Briefs

She will succeed Chaipranin Visudhipol, chairman of TBWA Thailand who served two 2-year terms.
On-Usa revealed her vision to raise the standard of the advertising industry and prepare it for the digital trend, which will be a new force.
The AAT will focus on the development of a new generation with digital skills, she said. It will restore the reputation and recognition for creativity of Thailand’s advertising industry and make it one of the regional and global creativity leaders again.
“We will also strengthen ourselves in terms of self-regulation. We have our own committee in charge of self-regulated activities for any creative work produced by our members. Such activities will be in line with our strategy to be more responsible to society and create long-term value for brands, rather than just sales performance,” she said.
The creativity ranking of Thailand has slipped over the past five years, from eighth to 15th.
“Our mission is in line with the mobilisation plan set to upgrade the standard of our industry, ranging from our advertising personnel to a self-regulated mechanism and the reshaping of our clients’ attitude towards ad agencies, which are no longer suppliers, but consultants,” she said.
Thailand’s media-ad expenditures grew by 7 per cent year on year in the first seven months of this year, driven mainly by the growth of advertising spending by the automobile and telecommunications industries, especially for third-generation cellular, she said.

JPMorgan unit invests in Zalora
JP Morgan Asset Management, a global fund company, has poured an unknown amount of investment into Thai online fashion and lifestyle retailer Zalora.
Zalora Thailand announced that the investment would further its growth and expansion.
The investment follows the US fund company’s investment in the Zalora sister companies in five Southeast Asian countries as well as in Hong Kong and Taiwan. As the latest investor, JP Morgan Asset Management joins the likes of Rocket Internet, Summit Partners and Invus.

Heineken buys APB shares
Heineken NV announced yesterday that Heineken International had completed the purchase of 22,207,130 shares in Asia Pacific Breweries held by Kindest Place Groups (representing 8.6 per cent of the total issued share capital of APB) at a price of 53 Singapore dollars (Bt1,340) per APB share.

Pruksa's Bt5bn debentures sold out

Pruksa Real Estate has sold out its debentures worth Bt5 billion that it launched during September 17-20.

The funds raised will be used to pay back short-term loans, CEO and managing director Thongma Vijitphongpun said.

Sangchai eyes Myanmar move

Sangchai Air Quality Co, an importer and distributor of Honeywell air purifiers, is negotiating with a potential partner in Myanmar to distribute Siemens air purifiers and fans in that country.

This is part of its strategy to expand its business in member countries of the Asean Economic Community, general manager Boonyarit Chansuwan said.

Meanwhile, the company also plans to launch a premium brand of air purifier, Blueair, in Thailand this year. This will drive sales growth by 100 per cent this year, he said.

Aqua Innotect imports Kor filters

Aqua Innotect (Thailand), a provider of water filters, has introduced its latest imported product, Kor, for health-conscious consumers.

The company’s managing director Dr Manu Leenawong said the product was a hydration container made from bisphenol. It is already available in department stores.

Swiff, BAY join against fraud

Swiff announced the world’s first complete live implementation of an end-to-end, secure mobile point of sale (mPOS) solution yesterday.

The partnership of Bank of Ayudhya and the Swiff platform will allow the bank to provide customers with new retail opportunities made possible by the flexibility and low cost of Mobile POS, said Jerome Cle, CEO and founder of SCCP Group.

Swiff’s mobile platform is embedded with a multi-factor authentication application that has the ability to track the mobile device and the staff member who authorised the transaction, and identify the location where the payment was transacted. This enables the quick identification of any possible fraudulent use of a credit card, and promises a high level of security for safe and secure card transactions.

TBP appoints new partner

Architecture and design firm The Beaumont Partnership (TBP) has appointed Peter Skinner to the position of partner, as the company expands its operations in Thailand to meet rising demand.

Skinner, who has extensive international and local experience, will be joining the management leadership and providing added strength and depth to the growing team in the Bangkok office, mentoring young Thai architects and further building on a portfolio of projects that covers the commercial, hospitality and residential sectors, TBP said. – The Nation