Charoen Pokphand

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Charoen Pokphand Group

Type	Private, family-owned
Founded	1921
Headquarters	Bangkok, Thailand
Key people	Dhanin Chearavanont, chairman and CEO
Industry	Agribusiness Telecommunications Retailing
Products	Meat, Frozen food, Restaurants, Telephone companies, Internet service provider, Hypermarkets, Convenience stores
Employees	350,000
Subsidiaries	Charoen Pokphand Foods True Corporation CP 7-Eleven PLC
Website	www.cpthailand.com

The Charoen Pokphand Group is the largest business conglomerate in Thailand. Its chief subsidiary is Charoen Pokphand Foods, which did 116.5 billion baht in revenue in 2005, earning a profit of 6.747 billion baht.^[1] Aside from agribusiness, the family-owned holding company's interests range from retailing, as the franchisee of Thailand's ubiquitous 7-Eleven stores to telecommunications, as the owner of True Corporation, a mobile telephone, Internet service provider and cable television company.

1 History
2 Subsidiaries
- 2.1 Charoen Pokphand Foods
- 2.2 True Corporation
3 Joint ventures
4 Contributions to the country
5 Controversy
6 References
7 External links

[edit] History

Charoen Pokphand traces its beginnings back to 1921, when brothers Ek Chor and Siew Whooy started the Chia Tai seed shop in Bangkok's Chinatown. They imported seeds and vegetables from China and exported pigs and eggs to Hong Kong.

Taking the Thai name Chearavanont, the family business prospered when it adopted the strategy of turning its seed customers into suppliers for an animal feed. In 1954, the company opened its first feed mill (it's now the fifth largest feed-mill operator in the world), and it soon branched out into livestock operations, beginning with poultry and then swine.

The company has grown into a global business, with more than 250 subsidiaries in 20 countries, including China, where it is known as the Chia Tai Group.

The CP Group was formerly a partner in the Tesco Lotus venture with Tesco of the United Kingdom and in Makro stores with that chain's Dutch parent company. The company sold its stakes in those enterprises in 2003 due to its post-1997 crisis policy to focus on 7-Eleven, in which unlike Tesco and Makro it owns a majority, as its flagship retail arm. However, the company kept its shares in Tesco Lotus outlets in China.^[2]

The company was famous for horizontal integration expanding into several business lines with 4-5 SET listed companies. After the Asian financial crisis in 1997, C.P. hired Price Waterhouse as its consultant and consolidated into three business lines under its main "brand names": foods (C.P. Foods), retail (7-Eleven), and telecommunications (True). Each of these companies has a separate listing but the other listed companies were merged into CPF.

Unusually for a Chinese family, C.P.'s head, Dhanin, is the youngest sibling. He is known for his vision and compromising nature, and for his belief in geomancy.

C.P.'s headquarters is located in "C.P. Tower" on Silom Road, which it purchased over 20 years ago for about 200 million Baht.

C.P. is one of only a handful of companies in Thailand given the right to use the Garuda seal.

May 21, 2004 the Asia Times reported the following business relationship for Neil Bush, brother of the current President George W. Bush, son of former President, "As a member of the younger Bush generation, Neil only entered the China trade 10 years ago, setting up Interlink Management Corp as a matchmaker between US and Asian firms, especially the Charoen Pokphand Group of Thailand, a conglomerate controlled by a Sino-Thai businessman. Through Interlink, Neil helped CP Group form a joint venture with Koll Real Estate for a $300 million mall in Shanghai and a joint venture with Beaulieu of America to sell carpet in China. " [1]

[edit] Subsidiaries

[edit] Charoen Pokphand Foods

Main article: Charoen Pokphand Foods

Charoen Pokphand Foods Public Company Limited (SET: CPF) was registered as Charoen Pokphand Feedmill Company Limited on January 17, 1978. Growing into Thailand's largest agribusiness firm, it was renamed Charoen Pokphand Foods in 1999 and has the slogan "Kitchen of the World."

[edit] True Corporation

Main article: True Corporation

True Corporation Public Company Limited (SET: TRUE) was established in 1990 as TelecomAsia. True controls Thailand's largest cable TV provider True Visions (formerly UBC, a merger of True's UTV and Shinawatra's IBC Cable), its largest ISP TrueInternet, and its third-largest mobile operator TrueMove. True has been a leader in introducing broadband into the country and has about 80% market share. Other than that true also controls the mobile pay company TrueMoney, in addition to that TrueVisions' TrueAF is now Thailand's most watched show (from June - September), earning a vast profit from concert votes. True's cell phone operator, TrueMove, is right behind DTAC (second largest operator), thanks to fellow "True" companies, that have joined forces. True is now Thailand's Largest Convergence Company, and if counted all sub companies, is larger than DTAC and AIS.

[edit] Joint ventures

CP-Meiji dairy, with Meiji Dairies of Japan.
CP7 Eleven (SET: CP7-11) with 7-Eleven of Japan. On October 19, 2007, CP7-11 was re-named "CP All Public Co., Ltd.".^[3]
HCPT (the mobile phone network "3 Indonesia") with HTIL

[edit] Contributions to the country

The CP Group, has supported all forms of chairities. Dhanin Chearavanont, is considered a close friend of HM the King Of Thailand for his generous contributions to the nation of Thailand. CP has almost promoted "Don't donate money to them, build up jobs so they can get a continuous flow of cash", the CP group has built up hundreds of thousands of people who now have jobs and can sustain their family. True Corp, also has built schools, and promoted its support to the nation, with true Visions Cheap education packages for children all over Thailand to be able to watch channels such as, Discovery and National Geographic. Also, True has helped more than a million people gain Internet access where they learn lots of useful information.

[edit] Controversy

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There has been the claim from an NGO, FTAwatch, that the Charoen Pokphand Group exercises its political power over the Thai government to change the context in the JTEPA. The text in the contract includes tax reduction for chicken, shrimp and frozen seafood that the Charoen Pokphand Group hold the substantive market share, instead of rice product that Thai farmers have competitive advantage.^[2]

The Charoen Pokphand Group is the major funding of the Thai-rak-Thai party and have the close relationship with the former Prime Minister Thaksin.^[3]^[4] The founder of the Charoen Pokphand Group is under the investigation of the allegation of corruption in the rubber tree project.

General Prem Tinsulanonda was Chief Advisor to the CP Group. In early 2007, he resigned from his position in order to distance himself from a military junta-led corruption investigation. The investigation concerned alleged bid rigging in a para rubber saplings supply contract granted during the Thaksin government while Prem had held his position at the Group.^[4]

As noted by the Manager newspaper, UBC cable TV (later named True Vision) cannot be renamed under the concession law; by so doing would break the concession law and the cable TV contract shall terminated. However, the law enforcement in Thailand is weak and the group has high level of political influence, then no authority in Thailand would dare to prosecute the UBC cable TV's concession right holder.

There has been an uproar from TRUE internet users that the TRUE internet provider press the internet bandwidth to limit the use of customers. Number of complains regarding bandwidth and connectivity has been received regularly cause by the inferior infrastructures of the TRUE internet providers.

Retail store 7-Eleven did not comply to the new law regard cigarette advertising. The store continually had displayed cigarette and urge for the new interpretation of the new law. As a consequences, public accuse the Charoen Pokphand Group of lacking Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), and the widely public call for banning of 7-Eleven retail stores.

In 2007, the organized farmers accuse the Charoen Pokphand Group of dumping pork in market to put Thai farmers out of business, resulting in very low pork price.^[5]

A new species of fish called "Pla-Tub-Tim" is sold by the Charoen Pokphand Group. They are sold in the young period but they have been steriled by genetically engineering. However, the law in Thailand does not prohibit the use GM food.

29 former employees of True corporation sent the petition to the Office of the National Rights Commission of Thailand after has been fired in an attempt to establish a Labour Union ^[6]. The company claimed that the 29 former employees are incompetent. However the 29 former-employees accused the company of unfair dismissal and claim that the company is subjected to high court.