His Royal Phnom Penh hotel in Cambodia's capital was burned down and property was looted from the hotel during the anti-Thai riot three years ago. His personal Pajero four-wheel-drive car was attacked.

The damage was thought to be beyond repair, and nobody expected the Thai investor to return to Cambodia. But Supachai Verapuchong, a long-term Thai investor in his neighbouring country, decided to give it a shot.

He began with a golf course in 2004 and later totally rebuilt his ravaged hotel in Phnom Penh.

His bravery in continuing to invest in Cambodia encouraged other Thai investors to return to the formerly war-torn country, a diplomat said.

"Doing business in Cambodia is quite risky, as foreign interests could easily become the victim of nationalistic sentiments so often voiced by local politicians and the media," said Supachai, the deputy managing director of Thai Nakorn Patana. The company's assets in Cambodia sustained the worst of the damage meted out during the anti-Thai riot in January, 2003. He has been investing in Cambodia since 1991.

Just how risky is it?

Supachai gave the following example: A few days before the announcement that Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra would visit Cambodia last month, a local nationalist newspaper called Rasmi Kampuchea launched an attack on Supachai's hotel in Siem Reap, reporting that it had hung the Cambodia national flag upside down.

"When I saw the newspaper I knew it had doctored the picture of Thailand and Cambodia's flag. The paper aimed at building anti-Thai sentiment," he said, adding that the paper's editors knew that Thaksin was scheduled to talk about the border demarcation at Preah Vihear temple with Cambodia's prime minister Hun Sen.

Thaksin ended up cancelling his plan after an alleged assassination plot was uncovered in Bangkok on August 24.

Local Khmer media have played a significant role in building public sentiment against Thailand. For example, the 2003 riot was sparked by a groundless story that Thai television star Suwanan Khongying had demanded Cambodia return the ancient temple of Angkor Wat to Thailand.

Following the riot, Supachai temporarily stopped doing business in Cambodia for about a year.

"The riot was discouraging for us, but we couldn't do anything to avoid it. Let bygones be bygones and think about how we will go on," he said.

A factor in support of Supachai's decision to continue doing business there was Cambodia's offer to compensate him for the damage caused in the riot in the form of tax incentives, rather than cash.

"That meant that we would have to continue investing here if we wanted to be compensated," he said.

He made his official return in 2004, when he created the Bt400-million Phokeethra Country Club, which opened last month.

Early this year the damaged Royal Phnom Penh Hotel was rebuilt and given a new name - the Sofitel Phokeethara Convention, Resort and Spa hotel. It was developed by a joint venture between Thai Nakorn Patana and the Accor Group, one of the world's leading hotel chains, in order to reduce political risk.

"My feeling toward this country has not changed," Supachai says. "We understand the government did not have anything to do with the [2003] incident. The riot mainly was driven by an internal rift among local politicians," he said.

"I'm realistic enough to understand that they looted our hotel because of poverty. We understand the condition of this country, which has experienced so much pain because of war. We can forgive them," he said.

In addition to the hotel and golf course, Thai Nakorn Patana currently operates Sofitel Phokeethra Royal Angkor Golf & Spa Resort Hotel in Siem Reap. Its other businesses include Tiffy brand pharmaceuticals, a drinking water called Lyyon and a TV station based in Phnom Penh.

Doing business in Cambodia is a bit more expensive than it would be elsewhere because "unexpected" expenses occasionally arise.

When asked how much he had to pay to run business, Supachai simply said, "Plenty".

"Luckily we do transparent business that brings development to their country. We never take advantage of the people here. We want to train Cambodian people to be good human resources and have their own careers so they can raise their families," he said.

Supachai said he was confident in the country's growth potential. He forecast that in the next 10 years, the two neighbours could function in a community like the European Union, allowing trade without boundaries.

Yet despite the great potential, relations between the two countries are occasionally shaky and require a lot of careful work.

Supachai is helping to inject some much needed stability into the two countries' relations, said former Cambodian Ambassador to Thailand Roland Eng.

"Supachai is the best [informal] ambassador between people of the two nations," said Eng, who is now an ambassador-at-large.

Jintana Panyaarvudh

The Nation