Telenor brings in Ericsson for new pilot testing

The next generation pilot will be carried out by Telenor Norway in partnership with Ericsson and will complement the mobile operator's existing 5G pilot in Kongsberg.
"It's important for Telenor to continuously expand our knowledge and experience through actively testing the 5G technology together with suppliers. Through experimenting, we also assess the 5G technological requirements as well as how we and Telenor's customers can take advantage of the vast opportunities the 5G technology brings. Together with Ericsson, we will experiment with ways to design the 5G network, understand the vendor capabilities and use of the technology, and test new use cases," says Ruza Sabanovic, Chief Technology Officer for Telenor Group. 

The new pilot will kick off in Q2 2019 and will run until 2020, when Telenor will launch its commercial 5G network to Norwegian customers.
The pilot is in the planning stage and its location and specific use cases will be announced at a later stage.
 "We have not yet chosen our vendor for 5G. Both the existing pilot in Kongsberg and our newest pilot activity will enable us to better evaluate which technological, functional and commercial solutions are optimal for our future 5G network and for our customers," says Bjorn Ivar Moen, acting CEO, Telenor Norway.
Telenor recently entered into an agreement with Ericsson and Nokia, who together will deliver a modernisation of the core mobile networks in Norway, Sweden and Denmark, which will support the 5G radio access network.

ZEN 
IPO price set at Bt13 per share 

ZEN Corporation Group Plc (ZEN), has fixed its Initial Public Offering (IPO) price at Bt13 per share.
After the prospectus takes effect, ZEN will proceed with its investment plan to expand its restaurant branches in Thailand and abroad. Its goal is to become the leader in the food service business.

ZEN signed a contract yesterday to appoint Kasikorn Securities to underwrite its IPO shares and also to appoint SCB Securities Co Ltd, Finansia Syrus Securities Plc, KGI Securities (Thailand) Pcl and KTB Securities (Thailand) Pcl as co-underwriters.
Preparations are being made for investor subscription on February 7, 8 and 11. On February 20, ZEN shares are expected to see their first day of trading in the Stock Exchange of Thailand.
ZEN Corporation Group Plc currently has a registered capital of Bt300 million, divided into 300 common shares at a par value of Bt1 per share. The registered capital is composed of Bt225 million in paid-up capital and the group will offer to sell 75 million IPO shares, or no more than 25 per cent of all issued and paid-up common shares of the company after this IPO. 
The funds raised will be used to expand the business of the group –including expansion and improvement of restaurant branches, repayment of loans from commercial banks. It will also be used as working capital in the operation.

FINTECH PLATFORM 
Tbank, Beehive Asia join for SME funding 

Thanachart Bank Public Co Ltd (Tbank) has partnered with global player Beehive Asia to launch a fintech platform for financing SME value chains.

Thanachart Bank’s executive vice president of retail and small business banking, Anuwat Luengtawekul, says the Bank recently entered into a partnership with a global fintech player namely Beehive Asia Co Ltd.
Beehive was strong in creating markets and had developed a platform for a value-chain financing program, said Anuwat. This programme helps reduce procedures related to loans application and approval as well as payment processes for trading partners, particularly SME customers involved in production and purchase order placement. 
The value-chain financing program can also serve to help SME customers access funding sources more quickly. This is mainly due to the fact that the program has been developed for supporting borrowing processes via digital systems that are quite different from usual procedures. 
Justin Wright, head of Beehive Asia Co Ltd, said his company’s program “will enable Thanachart Bank to fulfil important potential for strengthening the products and services for the Bank’s SME customers.”
Wright added, “We look forward to coordinating closely with the Bank, aiming at promoting greater cooperation in the future.”