Who is he?

Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi, 69, is the executive chairman of the board of the conglomerate TCC Company Ltd. and Thailand’s third richest entrepreneur. Charoen owns ThaiBev, the country’s largest beer producer, and TCC Land, a major property developer whose developments include Bangkok’s Pantip Plaza and New York’s Hotel Plaza Athenee.

The son of a Bangkok street vendor and a first generation immigrant, Charoen left school at the age of 9 to work. He bid for operational rights to liquor distilleries and by the mid-1980s controlled the entire state-run market.

When Thailand liberalized the liquor industry in 1999, Charoen purchased all 12 of the country’s distilleries. He began acquiring beverage and property companies throughout Cambodia and Singapore and eventually built a global property and beverage empire. Charoen’s net worth today is estimated at $6.2 billion.

Why is he in the news?

Charoen won control of conglomerate Fraser and Neave Ltd (F&N) in late January after shareholders accepted his $11.2 billion bid for shares held by Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp. F&N is the largest beverage company in Singapore and a major investor in Asia Pacific Breweries, Ltd., Asia’s biggest brewery.

What can we expect from him?

Charoen is one of a growing number of savvy Southeast Asian entrepreneurs emerging on the global stage. TCC Assets outmaneuvered Overseas Union Enterprise (OUE), a Singapore property company, and Kirin Holdings, Japan’s largest beverage company, in a six-month battle for control of F&N. TCC Assets purchased Kirin’s 15% stake in the company for $1.6 billion on February 1.

The F&N acquisition is a major step forward in the regional integration of ASEAN markets. Along with other dynamic regional ventures such as AirAsia, whose executive Tony Fernandes transformed the former government-owned subsidiary into a global airline, Charoen’s hefty bid demonstrates significant optimism about Southeast Asia’s economic future.