Enjoying the stamp of success

The Kingdom's foremost stamp collector, Boonkrong Indhuso-phon, is also an accidental millionaire.

She appears every inch a reluctant businesswoman and dislikes discussing the subject of money. Boongkrong admits, however, that placing her faith in stamps, rather than stocks or bonds, has paid off handsomely.

Her collections have brought not just personal and intellectual satisfaction, but also given her a jet-setting lifestyle that takes her yearly to stamp capitals such as London, Monaco and Geneva - not to mention nest eggs to keep her comfortable for years.

In 1993, when she auctioned her Siam stamp collection, built up over a lifetime by her late husband Prakaipet, she was astonished by the reception it received in Singapore.

"I had been advised by Christie's and many other auction houses to do so, but I did not want to hold the sale in London. I wanted the collection to go to Thai collectors, if possible, as it is part of our heritage," Boonkrong said.

They did not disappoint her.

According to industry sources, the collection received some of the highest bids from foreign and Thai collectors, keen to acquire a portion of what was considered the world's best collection of Siamese stamps.

They included very rare letters and stamps that date back to 1835.

"Not many people today know that Siam did not have stamps until around 1875," she said. "Prior to that Thais used India and stamps from the five British Straits Settlements, which today forms Malaysia and Singapore."

These items are so precious that they rank with antiques as some of the best assets to hold in inflationary periods, like we have today.

While Boonkrong did not specify the amount of the receipts, sources said collectors had paid about US$2 million (Bt63 million) at a time when the exchange rate was Bt25 to the greenback.

Boonkrong admits that being a woman placed her at a disadvantage at times in a collectors' world dominated by men.

"Men read more and they knew more about history than women when it came to stamps," she said. "But what I was able to do was to make a better presentation of my collections. "I use little text, and allow the stamps to be appreciated by showing them in beautiful settings and lighting."

Her shows always draw rave reviews and Boonkrong is today one of the 70 living members of the Distinguished Philatelic Society, a club that is limited to just 200 people.

The group has access to the royal collection in Buckingham Palace, which was started by King George V.

She is also the Asian representative of Monaco's famed royal-sponsored stamp society under Prince Albert.

She owes much of her knowledge to her husband. "It was only after he died 17 years ago that I started to take up stamps full time."

After the Siam stamp auction, she was encouraged to start a second grand collection, this time of stamps from the Cape of Good Horn, with stamps from countries such as South Africa.

"But the 1997 financial crisis destabilised my work. The situation became a bit uneasy, so I decided to sell some of the collection," she said.

Boonkrong had taken out a sizeable loan to finance her hobby, but the regional meltdown prompted her to pay off her debt and set aside cash reserves. Though she swears she is not commercially minded, her instincts for maintaining fiscal prudence have paid off. Today Boonkrong remains one of the Kingdom's more successful collectors.

Her circle of friends includes some of the country's top names, such as Paron Isssarasena and Pong Sarasin, who were classmates of her husband.

Two years ago, when Boonkrong decided to build an apartment building called Signature in Soi Aree2, off Phaholyothin Soi 7, Paron helped her.

The ex-Siam Cement president and former head of the powerful Federation of Thai Industries sent a special team to make sure her building was properly constructed.

As she keeps a low profile, driving a compact Japanese car, her contractors and bankers were most astonished when some of the country's more respected figures took interest in her work.

Even former police chief General Pow Sarasin and Land & Houses chairman Anant Asavabhokin recently stepped in to provide a helping hand to Boonkrong.

"I am not a businesswomen," she stressed. "I tend to be very selective, about quality and about who I sell to, which I am told is not always the best way to make a profit when doing business."

For Boonkrong, who worked at the World Bank in Washington for seven years before marrying Prakaipet, stamps will always be important even in the age of e-mails.

"When it comes to sending important documents, people will always use the post - stamps will always be an important currency."

by Itthi C Tan

The Nation