Thai Beverage’s Chairman Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi speaks during a news conference at the Singapore Exchange in Singapore May 30, 2006. Photo by Reuters
Shares of companies tied to Thailand’s second richest man Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi continued to hover at the lowest this year after the business magnate transferred his entire holdings to five children equally.
Berli Jucker, an operator of modern retail and packaging businesses, saw its shares hovered at THB20.50 Thursday, having plunged over 9% since the beginning of the year.
Asset World Corp’s shares have dropped 43% year-to-date to around THB2.00.
Thai Group Holdings have fallen 8% in the period.
Charoen on Monday transferred shares in a holding company, Sattha Sub 9 – which indirectly controlled the three businesses, to his five children.
The companies clarified that no single family member holds a significant controlling stake in Sattha Sub 9, and that the internal restructuring had no impact on business operations and management structures, according to The Nation.
The move is seen as part of a long-term succession plan by Charoen, the 81-year-old founder and chairman of beverage and property giant TCC Group, to pass the torch to the next generation in a structured way.
He stepped down as chairman of Singapore-based food and beverage firm Fraser and Neave in January and retired as chairman of Thai-Singapore developer Frasers Property in February.
Born and raised in Bangkok, Charoen entered the Thai beer market in 1995 and later expanded to real estate and hospitality. His business empire also includes Thailand’s largest drinks maker Thai Beverage.
With an estimated net worth of US$11.6 billion, he ranks as the country’s second-richest individual after energy magnate Sarath Ratanavadi, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
