Krungsri (Bank of Ayudhya PCL) organized a major online seminar, Krungsri Business Forum 2022: What's Next for Thailand?, under the topic of the future of businesses in ASEAN in this digital era. The online seminar took place on Thursday 10th February 2022 and was held exclusively for Krungsri's commercial customers; SME customers, corporate customers and JPC/MNC customers. In the seminar, the guest speakers who are top executives from leading organizations in Thailand shared viewpoints and updates on megatrends in businesses.
Mr. Seiichiro Akita, Krungsri President and Chief Executive Officer gave an opening remark and presented Krungsri' s readiness to drive the growth of business partners in ASEAN. The key takeaways from his speech was that, the Covid-19 pandemic caused economic recession in many parts of the world. However, on the other hand, it also accelerated the growth of many preexisting megatrends in particular, Regionalization, Digitalization and Sustainability. These changes were considered challenges for businesses to keep up with. As for Krungsri, the Bank has synergized with MUFG and partner banks to strengthen its ASEAN capabilities, making Krungsri become the Bank with the most comprehensive footprints in ASEAN. On the digital side, Krungsri has been investing in financial technologies to make cross-border transaction more convenient and faster with blockchain and next level API. These did not only elevate customers' experience, they also reinforced Krungsri' s position as one of the digitally advanced financial institutions in the region, making Krungsri ready to help commercial customers grow the business.
Mr. Sayam Prasitsirigul, Krungsri Chief Information and Digital Officer, shared the updates on the future financial technologies that would disrupt the global financial system and change the business practices. The development of digital technology was rapid and disrupted the business practices and it could be seen both as an opportunity or a challenge. Having partners with expertise and were able to adapt technological capabilities to the business can strengthen the business growth. Krungsri also continued to invest in the development of technology and was ready to be the trusted partner of business customers.
Mr. Roongrote Rangsiyopash, President & CEO, SCG shared the insights on the business sector that, key global and regional trends were climate change, ESG, wellness and digital transformation. The business should adhere to ESG, apply environmentally friendly innovations in order to create sustainable growth. As for SCG, the company set the target of Net Zero Carbon Footprint in the year 2050, and on even shorter term, the company would reduce the carbon footprint by 20% in 2030. This target was set under the challenge that the business would have to grow. The company planned to utilize more clean energy, develop 100% green products with reduced carbon footprints and adjust the operation processes to reduce waste as much as they can. Most importantly, transparency had to be accounted for with KPIs that were able to be announced publicly.
Mr. Aswin Techajareonvikul, Chief Executive Officer & President of Berlie Jucker Public Company Limited and Big C Supercenter Public Company Limited analyzed the markets that were still opened to Thai business and trends that would change the world that, big data technology helped us to know about customers' minds more, even more than them knowing themselves. Big C adapted this to the business and received positive feedback. As for ASEAN expansion, Thai products were well-known for commodity goods and were widely accepted across the region. Cross-border trades were also a key driver and if entrepreneurs wish to expand to ASEAN, having partners with expertise giving advice could be the key to success.
Mr. Yuthasak Supasorn, Governor for Tourism Authority of Thailand gave his speech on digital tourism and how to create sustainability in Thai tourism. He shared that Thai tourism needed to adjust with Triple Is- Industry, Innovation, Investment and focus on quality of tourists rather than volume as in the past. Data-driven marketing could help create positive experience to customers in each segment. The tourism industry should be sustainable and invest to adopt new technologies that create good impressions and are secure. Metaverse could help connect the real world and the virtual one seamlessly and move the Thai tourism to the digital age.
Lastly, Dr. Somprawin Manprasert, Krungsri Head of Research Division and Chief Economist, unveiled the future trends that businesses should adapt themselves to, in order to keep up with opportunities stemmed from the disruption in the global supply chain. Businesses currently faced The Great Reset -cycle of a company was shortening due to Covid-19 and industrial revolution combined. The entrepreneurs should take into consideration the 3 Res: Reimagine as the world trade was changing to regional value chain, Reflect on how to adapt when the world is changing in order to add value and competitiveness and Reset with the 2 strategies; development from within and finding the right partners.
This virtual seminar is a part of virtual seminar series for Krungsri's commercial customers, to help enhance the business potential of customers for sustainable growth through ongoing seminars. These seminars are aimed to share knowledge and insights from leading experts, to inspire, and leverage business opportunities of Krungsri's customers. This virtual seminar is also available for viewing at Krungsri Business Empowerment Facebook