Words of Wikrom

These days Wikrom is hooked on books rather than the riches of the material world.

Manote Tripathi

The Nation

 Sailing clear of the choppy waters of business, Wikrom Kromadit spends about 20 days a month at his floating house on a lake nestled in the hills of Khao Yai National Park in Nakhon Ratchasima province. But when he's in Bangkok you can be sure that the chief executive of Amata Corporation, the industrial estate developer, is either power-lunching with other CEOs or launching a new book.

 This month it was the latter, with Wikrom introducing the abridged version of his best-selling self-help autobiography "Be a Better Man", which has sold over 800,000 copies in the last five years. The pocket-sized 208-page book version -- costing a pocket-friendly Bt69 - has so far sold around 100,000 copies in five months.

 Given his books' nationwide popularity, there are surely no secrets left to discover in this man's life story. Yet it seems that for many readers, clues to his success still lie hidden between the covers. Which is why those joining the author for a discussion onstage during the launch at Benjasiri Park had a lot to say about the man and his new publication. These were novelist Prapassorn Sevikul, singer Jennifer Kim, TV personality Tankhun Jitissara and anchorman Peerapol Ua-areeyakul. Their testimonies painted a picture of a remarkable character with almost unrivalled business smarts.

 "Be a Better Man", covering his childhood and early forays into building a business, lays bare a recipe for success familiar to prominent Chinese families in Thailand and beyond.

 Wikrom grew up in a conservative family, watching his grandparents and parents build a business empire in Kanchanaburi west of Bangkok. The Kromadits ran the biggest tobacco business in the province during the inter-war years and were the regions' biggest landowner. Wikrom can still recall how the Imperial Japanese Army's railway line cut through his family's land during the Second World War. The soldiers used to relax at one of the ponds on the family estate, and it wasn't long before his mother had picked up Japanese. She used it to make a fortune from selling fruit to the invading army.

 The eldest child of 24 brothers and sisters, Wikrom went to Wat Tha Rua School, where he absorbed teachings on Buddhism and frugality that were to serve him well in later life. He writes that as a schoolboy, his parents gave him 25 satang each day for pocket money, just enough for a bowl of noodles at lunch. After school he'd eat at friends' houses, or fill his stomach with tamarind and bananas he found growing on the roadside.

 Inspired by the film "633 Squadron", his original plan was to become a pilot (when his business career took off he fulfilled part of this early dream by flying in a Mig-25 in Russia).

 After finishing high school, Wikrom moved to Taiwan where he went to the National Taiwan University, majoring in mechanical engineering. On his return, he set up an import-export company in 1975. Much of the profit from this business was ploughed into another project - industrial estate development - which turned into a lucrative business empire known as Amata Industrial Park, with three estates in Thailand and two in Vietnam.

 But for the last five years, 56-year-old Wikrom has devoted most of his time to writing books and supporting the local literary scene. His annual Bt1-million Amata Literary Award is the kingdom's richest prize for literature.

 The close contact with local scribes has helped him develop the distinctive writing style of "Be A Better Man", whose ideas, Wikrom says, have transformed his and other people's lives. Aside from literary pursuits, he collects antiques and artworks, which will eventually be put on display at his Amata Castle, currently under construction.

 He was particularly pleased that his books were distributed to inmates at Bangkok prisons. He's confident that any inmate reading his book will turn away from a life of crime immediately.

 "Or maybe they won't be able to face another stretch in prison because that would mean having to read it again," he jokes.

 For general readers, Wikrom believes that his philosophy of life, business skills and view of the world would be useful to anyone battling with the current economic crisis. After all, the Chinese maxim that sweat and saving hold the key to a secure successful and future is truer than ever in today's uncertain times.