Pattaya Business Supplement - Feb 2017

BUSINESS SUPPLEMENT
Tencent operates WeChat, which competes
against Japan’s LINE app, and the JV may well
help Tencent to leverage on the use of entertainment
and content assets to grow WeChat’s
presence in the Thai market.
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Charoen Pokphand Foods Plc (CP Foods)
recently acquired a 33 percent stake in SuperDrob
Capital Group, a family-run poultry
company in Poland. CP Foods paid US$51.5
million (Euro 49.50 million) in a move intended
to give the Thai company access to markets in
Poland and the EU.
THAILAND BUSINESS ROUNDUP
Tencent recently strengthened its presence in
the Thai market by way of a joint venture (JV)
with Thailand-based Ookbee, creating a firm
called Ookbee U, which is intended to be the
foundation of a digital media content ecosystem.
Ookbee is a digital entertainment platform startup
which began in 2011 as an online book and
magazine business and engaged content creators
across Southeast Asia. It has expanded
its offerings to include user-generated comics,
novels, music, short videos, and idea sharing.
The JV by Tencent and Ookbee is aimed at
promoting user-generated content and cover a
diverse array of online media. Tencent recently
rebranded its Thai web portal Sanook, a whollyowned
subsidiary, to Tencent Thailand in an
attempt to consolidate its brand.
Ookbee CEO Natavudh Pungcharoenpong was
quoated as saying “We used to compete with
traditional book stores, but for this new company
[the] idea is to be more flexible. The format can
be anything. More than just books: music,
comics, and experimenting with video.”
Ookbee reports it has a user base in excess
of eight million individuals across Thailand,
Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam,
with four million monthly active users.
This development comes at a time when Tencent,
alongside firms like Alibaba and JD.com
are expanding across the Asean region.
The company has been buying stakes in
global agro companies as part of its plan to
boost its annual revenue from $12.07 billion
in 2015 to $19.8 billion in 2020 in the next five
years.
This acquisition closely follows the completion
of CP Foods’ acquisition of the remaining
stake in US-based Bellisio Foods Inc, a deal
that was worth over $1 billion. Prior to that CP
Foods had also announced the acquisition of
China’s Cofco Meat Suqian for $27.2 million.
SuperDrob, a poultry products manufacturer
dispatches half of its products abroad
to Britain, France, Germany and other EU
countries as well as China. Its main products
are such as fresh poultry meat, processed
pre-seasoned and flavored poultry, as well as
sausages and ham under its own brand.
Adirek Sripratak, President and CEO of CP
Foods mentioned this will mark the first step
of CP Foods into poultry operations in the
European country.
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