Forbes names ThaiBev founder 65th richest man of 2018

[webfact]

Forbes names ThaiBev founder 65th richest man of 2018

 

 

BANGKOK, 8 March 2018 (NNT) – Forbes magazine has released its 2018 list of billionaires, in which the founder of Thai Beverage Plc was ranked at number 65. 

In its World’s Billionaires 2018 List, Forbes declared Jeff Bezos, CEO and founder of Amazon, the richest man of the year, with a net worth of 112 billion US dollars, unseating Bill Gates of Microsoft who this year fell to number 2, with a net worth of 90 billion dollars. 

Third place went to Warren Buffett, high-profile investor and business magnate, whose fortune was worth 84 billion dollars. The co-founder and CEO of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, was placed at number 5, with 71 billion dollars. US President Donald Trump, with 3.1 billion dollars in his possession, slid from 544th place to 766th. 

Meanwhile, at number 65 was Thailand’s Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi, 73-year-old founder and chairman of Thai Beverage Plc, with a net worth of 17.9 billion dollars. 

According to Forbes, the 2018 list includes a total of 2,208 members, increasing from 2017 by 165. Among them, 259 are new billionaires.

 

-- nnt 2018-03-08

[worgeordie]

So the mega rich are still getting richer, while the plebs

are still living day to day.

regards worgeordie

[ratcatcher]

5 minutes ago, worgeordie said:

So the mega rich are still getting richer, while the plebs

are still living day to day.

regards worgeordie

That is the way it is world wide. There's the mega rich and the rest of us.

[Tilacme]

Ahhhh what you can achieve with an inferior product when you have draconian import restrictions on your side

[PatOngo]

ThaiBev could be even richer if they weren't forced to pay the big cop 50,000 thb per month!

[janclaes47]

11 minutes ago, Tilacme said:

Ahhhh what you can achieve with an inferior product when you have draconian import restrictions on your side

And especially when you get some help from corrupt officials at the top, and have to pay less excise taxes on your beer than other Thai brewers.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charoen_Sirivadhanabhakdi

Allegations of abuse of political connections

Links to former prime minister of Thailand

Prem Tinsulanonda, the former military general and prime minister of Thailand who sat on ThaiBev's board of directors in the early-2000s, helped rescue Charoen's Surathip Group, the distributor of Chang beer, in 1986. The company at the time owed 14 billion baht (approximately US$450 million) to banks and 6 billion baht (approximately US$190 million) to the state before Tinsulanonda reportedly stepped in to help the company gain a monopoly over the liquor industry by restructuring contracts to reduce annual "burdens".^[17] Chang was also reportedly classified as an "economy brand", which meant a lower excise tax.^[18]

Protection of business interests

Since the Asian financial crisis of 1997 and attempts to further liberalize Thailand's competition laws in 1999, Charoen has on occasion been able to use his political connections to increase his dominance over the country's alcohol industry.

Charoen reportedly launched a campaign of resistance against the liberalisation of the local whisky market in the late-1990s and early-2000s. He was reportedly able to do this due to his increasing clout since the Asian financial crisis, which saw him rescue hundreds of politically connected, debt-ridden Thai companies and projects. This includes the acquisition of the large Bangkok IT shopping mall Pantip Plaza from Chalermchai Vaseenont, who set regulations for the local liquor industry in his capacity as a former director general of the country's excise department at the Ministry of Finance.

Charoen's assistance has brought certain "bureaucratic paybacks". For example, following the liberalization of the Thai market, the government implemented several tough new environmental regulations for the construction of new plants, making it very difficult for new rivals to enter the liquor market. Charoen was able to avoid these new regulations as he had won all 12 bids for the previously government-held distilleries it ran on concession.

His assistance during the financial crisis has also reportedly brought him some level of protection from media criticism: a programme on a military-controlled radio station was, for example, allegedly taken off the air after it ran an unflattering report on Charoen that included allegations of tax evasion.

Several competitors have protested against some of Charoen’s activities. Boon Rawd Brewery, the producer of Singha beer, complained to Thailand's Fair Trade Department in October 2000 about Charoen's dumping of cheap products on the market, which the company claimed impeded competition. Charoen was warned that his actions were "inappropriate"; however, the department eventually ruled in his favour after claiming that no law had been violated as regulations regarding the issue had not yet been finalised. Thailand's commerce minister allegedly did not participate in the deliberations and the details of the decision-making process have never been made public.^[19]

[Darcula]

It's official, Forbes won't be banned in Thailand just yet.

[DrTuner]

Makes me think what happened to all that rotten rice..not that you'd be able to taste it in a Chang.

[Cadbury]

1 hour ago, PatOngo said:

ThaiBev could be even richer if they weren't forced to pay the big cop 50,000 thb per month!

To this evil looking piece of work one Sanit Mahathavorn. ThaiBev alcohol "advisor" since 2015. 

Calculating conservatively:

36 months x 50,000 = 1,800,000 baht

Thailand the Hub of Corruption.

[heybruce]

1 hour ago, Tilacme said:

Ahhhh what you can achieve with an inferior product when you have draconian import restrictions on your side

Along with rules that make it impossible for small brewers to legally sell a superior product. 

 

"Thailand's 1950 Liquor Act states that beer can only be made in a factory making more than 1,000,000 litres per year or in a brewpub producing at least 100,000 litres per year for sale on-site with no bottling permitted. Brewpub beers cannot be sold off-premises.^{"    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beer_in_Thailand}

 

The law effective prevents craft brewers from starting small and out-competing the big players.

[Baerboxer]

5 hours ago, Tilacme said:

Ahhhh what you can achieve with an inferior product when you have draconian import restrictions on your side

 

Or gifted a monopoly on something that everyone wants!