Billionaires Step in as Thailand Battles Rising Living Costs
Customers at a Big C supermarket operated by TCC Holding Co., a company controlled by Thai billionaire Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi.
Photographer: Lauren DeCicca/Getty ImagesThailand is turning to its billionaire-led conglomerates to help contain rising living costs, underscoring both the urgency of inflation pressures and the outsized role of big business in the country’s economy.
Major retailers — including those controlled by tycoon Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi, as well as the Chearavanont and Chirathivat families — have agreed to roll out house-brand food, toiletries, and other essentials at discounts of 25% to 50%. The initiative is part of a government-backed campaign dubbed “Thais Helping Thais.”