Page 16 - ELITE PLUS MAGAZINE VOL6

Fortunately, the younger generation in the GMS is changing their attitude. They don’t care so much about what happened in the pastcontext is needed in order to relate to people in a foreign country. Those who struggled during the Cold War won’t care about business ethics, since the past taught them to focus on daily survival. We have to accept this fact.”younger generation in the GMS is changing their attitude. They don’t care so much about what happened in the past, and they’ll be the majority in Cambodia and Vietnam in the next four years. Besides, Thai products are ranked the best in terms of quality and value. Over the past three years, Thai culture and entertainment have become widely popular with people in Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar.”indicate a new chapter of Thai business. Mr Supachai believes that Thailand has the ability to compete and thrive again in the region.“One thing we need to change is our attitude,” he said. “We need to plan overall business strategies to cover not only Thailand but the surrounding region of almost 300 million people, and adapt to a changing environment. In 24 years of working overseas, my strategy is to let ethics guide business. We need to be sincere and have business partners feel our sincerity. Once they feel that, they will react in the same way. As our GDP improves, we need to sacrifice first and think about how to make our businesses grow together. I would say that with these strategies your business will never fail.”Mr Supachai, one of the first to establish a business in Indochina before the current era of intercon- nectedness, encountered several crises in his business. His hotel in Cambodia was once burned down during a conflict between Thailand and Cambodia. He insists that we need to stay resilient, confident and patient to be successful.Language and Buddhism also play a role. “Since most Thai busi- ness owners descended from Chinese ancestors, much like in neighbouring countries such as Cambodia, we speak the same Teochew dialect,” he said. “Buddhism is the majority religion in Thailand, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam, and the philosophy has deep roots in the way we think.”“To achieve our business goals we can’t limit conditions to a strict time scale, since along the way we’ll encounter unexpected obstacles. Focusing too much on short-term goals would force us to give up.Trade value in the subregion is steadily increasing and this may“Fortunately,” he added, “the14 Elite+