At A Glance

Index Creative Village says Thailand is the first country to have its pavilion ready for the Astana Expo 2017 in Astana, Kazakhstan, starting next month.
Index Creative Village is in charge of designing, constructing and promoting the Sala Thai building at the Astana event. The pavilion accommodates Kazakh values.
The event will be held from June 10 to September 10. 
Kreingkrai Kanjanapokin, founder and group CEO of marketing firm Index Creative Village, said: “Preparations for the Sala Thai, or Thailand Pavilion, are now 100 per cent complete. 
“We are the first nation to welcome Kazakhs and tourists from all over the world at the Astana Expo 2017, the world's largest international fair where over 110 pavilions from around the world are attending the event. 
“As the leading authority on world expositions in Thailand, we are confident that we can build a reputation for Thailand yet again. This year we have focused our designs to fit with our expo’s host.”

IKEA boosts service for Phuket shoppers

Furniture retailer IKEA has revamped its pick-up and order point at its Phuket premises. The service area has been doubled under the changes.
The company said the “the space is now fully loaded, providing new inspiration and offering more new decoration and furnishing items for customers to take home”. 
The changes are expected to increase sales and the number of visitors by 20 per cent by the end of this year, it said.
 Benjawon Omark, store manager for IKEA Bangna, said: “The pick-up and order point is an important part of IKEA’s plan to increase accessibility to our products while providing convenience, 
 speed, and savings on shipping costs.
“In Thailand, we have been operating our only pick-up and order point in Phuket since late 2015. We recently updated our marketing plan and revamped IKEA Phuket by enlarging the service area, providing more inspiration and products to pick up and take home, making this a miniature IKEA store in Phuket. We hope to get positive feedback from our customers.
Benjawon said the company was always evaluating opportunities.
“We plan to have 3 or 4 stores in the greater Bangkok area and five pick-up and order points in the provinces to enable customers to have access to IKEA’s products,” Benjawon said.
“Currently, we have one store in Bangna and are building a second store, IKEA Bang Yai, which will open for service early next year, in addition to our pick-up and order point in Phuket.
“We are considering potential opportunities regarding other possible store and pick-up and order point locations that will allow us to deliver our affordable range of home furnishings to markets that are ready for IKEA.”

Samsung gears up for Galaxy S8 launch

Samsung Electronics has opened Galaxy Studio in Tokyo as its gears up for the launch of the Galaxy S8 smartphone slated for next month.
The Galaxy Studio is in Bank Gallery in the Omotesando district of the Japanese capital.
 Samsung will hold promotions at the new shop until July 3, the company said.
“Customers will have hands-on experience of Samsung‘s latest electronic gadgets, including Galaxy S8, Galaxy S8 Plus, new 360-degree camera Gear 360 and Gear VR, a mobile virtual reality headset,” the company said.
 Samsung is due to release the Galaxy S8 phone in Japan in early June, through NTT Docomo and KDDI. – The Korea Herald

Park Hyatt adds BMW limousines

BMW Thailand has delivered the BMW 730Ld M Sport and BMW X5 xDrive40e M Sport limousines to Park Hyatt Bangkok.
The hotel’s guests will be offered limousine services under the Oriental Trans and Car Service Co Ltd.
BMW says the 730Ld M Sport “evokes a sporty sense of luxury” while providing convenience and comfort.
“It comes with air suspension with automatic self-levelling and dynamic damper control and has a sporty design with dashing headlights, the BMW individual high-gloss shadow line and the BMW M aerodynamics package,” the company 
 said. “The expansive interior is designed to deliver the ultimate on-the-road experience for drivers and passengers with new soundproof materials added to reduce undesirable noises. 
“The back seat comes equipped with a new design and comfort package, including massage function in the backrest, Harman-Kardon surround sound system with 16 speakers and sky lounge panorama glass roof, a unique and exclusive offering in the luxury sedan segment. 
“At night, light emitted from side-mounted LED modules is directed evenly onto the glass roof, illuminating an atmospheric motif mimicking a starry sky.
The entertainment system includes a 9.2-inch display and iDrive controller on the armrest.
“This is further enhanced by the new BMW gesture control which provides passengers with full control of various vehicle systems and infotainment functions,” the company said.
“Additionally, BMW touch command function allows passengers in any seat to control comfort functions such as seat adjustment, air conditioning, as well as infotainment and navigation through a removable tablet with a screen diagonal of 7 inches.”

Nostra Map keeps pace with runners

GlobeTech, which produces the Nostra Map Thailand for smartphone and tablets, has added details that highlight tourist destinations to coincide with the Laguna Phuket Marathon on|June 3-4.
“All runners, event participants and interested people are invited to join the race and experience the unseen Phuket Island,” the company said.
“The activities around this famous island includes relaxing by the white-sand beaches, checking out the popular local restaurants and visiting the remarkable Phuket landmarks. Join the race and follow Nostra Map to explore the town. Just search and select your preferred destinations nearby then check the distance from your location via an infographic displayed on screen, or turn on the navigation on Nostra Map application and let us lead you to the destinations. 
“You will never get lost with the most accurate co-ordinates applied to guide you everywhere you go.”
The company says users can log in to the application and choose “layer” Laguna Phuket Marathon 2017. 
“The all-in-one Nostra Map Thailand is your best personal navigator on smartphone, both iOS and Android,” the company said.

RS warrants to start trading soon
 
RS yesterday said its RS-W3 warrants will start trading on June 1.
Chief financial officer Darm Nana said the move follows a board decision on February 22 to sell the third lot of the RS-W3 warrants to existing shareholders at a maximum of 193,332,870 units. 
The warrants have three-year maturity and give holders the right to convert them into common shares with Bt1 par value, representing 19.14 per cent of RS’ total issued shares. 
RS-W3 warrants will be allocated to the com
 pany’s existing shareholders with the ratio of five old shares to one warrant. Warrant conversion into RS shares can take place from October 31.
Darm said that the National Broadcasting and Telecommunica-tions Commission had also approved compensation to help with what the company calls must-carry expenses for digital TV operators from December 20, 2016, to February 28, for Bt28 million. 
The government approved an extension for the payment of auction fees for digital TV operators and this measure has lowered the financial burden for the company’s Channel 8 by Bt50 million for the three years from this year.
RS is relying on its two main businesses for growth this year. Its media business has Channel 8 as its flagship revenue generator while the health and beauty business has its Lifestar brand as a rising star.
The company said Channel 8 has more than doubled its advertising air time for news and boxing programmes while the rates for other programs have also been increased following an expansion in the audience base.

Singapore company invests Bt1.6 bn in Singha projects

Singapore’s Trillion Global has invested more than Bt1.6 billion in two of Singha Estate’s condominium projects, The Esse Asoke and The Esse at Singha Complex.
The investment has been hailed as a sign of confidence in Thailand’s property industry,
Trillion Global has investment portfolios in many countries, particularly in Asia and Europe.
William Loke, managing director of Trillion Global, said: “Thailand has the potential to become a regional hub for Asean investment while property prices in Thailand are still reasonable and not too high compared with other countries.
“We believe investment opportunities in Thailand will yield good returns in the future.”
He said Trillion Global started a partnership 
 with Singha Estate with an initial purchase of a large block of units in The Esse Asoke condominium project worth more than Bt900 million.
“This was an investment which received very good responses when our company went on roadshows in places such as mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Singapore,” Loke said.
“Currently, The Esse at Singha Complex has received total bookings of more than 80 per cent of available units worth more than Bt3.3 billion. Of that, Bt1 billion comes from foreign reservations.”

300 events planned over next 6 months

With more than 300 meetings and trade shows due in Thailand for the second half of this year, the Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) is confident that the events industry has built a firm foundation for growth.
Early this month, the International Congress and Convention Association ranked Thailand as the 24th top destination for meetings, up from the 27th last year. Bangkok’s ranking jumped from the 16th to 12th in the same survey.
Chiruit Isarangkun Na Ayuthaya, acting president of TCEB, said the improved ranking reflects Thailand’s competitiveness in the events industry.
 An initial survey indicates that for June to December, about 360 events are being organised in Thailand, with about 75 per cent of them being international-scale conferences and trade exhibitions.
“Thailand’s popularity is on the rise. We see some exceptional large events coming to Thailand such as Thaifex-World of Food Asia that is expected to draw 70,000 people to the show in early June. And last month, Thailand was the host of Intermatch, with 31,000 people and Infinitus, with 8,000,” Chiruit said.

One2car.com moves into inspections
 
One2car.com, a sales website that is part of the iCar Asia Thailand network, has started a vehicle inspection service.
The inspections will be carried out by certified technicians, the company said.
“Each team member has undergone a vehicle inspection training programme, providing added assurance that the inspection is being conducted in accordance with engineering standards and procedures,” the company said.
 Peace Chongseeha, head of the inspection department at one2car.com, said this service will raise confidence among buyers of used cars on one2car.com’s portal and build trust with customers.
“This service provides assistance to every used-car buyer and seller,” Peace said.
“Buyers visiting the website to purchase a car can use this service to have the car inspected so they can make an informed decision before buying to make sure they are making a good investment. For sellers, using this service prior to listing their car for sale, will assure potential buyers of the good condition of their car.”