 15 – 20%, but also make the holiday shopping more meaningful and bring the spirit of giving to this season of joy.