By Peter L.

It is the start of the year, and a new beginning with a new decade. Time to go through that new year resolution checklist, and if one of them is to take more care and splurge more on yourself, Kharites has an uplifting offer and technology to match!
 
They recently launched an Ultimate Ultra Super Lift Package - billed as the most innovative offer in Thailand to date. The package deploys not one but two HIFU machines in its treatment.
 
What is HIFU, you may wonder. As did we, when we stepped into their clinic located on Sukhumvit Soi 11. Homemade cake was served with hot tea as we read their brochures and that most clinics used but it is the second machine that sets Kharites apart. The second machine has the newest technology installed and can impact the harder to reach areas on our face. The slender head can accessed the narrow alleys around your forehead and eyes. Contouring, lifting and every element in this painless procedure becomes more efficient and wholesome. Special promotion price is available. Call the clinic at 02 168 4125 to schedule an uplifting session as we welcome the new decade! admire the plethora of packages on offer.

Chearavanont family
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• Company: Charoen Pokphand (CP) Group
• Net worth: US$29.5 billion (892 billion baht)
• Source of wealth: Food

The CP Group is a Thai conglomerate based in Bangkok. It is Thailand’s largest private company. Charoen Pokphand means in Thai “prosperity for consumers.” The CP Group has evolved into a conglomerate of hundreds of companies in many countries, including China. The Group is one of world’s largest conglomerates, with investments in 21 countries. Charoen Pokphand Foods (CPF), in which it owns controlling stakes, is the world's largest producer of feed, shrimp, and a global top three producer of poultry, pork, among other agricultural produces. It also operates Southeast Asia's largest retail business by revenue, with over 10,000 Seven Eleven stores and a leading cash and carry business through Siam Makro. In the telecommunications sector, CP Group subsidiary, True Group, is one of the largest telecom firms in Southeast Asia with over 25 million mobile customers.
 
Dhanin Chearavanont, or Chia Kok Min, stepped down as CP’s chairman and CEO in 2017, but remains senior chairman. His eldest son, Soopakij, is the current chairman and his youngest son, Suphachai, is the CEO. Dhanin also stepped down as chairman of group flagship CPF in April 2019.
 
Background: The roots of the CP group date back to 1921, when 18-year-old Chia Ek Chor and his 10-year-old brother Chia Seow Whooy arrived in Thailand from Shantou in southern China, and began peddling vegetable seeds from a cart. Shortly thereafter, they opened a seed, fertilizer and insecticide trading business in Bangkok’s  Chinatown.
 
In the early years, Ek Chor spent much of his time establishing new markets in neighboring countries, leaving Seow Whooy to manage the Thai operation. Following the communist takeover of China in 1949, the brothers decided to base their operations in Thailand, and adopted the surname Chearavanont.

Chirathivat family
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• Company: Central Group
• Net worth: US$21 billion (635 billion baht)
• Source of wealth: Retail
 
The family owned and operated Central Group is Thailand’s leading department store retailer and service business. It has expanded far beyond Thailand with a strong presence in Europe and Vietnam. The retail giant is said to get more than a quarter of its US$12.4 billion (375 billion baht) in revenue from abroad. Central Group consists of a variety of diverse investments in various corporations domestically and internationally. Its branches have become leaders in retail, property development, brand management, hospitality, food and beverage and digital lifestyle. The firm joined in a US$560 million (16.9 billion baht) venture with China’s JD.com to set up an e-commerce site, JD Central.Tos Chirathivat, is the grandson of the group’s founder, is currently executive chairman and CEO of Central Group. A number of other family members hold important positions in the Group’s companies.
 
Background: Tiang Chirathivat (born Cheng Ni-Tiang) reportedly emigrated with his family from Hainan in China, where he was a rice farmer. He worked in his father-in-law’s store before opening his own small shop in the Thonburi area of Bangkok in 1928. In 1947, Tiang moved to a large site on Sri Phraya Road and established Central Trading, a landmark step for the Chirathivat family. Anticipating a demand for foreign goods, Tiang stocked imported clothes, cosmetics, books, magazine and other periodicals. His business strategy proved to be very successful and he moved again to a building in Soi Oriental adjacent to the Oriental Hotel. In 1956, he opened the Central Department Store in the Wang Burapa district of Bangkok with his eldest son Samrit. The store was the first of its kind in Thailand and revolutionized the concept of retailing here. Among the innovations it offered was the introduction of fixed pricing to consumers accustomed to bargaining over every purchase.
 
Both father and son, the group’s founders, were fully engaged in running the business, and were helped by other family members. In an era of bustling trade and growth, the young entrepreneurs quickly established businesses that were characterized by many ‘firsts’ in Thailand, including; first to import international cosmetic brands; first to focus on impeccable customer services; and first to implement innovative marketing communications.
 
Samrit Chirathivat believed that success would come from honesty and hard work, along with providing the best possible services and products for Central’s customers.

Extraordinary Michelin Experience
Chef Alain Ducasse, one of the world’s most decorated chefs, has opened his first restaurant in Bangkok at ICONSIAM. ‘Blue by Alain Ducasse’ offers a contemporary French menu in a magnificent setting with inspiring views. Blue’s opening menu includes ‘Sea Scallops from Hokkaido, Herbs and Salad, Truffled Vinaigrette’ (1,150++ baht), ’Blue Crab, Tomato Water Gelée, and Gold Caviar’ (1,950++ baht) and ‘Grilled Lobster, Savoy Cabbage, and Gala Apple’ (2,250++ baht). Open for lunch noon-2pm, dinner from 6:30pm, last orders at 9pm.

tel: 02-005-9412
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enquiries@blue-alainducasse.com 

Fashionable coffee lovers meeting spot
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CPS Coffee, the edgy design coffee bar serving a savoury and sweet bakery menu, introduces its third branch at Central Festival Eastville in a modern yet luxurious ambience, ideal for young male and female fashionista. The menu includes intense Copper Stout and tropical Amber Ale coffees, sandwich croissants and soft baked cookies, and a selection of delicious aromatic teas. Moreover, CPS Coffee is environmentally conscious and uses biodegradable packaging.

www.facebook.com/CPS Coffee

Dazzling Delight
Benihana Avani Atrium presents a weekend brunch filled with dazzling daytime delights. Indulge in sashimi starters, an oyster buffet and your choice of select cuts seared to perfection on the teppanyaki grill.
 
Available Saturday and Sunday from 12:00 - 3:00 pm at 1,350++ baht per person.
Tel: 02 718 2000
​At Avani Atrium Bangkok

Proudly Pouring Vintage
Niche presents a new-look Sunday Brunch with the touch of Blanc de Blancs Champagne. The buffet includes Canadian lobster, Alaskan king crab, snow crab, French oysters, New Zealand mussels, cheeses, cold meats and homemade bread. Guests receive chef selected bite-sized samples with decadent martinis. Main courses include Wagyu beef medallion “Rossini style”, pan-fried Murray Land Lamb cutlet with mint pea purée, and seared giant Hokkaido scallop with squid ink clam sauce. The carvery station serves premium meats. Beverage packages start from 2,400++ baht per person, including juices and soft drinks. Children aged 6 to 12 years pay 1,200++ baht. The free-flow Champagne package is priced at 4,400++ baht per person with upgrade to Blanc de Blancs Champagne for all diners wearing white or carrying white accessories. Available every Sunday from 12:30 to 16:00 hrs until 30 April.

Tel: 02 162 9000
niche.siambangkok@kempinski.com 
At Siam Kempinski Hotel Bangkok​

Embassy and trade
At the start of the interview the ambassador said candidly, “During the last four years in Thailand I have had some positive as well as negative experiences. The plan is always to achieve maximum success in the initiatives under taken by the embassy, but the reality doesn’t always correspond.” This honest and straightforward assessment was typical of the ambassador.
 
“Our embassy is very small, with only two diplomats, myself included, and we cover four countries – Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar as well as Thailand. There are a lot of consular issues and my deputy is almost completely dedicated to them. Everything else is on me,” said Mr Opiela.
 
“I have to follow what is going on in four countries, and this is not so easy because I don’t speak the local languages. My main sources are English-language newspapers and other publications. In Thailand, Cambodia and Myanmar there is pretty good information available, but in Laos there’s only one accessible English newspaper. Vientiane Times. I send reports back to my Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), and this takes time.
 
I include important developments in all four countries in my evaluation reports, and from time to time I receive instructions to supply information on specific developments.” The ambassador is tasked with promoting the interests of the Slovak Republic in Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar.