Corporate

Thailand’s antitrust agency under scrutiny over $11 Billion Tesco Deal Approval

With the Tesco deal approved, CP Group will gain control over a network of about 2,000 hypermarket and grocery stores across Thailand, and the group already operates 7-Eleven convenience stores and the Siam Makro chain.

Published

2 weeks ago

November 9, 2020

Olivier Languepin

Thailand’s largest conglomerate, Charoen Pokphand Group (CP) won on Friday the Thai antitrust agency’s approval for acquisition of retail giant Tesco Lotus: the Office of Trade Competition Commission (OTCC) voted 4:3 in favour of the US$10-billion takeover deal.

CP Group will gain control of a network of about 2,000 hypermarket and grocery stores across Thailand, and the group already operates 7-Eleven convenience stores and the Siam Makro chain, a wholesale trading business.

But CP Group is barred from other modern-retailing mergers for three years, excluding e-commerce, Thailand’s Office of Trade Competition Commission said Friday.

Billionaire Dhanin Chearavanont’s family is ranked the world’s 13th richest in a Bloomberg report.

But academics have questioned the OTCC decision, saying that Tesco acquisition can potentially damage trade competition in Thailand.

According to Nipon Poapongsakorn, distinguished fellow at the Thailand Development Research Institute the commissioners apparently failed to carefully look at the big picture where CP, via the 7-Eleven convenience store chain, and its targeted acquisition of Tesco Lotus, can dominate in all three market segments: wholesale, discount, and convenience stores, as reported in The Nation.

In some provinces, the combined market share of CP distribution, network would be between 80 to 90 per cent, he added.

Companies

Despite Covid-19, why is M&A booming in South-East Asia?

A global survey of more than 2900 C-suite executives, published by multinational consultancy EY in May, found that 47% of South-east Asian respondents would actively pursue M&A in the coming 12 months, above the 10-year average of 43%

Published

4 weeks ago

October 28, 2020

Oxford Business Group

While the coronavirus pandemic has had a negative impact on many businesses throughout 2020, a recent rebound in mergers and acquisitions (M&A) has pointed towards a partial recovery in investor sentiment – as well as demonstrating that certain sectors have taken on greater importance as a result of Covid-19.

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Companies

Asian refiners EBITDA will decline by around 30% says Moody’s

Moody’s Investors Service says in a new report that the aggregate EBITDA of Asian refiners will decline by around 30% in 2020

Published

3 months ago

September 1, 2020

Pr News

Moody’s Investors Service says in a new report that the aggregate EBITDA of Asian refiners will decline by around 30%

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Corporate

When the Weekend Isn’t Really the Weekend: Is Flexible Working the Future?

People all around the planet work in different patterns and for varying amounts of time. For example, in France the legal working week is 35 hours long while in Colombia and Turkey the working week is over 47 hours.