Aqua Corporation Plc. (AQUA) restructured after cleaning its media business portfolio, projecting a synergy project, a new business group raising the flag with fintech business, followed by logistics business. and Healthcare business by relying on Biga data to be the key link to create opportunities for growth.
Mr. Chaiphiphat Kaewtrairat, Managing Director of AQUA gave an interview to “InfoQuest” that previously, AQUA had out-of-home media business as its main business. But decided to sell to Plan B Media Plc. (PLAN), which got a part of the cash back. And has used part of the money to Re-Invest in PLANB, causing the company to adjust its strategy to invest in new businesses. That is a Fintech business which is sure to be able to generate significant income in the future.
“If we explore businesses around the world, there are a lot of new unicorns. Most of which are all Fintech related businesses, giving the company a vision of solving Pain Points that will make it easier and more accessible to the general public. No need to rely on informal loans
Currently, the Bank of Thailand has approved a new Peer to peer lending (P2P Lending) business license. Therefore, the company has acquired Nestfly Co., Ltd., a platform provider that serves as matching (Matching) between borrowers. and those who want to borrow to meet Answering people with financial problems, P2P Lending Platform is another choice for those who lack liquidity.”
The first step before that, AQUA has invested in Peer for All Company Limited (Peer for All), which was established and invested with News Network Corporation Public Company Limited (NEWS) in the proportion of 60% and 40% accordingly. No. It is expected to open for service and recognize revenue within the year 66.
Meanwhile, NEWS has established Liberator Company Limited, a subsidiary of the Company. with the objective of conducting securities business and engages in derivatives business which has been authorized by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is expected to start business in 4Q22
Mr. Chaiphiphat said that in the initial phase The lending will be in the form of Share Loan, which is the placing of shares as collateral for the lender. which can be used as a credit line for lending up to 50% to be used to enhance liquidity in the business or other uses The platform will act for borrowers to choose the amount they want to borrow. with repayment period Through the work of smart contracts (Smart Contract)
In addition, it is in the process of acquiring funds to join as a future lender. And from this business, we can collect data (DATA) of users of the platform and use it for future use.
“Today, the first step we take is P2P Lending, which we are already licensed from the Bank of Thailand. And we are moving towards becoming a NEO Bank or Visual Bank that can provide more financial services. with lower cost enabling us to provide benefits to users With the goal within 2 years, AQUA will try to communicate and educate Fintech and P2P Lending to as many borrowers and lenders as possible,” said Chaipipat.
On the logistics side, from the company’s decision to buy shares of Thai Parcel Public Company Limited (TP) provides delivery services for parcels of large or non-standard shapes (Odd size/Oversize) in Thailand in both business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-personal ( B2C) and person-to-person (C2C) formats, as well as collecting parcels on delivery (COD) services, with distribution centers and delivery points spread across all regions of Thailand. which has income at the level of 500-600 million baht per year
As in the past, AQUA has income from renting warehouses of approximately 100,000 square meters of approximately 250 million baht per year, and this rental fee will increase significantly. Including being a business that can synergy with each other directly, such as marketing
“Thai Parcel is a public limited company. Registered in Thailand and operating a freight forwarding business with revenues of 500-700 million for 3 consecutive years, currently in the process of filing an IPO, we will push him to file a filing as soon as possible, probably around the 3rd quarter. By using our warehouse users will be able to use the delivery service (Logistics) as well. This business will allow us to collect a lot of user data (DATA), causing further synergy,” said Mr. Chaipipat.
In addition, AQUA has also announced a joint venture worth 2,448 million baht in the Healthcare business with Thonburi Rehab Center (THR) Co., Ltd. (THR), a subsidiary of Plc. Thonburi Healthcare Group (THG) to open a Rehab Center named “The Hills Rehab Chiangmai by Thonburi Rehab Center” under Mantra Asset Co., Ltd. (MANTRA), a direct subsidiary of AQUA. Existing companies come back to develop and join hands with new partners. Open a treatment center for drug addicts This will generate income from the joint venture and the provision of such services.
Mr. Chaiphiphat said that at present, the company has working capital in the company of more than 2 billion baht from the sale of shares to PLANB and the sale of debentures worth 1,000 million baht, part of which has been invested in the Fintech business and used to expand the business further in future It is sure to be able to generate significant income in the future.
“You can see that in the end, Fintech Logistics Healthcare will connect all legs. This is one of the strategies we have planned for the future,” said Chaipipat.