Jay Mart to invest B19.5 bn

 The company also said it would make its first initial coin offering (ICO), JFin Coin, on the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) on February 14, seeking to raise around US$20 million.
 Adisak Sukumvitaya, chief executive officer of Jay Mart group, said that the Bt19.5 billion investment plan would support the group’s business base and digital transformation. The funds will be invested in its subsidiary companies, with J Fintech receiving Bt7.19 billion, JMT Network Services Bt4.8 billion, Jaymart around Bt3.52 billion, Singer (Thailand) Bt3.13 billion, Jas Asset about Bt720 million and J Ventures, around Bt140 million.
 At J Fintech, the firm will use its investment money to provide 500,000 personal loans and small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) loans of around Bt7 billion. The firm expects to generate revenue growth from its loan business of about 120 per cent by the end of this year. It will also use new information technology such as e-wallet, artificial intelligence, blockchain, QR code payment and online lending to support its business.
 At JMT Network Services, the firm will purchase non-performing loans (NPLs) from banks and non-banks in order to manage NPLs and support its business growth. The firm expects that by the end of this year it will spend around Bt4.8 billion on NPL purchases. Meanwhile, Jaymart will expand its branches and Jaymart shops nationwide. It will also acquire other business in order to support its existing business.
 For Singer (Thailand), the firm will develop the Singer Franchise in the first quarter of this year and expects to set up around 1,000 franchisee outlets by the end this by the end this year. It will also provide micro and nano financial support to its customers nationwide. 
 With Jas Asset, the firm will expand its business into Cambodia in the second haft of this year and to Vietnam next year. It will also set up a condominium project and expand its business into food and beverages by setting up two premium coffee shops under the brands Rabb Coffee and Casa Lapin. The firm will open 200 Rabb Coffee shops within three years and expects to set up 50 branches for Casa Lapin within three years. The firm will focus on customer relationship management to improve its productivity and efficiency of business. 
 For J Ventures, the firm will use financial technology to support its business, including digital leading coin and credit scoring blockchain technologies. 
For the JFin Coin offering on the SET next month, the company will offer one million digital lending coins with a value of US$0.20 each. It expects to reach the targeted US$20 million (Bt660 million) in order to develop a digital lending platform and financial technology ecosystem for the market. The coin offering ends on March 31. 
 “I think that digital learning and blockchain are new technologies and solutions that will support our business in the digital era. They will also add a new dimension to our business in digital era,” Adisak said.
 He said that the firm expects that by the end of this year it will generate revenue growth of around 30 per cent. It also expects that by 2020, the group will generate revenue of more than Bt54 billion.
Tipsuda Thavaramara, deputy secretary-general of the Securities and Exchange Commission of Thailand (SEC), said that SEC did not have adequate information about Jay Mart Group’s plans for the ICO. 
“We cannot confirm whether the ICO will be securities or not, or if it is for shares or debentures. The issuer has to apply to the SEC. Now, we are not clear about the ICO,” she said in a press release yesterday.
She warned investors to research carefully any new investment proposals. Tipsuda also cautioned listed companies that they had to be careful about the information they put out when making announcements, given the potential impact on share prices.
Yesterday, Jay Mart shares closed at Bt20.40 each, down 2.39 per cent from Monday.