History of Charoen Pokphand Group

Charoen Pokphand traces its beginnings back to 1921, when the Chinese immigrant brothers
Chia Ek Chor () and Chia Siew Whooy () started a seed store named Chia Tai
Chueng in Bangkok's Chinatown during the reign of King Rama VI. They imported seeds and
vegetables from China and exported pigs and eggs to Hong Kong.
The company increased its scope from selling vegetable seeds under the trademark of Rua
Bin (Aero plane) to production of animal feed under Ek Chors two elder sons, Jaran
Chiaravanont and Montri Jiaravanont. The company further integrated its business to include
livestock farming, marketing and distribution, under Dhanin Chearavanont. By the 1970s, the
company had a virtual monopoly on the supply of chicken and eggs in Thailand.
[5]

The company was famous for vertical integration expanding into several business lines,
adding breeding farms, slaughterhouses, processed foods production, and, later, its own chain
of restaurants. CP had also gone international, launching feedmill operations in Indonesia in
1972, exporting chickens to Japan in 1973, then moving into Singapore in 1976.
[4]

In the 1980s, as China opened up to foreign firms, the firm became the preferred partner for
international brands such as Honda, Wal Mart, and Tesco. CP's family ties with the mainland
enabled it to become the first foreign company to establish itself in the newly created
Shenzhen free trade zone, where the company set up its Chia Tai Co. (Chinese: ;
pinyin: Zhngd Jtun) subsidiary. By the early 1990s, CP had launched some 200
subsidiaries in China. CP's massive investment in poultry production on the mainland was
credited with changing the country's dietary habits, as per-capita consumption more than
doubled by the end of the decade.
[4]

In 1989, CP joined with Solvay of Belgium to launch Vinythai Co., a manufacturer of
polyvinylchloride.
[6]
The following year, the company formed a partnership with the U.S.
telecommunications firm of NYNEX to launch TelecomAsia (TA) and began construction of
its own fiber-optic telephone network.
[4]

Starting in 1993, many subsidiaries went public. TA, Charoen Pokphand Feedmill, Siam
Makro and Vinythai were listed publicly at the Stock Exchange of Thailand, as well as its
Hong Kong subsidiary, CP Pokphand to the Hong Kong exchange, a Shanghai-based animal
feed and poultry group to the Shanghai exchange, a real estate development arm, Hong Kong
Fortune, to the Hong Kong exchange, and Ek Chor China Motorcycle to the New York
exchange.
After the Asian financial crisis in 1997, C.P. consolidated into three business lines under its
main brand names: foods (C.P. Foods), retail (7-Eleven), and telecommunications (True).
The company sold its stakes in the Tesco Lotus venture with Tesco in 2003 due to its crisis
policy in order to focus on 7-Eleven, in which, unlike Tesco, CP owns a majority, as its
flagship retail arm. However, the company kept its shares in Tesco Lotus outlets in China.
[7]

In 2013, Charoen Pokphand has got the clearance to buy HSBC's stake of Chinese Ping An
Insurance.
[8]
On May 10, 2013, in spite of a lack of loan from the China Development
Bank,
[9][10]
HSBC said "it was selling the 15.6 per cent stake at HK$59 a share" to Charoen
Pokphand Group.
[10][11]