Seven years ago, Mr. Charoen tried to shake off his reputation as Thailand's king of cheap, throat-burning liquors by listing his flagship company, Thai Beverage, on Bangkok's stock exchange.

WSJ: Heineken, Thailand's Charoen Reach Deal on Asia Pacific Breweries

It will be used to bolster foreign-exchange reserves depleted by a failed attempt to prevent devaluation of the Thai currency, the baht, and further threatened by the flight of short-term foreign money.

ECONOMIST: Hanging on in Thailand | The