Mr Banthoon, 64, wants to retire. Since the 1997 Asian financial crisis, many of Southeast Asia’s family banks have either been merged because of bad debts or sold to international players. “It doesn’t matter one bit,” said Mr Banthoon, wearing a cowboy hat and giant, angular sunglasses while sitting in a covered patio at his Swiss-chalet-style house on stilts. At his chalet, Mr Banthoon was busy preparing to host 800 attendees of a seminar on the Nan river and its forest. Mr Banthoon described the practice as “a very stupid trade-off” that damages the source of Thailand’s major rivers.

Source: Bangkok Post April 15, 2017 05:15 UTC