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Kasikornbank has restructured its management team to strengthen its business procedures, especially the digital segment.
Teeranun Srihong, a co-president of KBank, will also be chairman of Kasikorn Business Technology Group (KBTG), a new subsidiary, which will handle information technology and look for new business opportunities to reinforce digital banking.
The bank also appointed Kattiya Indaravijaya, executive vice president and chief financial officer, to be the bank’s third president. Kattiya is the first KBank female.
Predee Daochai will remain as another co-president along with Teeranun and Kattiya.
Chongrak Rattanapian, executive vice president and head of the corporate business division, will take Kattiya’s place as CFO.
The corporate business division will be overseen by Patchara Samalapa, currently executive vice president and head of the SME business division.
Noppawan Jermhansa, executive vice president, will oversee KBank’s retail banking business, replacing Thawee Teerasoontornwong, who will become chairman of Kasikorn Leasing Co.
The management restructuring will be effective on New Year’s Day.

J TRUST BANKS ON PARTNER
Japanese financial group J Trust is committed to long-term investment in Thailand-based Group Lease as a strategic partner that will help grow leasing and other consumer-finance businesses in Indonesia and other markets in Asean.
“We consider our alliance with GL to be beneficial to both parties because we will grow our banking business.
“We also support GL to grow its leasing and other finance-related businesses in the Asean markets,” J Trust said in a statement issued in Tokyo yesterday. They are expanding to Indonesia next year thanks to GL’s success in penetrating Cambodia and Laos this year.
J Trust, through its wholly owned subsidiary in Singapore J Trust Asia, has decided to exercise its right to convert US$30 million (Bt1.1 billion) worth of GL’s convertible debentures into 98.1 million of GL’s shares, which will amount to 6.4 per cent of GL’s expanded capital base.
J Trust Asia subscribed to the debentures in May.
Mitsuji Konoshita, chairman and chief executive of GL, said that although J Trust’s conversion might lead to a shareholding dilution, earnings per share would not be diluted and the net result would be very positive for GL.
“Through our collaboration with J Trust, our new business in Indonesia will generate more profits and our earnings per share [on the new capital base] will further increase,” he said.

FIRST HOTEL INDIGO
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) has signed a management agreement with Kebsup Group for the first Hotel Indigo in Phuket.
 Set to open its doors to guests in 2018, the 180-room Hotel Indigo Phuket Patong will be located in the northern end of Patong beach town.
Hotel Indigo is IHG’s boutique brand. Each Hotel Indigo property is designed to reflect the culture, character and heritage of the local neighborhood it is located in and no two properties are the same.
Leanne Harwood, IHG’s Vice President/Operations for South East Asia, said “We and Kebsup Group hoped to cater to the growing number of both domestic and international visitor arrivals to the island.”