Former investment banker steers hotel, property group toward its potential.

Byline: Charoen Kittikanya

Sep. 6--Two years ago the stakeholders of the Erawan Group decided it was time to transform the family-run enterprise into a professional organisation with an eye to growth, so they recruited Kasama Punyagupta, a former investment banker with the Thanachart Group and Merrill Lynch Phatra.

With a young, energetic president and CEO taking the lead, the Erawan Group (formerly Amarin Plaza Plc) began to move ahead with a dramatic series of reforms.

It began in October 2004 when three major shareholders of Amarin Plaza paid 2.1 billion baht to buy back all of the shares held by WREP Thailand Holding Co, a US-Singapore real estate investment fund, thus regaining control.

The three shareholders -- City Holding Co, Sukakarn Wattanavekin and Mitr Phol Sugar Corporation Ltd -- increased their combined stake from 25.1 percent to 62.1 percent.

Erawan's capital grew -- to eight billion baht today from about three billion baht two years ago, and share liquidity also improved, to average turnover of seven million baht per day from less than a million baht earlier.

Directors spent four months searching for a new chief executive before recruiting Mr Kasama to set out the group's vision to become one of the country's leading hotel developers and investors by 2008.