Chutinant Bhirombhakdi, 49, executive vice president of Boonrawd Brewery Co, which makes Singha beer, is about to follow in the footsteps of his uncle, cousin and grandfather by serving as a Bangkok senator.

"The [former] Election Commission endorsed my poll victory on June 6, but the upper house has not been able to convene because not all 200 senators-elect have been endorsed by the EC. We're waiting for the new commissioners, which are being selected by the caretaker Senate, to complete the endorsement process," Chutinant said last week, shortly before the Senate acted on the matter.

"In fact, the Bhirombhakdi family is not new to the Senate. My grandfather, Phya Bhirombhakdi, founder of the Singha brand, was the acting president of the Senate during the reign of King Rama VII. My uncle, Prachuab, and cousin, Piya, were also senators. However, they were all appointed senators. Elections only started six or seven years ago," says Chutinant.

He had earlier pledged to his supporters that he would not take positions that might result in conflicts of interest between his public office and his family's business empire.

"I intend to be very professional and transparent in carrying out my tasks as senator, so I will not accept a post on any Senate committee on commerce, industry or banking. My mission is to serve as part of an effective checks-and-balances mechanism with regard to, for example, the screening and selection of members of independent bodies under the Constitution. At the same time, I don't think non-partisan senators should act like members of the opposition bloc," says Chutinant, who earned an economics degree from Boston University in 1980.

He said that in his opinion, globalisation and consumerism were unavoidable so they should be managed in a way that helps to bolster the country's international competitiveness.

"No one would like to see the Thai economy going backwards like those of Burma or North Korea. In fact, my preferred economic development model is South Korea or Japan. Both have successfully managed their cultural identity in the midst of the forces of globalisation. At this stage, I'm a little concerned about our international competitiveness - in terms of foreign language capability [both English and Chinese] or in terms of high wages when compared to China or Vietnam.

"More importantly, one often hears that Thai people are very service-minded, so we have a competitive advantage in several areas of service. Actually, the Vietnamese or the Burmese or the Chinese can also be very service-minded if they decide to be. In other words, the service mind alone is not enough to maintain long-term competitiveness and growth.

"Take the airline industry as an example. That's not just about the service mind. It covers everything, from competent human resources and high technology to cutting-edge management skills and a superb wine list, etc. As for Singha, which celebrates its 73rd anniversary this year, our formula for success is a combination of brand integrity, competent human resources and a commitment to making high quality products. All these have been consistent for the past several decades.

"Our share of the domestic market is over 40 per cent, with annual sales to the tune of Bt50 billion. Our strategy is to further increase our export sales as we position Singha as an exotic and premium brand from Thailand. We have hired Miss Universe 2005, Natalie Glebova, as a brand ambassador because she has a good understanding of Thai culture. She has been introducing the Thai wai [bow] on the international scene. Donald Trump, the US billionaire, recently greeted Natalie with a wai during a courtesy call. It's a sort of cultural export.

"In the US market, we've been promoting Singha beer at nearly 4,000 Thai restaurants for many years because it compliments the spicy tastes of Thai cuisine. We're also promoting the brand at other Asian restaurants such as those serving Vietnamese, Malaysian, Lao or Burmese cuisines. Next, we're going to promote Singha along with Asian frozen foods that have gained increasing popularity," he says.

With any luck, Chutinant will be as successful in the Senate as his family has been in the beer market.

Nophakhun Limsamarnphun

nop1122@yahoo.com