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Thailand, Bangkok: Thousands of Buddhist monks gathered in font of the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) in Bangkok on Friday, March 18, to protest the planned listing of Thai Beverages company, which produces Thailand's best-selling Beer Chang or "Elephant Beer". A final decision on whether to list shares of Beer Chang is expected to be made by the SET's board on Wednesday, March 23.

Thai Beverages, part of the business empire controlled by liquor baron Charoen Sirivadhanbhakdi, a strong political supporter of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra - intends to sell around one-third of its shares, raising up to $1bn in what would be the biggest listing in the history of the Thai market.

From the Thailand Development Research Institute (TDRI), Dr. Duenden Nikhomborirak said that the listing would serve to strengthen the beer giant; thus, making the alcoholic beverages industry more difficult to control.

The listing would be a first by a local liquor company, and its rival Boon Rawd Brewery, the country's oldest, has plans to follow suit, the English-language daily reported.

Some 2,000 monks submitted a letter to the Stock Exchange of Thailand opposing the listing of the brewer, which produces Chang Beer and Mekhong Whisky among other products. The letter lamented the ill effects that alcohol has on society, in particular the surging number of alcohol-related deaths from road accidents and the rising trend of underage drinking, Thai television reported. Many held up banners, including one reading 'Alcohol, go to hell'. The SET Vice president accepted a protest letter from the monks while scores of police officers helped direct the traffic.

The monks said that the listing would present "a grave threat to the health, social harmony and time-honored ethics of Thai culture," Associated Press cited. The Thai Buddhist Monks National Coordination Center, which organized the protest, said that the stock float threatened to exacerbate the spread of alcohol consumption in a country that already ranks very high among the world's drinking nations. The basic principles of Buddhism require followers to refrain from consuming alcohol and drugs, among other activities. Alcohol consumption among female teenagers increased by 600 % between 1996 and 2003, the Buddhist group said. Thailand is the fifth-largest consumer per capita of alcoholic beverages in the world and consumption among young people has surged, the health ministry warned last August.

Academics also have urged the stock exchange not to rush into approving the listing application. 'Thai Beverages should not be allowed to list on the SET as long as the government fails to control distribution of alcohol among teenagers and doesn't enforce alcohol consumption laws,' researcher Duenden Nikomborirak of Thailand Development Research Institute said in the Bangkok Post. “While large amounts of alcohol are still being sold to young people, and while law enforcement remains poor, we should not allow alcoholic products to be listed on the stock exchange”, Dr. Duenden said. “We first need to build up mechanisms which help reduce the consumption of alcohol”, she added. Pointing to the example of Russia, she said that allowing listing on the stock exchange would create a huge number of problems in its wake, as there would no longer be sufficient checks on the alcohol business.

Cheap and potent, Beer Chang is the country's top-selling beer and is especially popular with rural drinkers. The company is owned by Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi, Thailand's richest man.


20 March, 2005