Then came construction, banking and securities broking in the 1980s, followed by overseas expansion (from prawn farming in Australia to a seafood-processing factory in Alaska in the early 1990s) and, finally, financial services.

ECONOMIST: Business and politics in Taiwan

Mahachai is a hub for processing and canning seafood, and the factories employ tens of thousands of Burmese workers.

BBC: Aung San Suu Kyi visits Burmese migrants in Thailand