Pattaya November 2018

BUSINESS SUPPLEMENT
SOUTHEAST ASIAN BUSINESS ROUNDUP
Malaysia
The Malaysian arm of Nestle is disposing
of its chilled dairy and manufacturing
businesses to French dairy
group Lactalis for US$37.33 million
in cash. Nestle said it will use part of
the proceeds to establish a Milo Manufacturing
Centre of Excellence in its
Chembong factory in Negeri Sembilan,
while the balance shall be used
to reduce bank borrowings.
The Philippines
Universal Robina Corporation (URC)
announced it had agreed to purchase
a 50 percent shares of its potato chip
venture partner Calbee, the Japanese
snack giant, for US$3.13 million. Calbee’s
exit comes as the Philippine
joint venture continued to post losses
since its establishment in 2014.
URC said the purchase will allow it to
have full control of the joint venture,
known as Calbee-Universal Robina
Corporation Inc (CURC) which was
was established in April 2014 as part
of Calbee’s move to enter the Philippine
market.
Myanmar
Yoma Bank, the financial services arm
of First Myanmar Investment Co Ltd,
recently injected a second tranche of
US$4.4 million in a follow-on financing
round of BRAC Myanmar Microfinance
Company Limited to expand
its activities in the country. BRAC will
use the financing to expand its microfinance
services for women and
low-income families living in the outskirts
of cities in Myanmar. With the
funding, BRAC hopes to expand its
microfinance coverage to an additional
15,000 households. Prior to the latest
funding agreement, BRAC raised
a US$1.3 million financing facility
from Yoma Bank in March.
BRAC was founded in 1972 by Sir
Fazle Hasan Abed in Bangladesh and
expanded to Myanmar in 2014
and has served over 79,000 families
across the country. The company has
49 branch offices and loans range in
size from US$97 to US$6,469.
Indonesia
The co-working platform GoWork
raised US$13.8 million in a Series A
round co-led by Gobi Partners and
The Paradise Group, an Indonesian
retail and hospitality-focused property
developer. GoWork plans to use
the proceeds to triple its footprint
by next year, targeting over 100,000
sqm in operation by early 2020. The
company claims to have a 90 percent
renewal rate for members, with over
90 percent occupancy within three
months of launching operations. The
company hopes to become the single
largest provider of quality workspaces
in Indonesia. GoWork was created
after a merger between Rework
and GoWork, two rival co-working
spaces and has 16 hub locations in
Jakarta, Surabaya and Bali and over
30 locations in partnership with Ismaya
Group covering over 25,000 sqm
of workspace. Paradise Group owns
and operates several malls including
Plaza Indonesia.
Singapore
Orthopaedic services provider Asian
Healthcare Specialists (AHS) has entered
into an investment agreement
with Vanda 1 Investments, a company
controlled by Temasek unit Heliconia
Capital Management.
“As ageing populations in both
emerging and developed countries
continue to drive increasing demand
for healthcare, particularly in the specialist
areas of musculoskeletal care
and services, the group intends to tap
into this demand as part of its growth
strategy,” AHS said. The estimated
net proceeds are about US$7.21 million.
AHS intends to use all the net
proceeds to finance business expansion
and grow its existing business.
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THAILAND’S SENIORS
EMBRACING AIRBNB & TOP THE LIST
OF WORLD’S MOST ACTIVE
HOSTS AND GUESTS
• Seniors are a core demographic to
the Airbnb community, and growing
rapidly.
• Thai senior guests have increased
62% year-on-year.
• Thai senior hosts earned almost
THB300 million in 2017 alone.
Seniors (hosts and guests aged
60 and older) have been a growing
and integral part of the Airbnb community
for many years -- they are
growing fast, earning important extra
income, and continue to be the
most-loved of any age group. They
are fast growing, are booking on
Airbnb in increasing numbers, and
leading a new trend of multi-generation
family travel beyond traditional
tourist districts to experience local,
authentic neighbourhoods.
Thailand’s Hospitable Senior
Hosts are the Best Rated
Globally, senior hosts are the
fastest-growing of any age group of
hosts on Airbnb, and there are now
over 400,000 senior hosts on Airbnb
worldwide. In 2017, senior hosts
around the world earned over 65
billion baht, hosted over 13.5 million
guest arrivals at their listings, and
welcomed travellers from over 150
countries.
In Thailand, there are currently
almost 1,500 senior hosts on Airbnb,
representing a year-on-year
increase of more than 26%. Senior
hosts earned a combined total of
close to THB300 million, welcoming
over 52,000 guests into their homes.
They also ranked among the most
loved hosts in the world -- senior
hosts are the best-rated host age
group in Thailand with more than
83% of reviews of senior hosts receiving
five stars.Thai Experience
Host, Sirichan, shared: “I first become
an Airbnb
Host two years ago. My home is
quite unique, over 100 years old, and
I wanted to share its fascinating Thai
architectural legacy with visitors who
wished to experience something traditionally
Thai while learning to cook
Thai food. Since then I have made
many friendships from being a Host.
It’s almost like becoming a member
of my Guest’s family and I have enjoyed
sharing moments of happiness
together.”
Siew Kum Hong, Airbnb Regional
Director, APAC says: “Known for
their renowned welcoming hospitality
and as avid world travellers, it’s
not surprising that seniors in Thailand
are aging meaningfully by embracing
the home sharing community.
As the travel industry continues to
grow, Airbnb promotes tourism that
is local, authentic, diverse, inclusive,
and sustainable, creating new economic
opportunities for hosts in the
homes and communities where they
live.”
Thailand’s Senior Guests are
World’s Most Active on Airbnb
Globally, senior guests are now
the fastest-growing of any age group
on Airbnb, with the number of seniors
who have booked on the platform
growing 66% in the past year.
Thailand’s seniors are the world’s
most active on Airbnb, topping the
list of countries with the highest
proportion of senior guests on Airbnb.
Across the country, seniors who
booked on Airbnb grew 62% in the
past year alone, a figure that is expected
to continuing trending up as a
quarter of Thailand’s population are
expected to be 65+ by 2040.
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