M Link Asia Corporation, a handset and mobile accessories distribution firm, is resuming its aggressive business activities and planning a major comeback in the highly competitive market after completing its major shareholding restructure.
Prasit: Aiming for 10% revenue growth
The move is part of a major business restructuring to diversify the company from being a handset distributor to an electronic goods distributor in order to drive aggressive business growth, said president Prasit Srisuwan.
The Wongsawat family, who founded M Link, led by Yaowapa Wongsawat — a sister of ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra — sold out its shareholding in the company in a bid to reverse its image as politically connected.
The family no longer holds shares in M Link under a new shareholding restructure compared with 20% earlier.
Watchai Vilailuck, president of Samart Corporation, and his group has become the major shareholder of M Link shares holding 10%.
Mr Prasit became M Link's president, succeeding Ms Yaowapa's daughter Chinnicha.
However, Ms Chinnicha is still chairman of the company.
Ms Chinnicha replaces Anusorn Amornchat, the common-law husband of Thaksin's youngest sister, Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra.
Mr Anusorn resigned after his wife became prime minister in 2011.
Mr Prasit said M Link is broadening the product range at its 800 shops nationwide to cover other mobile phone brands, not only Nokia as previously, and IT products and digital set-top boxes to increase revenue.
He said M Link has also set up a joint venture with Kareena Online, M-Seed Asia, to jump online game bandwagon in order to diversify its revenue stream and reduce its dependence on mobile phone sales.
"We target revenue of 30 million baht from M-Seed Asia this year," said Mr Prasit, adding that the company hopes to list on the Stock Exchange of Thailand in the near future.
M Link has an accumulative loss of 873 million baht. The company reported 4 billion baht in revenue in 2013.
"We expect to clear our all accumulated losses within the next three years," he added.
Mr Prasit said M Link aims revenue growth of 10% this year. Net profit would grow by 20% as its moves into businesses with higher margins.
He said M Link has been appointed the authorised distributor by several leading mobile accessories firms including France's Avenir Telecom, which makes accessories under the Energizer, Beewi and OXO Platinum brands.
The company will soon import digital TV set-top-boxes from Chinese supplier ZTE, which plans to sell 3 million boxes this year.
The National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission plans to give away subsidy coupons to all 22 million households in July.
Discount coupons will be valued at 1,000 baht per household to accelerate the shift to digital TV.