BMCs-Best Execs-r2:AMM grid in qxp 12/24/09 9:42 AM Page 61
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Allthiswaspartofthebank’spreviouslystatedloangrowthtar- quicklybegantocutcostsandreduceinventories,whileitsought
getof15%thisyear.Itlookswellontracktomeetthatthreshold, outacquisitionopportunitiesasthedownturnclaimedweaker
withthirdquarterloangrowthof14.6%.Tisco’sbettofocusonits rivals.
strengthsinthecarloanindustryseemstobepayingoff. SiamCementisalsooneofthebest-placeddomesticfirmsthat
Asaresult,analystsnowhavehighexpectationsforTisco’sfull- standtobenefitfromtheThaigovernment’sUS$42billionstimulus
yearearningsastheeconomyrecoversfromtheglobaldownturn, package,whichincludesmassiveinvestmentinthecountry’sinfra-
boostingdomesticcarsalesandstockmarketvolumes. structure.
“Withtheimprovingoutlookforthedomesticautomobilemar- OutsideofThailand,SiamCementhasalsokeptitselfbusy.In
ket,westillbelievethatTiscocanachieveitslendingtarget,”said Novembertheconglomerateannouncedithadsignedadealwith
WorawatSaisuphatphol,ananalystatKGISecuritiesinBangkok,in QatarPetroleumtoinvestinaVietnamesepetrochemicalcomplex
aresearchnote.“Wehaveupgradedourearningsforecastsby5% worthuptoUS$4billion.Theprojecthadinitiallybeenexpectedto
for2009and2010.” bedelayedforatleasttwoyearsbecauseoftheglobalfinancialcrisis
andobserverssaytheannouncementisaclearsignthatthingsare
startingtopickup.
MEDIUM-CAPCORPORATEOFTHEYEAR “Theyhavereallycrackedhowtoinvestingrowthareasand
CPAll startingupco-operationswithgovernmentsandothercompanies,”
saidoneheadofThairesearchinBangkok.“Theyhavearollingpro-
grammeofnewinvestmentsthatwillbuildgrowthintheirbusiness
CPAll,Thailand’sbiggestconveniencestorechainandtheoperator andtheyarealreadythingofopportunitiesbeyondthat.”
ofthe7-Elevenfranchiseinthecountry,hasbeenenjoyingagood IndustryobservershavealsobeenimpressedbySiamCement’s
year. continuedinvestmentinitsownstaff.Thecompanyiswellknown
TheglobalfinancialcrisishurtmostcompaniesinThailand,but forsendingitsmanagerstotopbusinessschoolsaroundtheworldto
CPAllwasanexception.Thecompanybenefitedasconsumers improvetheirtraining.Asaresultithasahighrateofstaffretention,
scaledbackonluxurygoodsandchosecheaperitemsinstead.Italso whilesucheffortsensurethatitcontinuestoattractnewtalent.
chosetoaggressivelyexpandoverthepastyearinsteadoftakinga Still,SiamCementfacesanuncertainfuture.Atthetimeofwrit-
moredefensiveapproachduringtheslowdown,astrategythatana- ing,Thailand’scourtshadhaltedconstructiononseveralindustrial
lystshaveapplauded. projectsinthecountryduetoenvironmentalconcerns.Theruling
CPAllcurrentlyoperatesaround5,0007-Elevenstoresin affects18ofSiamCement’sprojectsandanalystsandinvestorsare
Thailandandisontracktoopenafurther200bytheendofthe watchingcloselytoseewhetheritcanrespondsuccessfullyonce
year.Thecompanyisalsoputtingitsemphasissellingfranchises again.
ratherthanopeningitsownstoresbecauseitcostsagreatdealless.
CPAll’sgoalisforThailandtohavethemost7-Elevenstores,behind
JapanandtheUS. BESTEXECUTIVE
Thecompanyalsoimpressedindustryobserversforbeingsensi- ThongmaVijitpongpun,chiefexecutive,PreuksaRealEstate
tivetomarkettrendsandforitsextensivein-storeproductresearch.
CPAll’sready-to-eatfoodproductsareprovingeasiertosellthan
traditionalgroceryitemswhilegeneratinghigherprofitmargins. Rankedasoneofthe20richestpeopleinThailand,Thongma
Thecompanyisnowinthemidstofincreasingitspre-cookeditems Vijitpongpunowesmostofthispersonalfortunetotheproperty
toaround80%ofoverallsales,whilereducinggroceryitemsto7%. companyhefounded,PreuksaRealEstate.
AnalystssayCPAllalsomadethecorrectdecisioningettingrid Thefinancialcrisisdidn’tdeterhimfromanaggressiveexpansion
ofitsloss-makingLotusShanghaisupermarketsunitinChinalast strategythisyear.Helaunched17constructionprojectsworth
year,freeingituptofocusonitsdomesticbusiness. almostBt9billioninthefirstthreequartersof2009,andthecompa-
CPAll’searningscontinuetosurprisemarketestimates,with nywasalsoontracktostart17moreinthefinalquarter.
third-quarterprofitsrising68%toBt1.42billion.Thecompany’s ButThongmahasnotrestrictedtheexpansiontothedomestic
stockhasalsoperformedimpressively,almostdoublinginthepast market.HavingstartedprojectsinIndia,Preuksasignedanagree-
yeartoBt21.5andoutpacingthewiderStockExchangeofThailand, mentinAugusttodeveloptownhousesinVietnam.
whichhasincreased57%inthesameperiod. “WedecidedtoexpandourinvestmentportfoliostoVietnam
“CPAllhavebeenrewardedfortheirboldexpansionpolicyamid becauseitisapopulousnationwithveryhighdemandforresiden-
adownturnandrightlyso,”saidoneheadofThairesearchatan tialproperty,”Thongmasaidatthetime.
internationalfirminBangkok.“Theyhavebeensurprisingonthe Preuksa’sCEOnowwantstoexpandtotheMaldives,wherethe
upsideandwillcontinuetodosoatthisrate.” islandstate’shousingauthorityneedstodeveloparound1,000con-
dominiumunits.ThongmasaidthedealcouldbeworthuptoUS$10
millionandislikelytostartnextyear.
LARGE-CAPCORPORATEOFTHEYEAR Thecompany’ssalesinthefirstninemonthsrose13.1%year-on-
SiamCement yeartojustoverBt15billionanditstandstosmashitsfull-yearrev-
enuetargetofBt17billion.Preuksasaysthatitwantstogrowby
30%nextyear,andithasplanstolaunchafurther48projects.
Globaldownturnsdonottendtofavourcompaniesintheconstruc- “WhatIlikeaboutThongmaisthathemakescleargoalsand
tionindustryandSiamCementhasbeennoexception.Aslocal deliversonthem,”saidoneThaiequityanalyst.“Heisaresultsman
demandforbuildingmaterialstailedoffandexportdemandsagged, andwhenhesetsatargeteveryonebelievesthathewillmakeit
thecompanywitnessedaworryingdeclineinearnings.Thatleditto becauseofhistrackrecord.”
cutitsfullyearsalesandprofitforecastsearlierthisyear. Thenextfewyearswillbecriticalforthepropertytycoonashe
Butwhilethecompanyhasbeenimpactedbycircumstancesout growshiscompanyregionally,andobserversarewatchingtoseeif
ofitscontrol,itsreactionhasimpressedonlookers.SiamCement hecanreplicatehiscompany’ssuccessabroad.
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