Charoen Pokphand Group, owned by Thai billionaire Dhanin Chearavanont, formed a global consortium with allies from Asia and Europe in a plan to clinch the $6.8 billion high-speed rail link project in Thailand.
Charoen Pokphand was founded in Bangkok's Chinatown in 1921 by Chearavanont's father, Chia Ek Chor who has the Chinese name Xie Yichu. The founder was a Chinese born in Guangdong Province who started out as a merchant in the country. He conducted businesses in China, and other Southeast Asian countries until settling in Thailand for good.
Charoen Pokphand is Thailand's largest private corporate group with known ventures in the food and agriculture sectors, as well as the retail industry, and telecommunications.
Thailand's high-speed rail link project is planned to transport passengers to and from two international airports in the country. It will also link tourists to the U-Tapao International Airport in Rayong province. The project is being managed under Thailand's Eastern Economic Corridor initiative.
The global consortium build by Charoen Pokphand included the China Railway Construction Corporation Ltd, China's CITIC Group Corp, Germany's Siemens, South Korea's Hyundai, Bangkok Expressway and Metro Pcl, Italian-Thai Development Corp for Transport & Urban Development, China Resources Co Ltd, Italy's Ferrovie Dello Stato Italiane, China's CRRC-Sifang, and Japan Bank for International Cooperation.
The global consortium of allies is expected to submit its bid on Nov. 12 according to Vice Chairman for Charoen Pokphand Group's special projects unit Adiruth Thothaveesansuk.
The conglomerate is competing against 31 others firms from Thailand, China, and Japan, Bloomberg reported, citing figures found on Eastern Economic Corridor's website. All bids are expected to come in by Monday.
Charoen Pokphand generated $45 billion in sales in 2015 through its businesses across Southeast Asia, China, Europe, and the United States, Chearavanont wrote in 2016 on "My Personal History" published by Nikkei Asian Review. The company had investments in 16 countries and had more than 300,000 employees at the time.
Charoen Pokphand has an extremely rich Chinese history and Chearavanont has always been proud and thankful about this. The group was among the very first foreign investors in China when it opened its economy in 1978. It was also the first foreign company registered in the special economic zone of Shenzhen in Guangdong Province where founder Xie Yichu, Chearavanont's father hailed.
Since 1978, Charoen Pokphand has been using the name Chia Tai Group with its dealings in China.
In 2016, Charoen Pokphand businesses in China accounted for as much as 40 percent of the entire groups' sales.
