Ask anyone who has been to the Thai capital Bangkok, and they will tell you that one of the best ways to get around the city is its Bangkok Mass Transit System (better known as the BTS Skytrain), otherwise known for its traffic jams.
The BTS Skytrain, a high-capacity mass transit system, is the first commuter rail network in Bangkok and is one of the easiest and fastest ways to travel around the city. The system is developed by BTS Group Holdings and operated by its subsidiary Bangkok Mass Transit System PCL. The system is owned by the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA), the local government of the Thai capital.
The BTS Skytrain began its operations in December 1999. Nearly 23 years later, the BTS Skytrain is still considered one of Bangkok’s critical modes of transport, with its 62 stations spanning 135km of transport rail.
Despite its scale, the BTS Skytrain only covers part of the city of Bangkok. The group is in the final phases of building its Pink and Yellow Lines, which will join its existing metropolitan Green Line. The group also hopes to expand its passenger count to 2.4 million a day in 2026, says Keeree Kanjanapas, the 72-year-old founder and chairman of Thai-listed BTS Group Holdings.
The group currently operates businesses beyond the BTS Skytrain. This includes providing bus services on specific routes, river ferries and two inter-city highways, the M6, which runs from Bang Pa In to Nakhon Ratchasima, and the M81, which runs from Bang Yai to Kanchanaburi. The group is also a partner of the U-Tapao Airport development project, a joint civil-military public airport serving Rayong and Pattaya.
Across all of these services, the group expects to handle an estimated three million passengers a day by 2025, Kanjanapas adds. Besides its transport businesses, the BTS Group has its fingers in many ventures, including media and door-to-door transportation services.
See also: Doris Hsu of Taiwan's GlobalWafers named EY World Entrepreneur Of The Year 2023
Serving the people
Before the BTS Skytrain existed, Bangkok was notorious for its terrific traffic jams that could cause commuters to be stuck for hours on the road. Bangkok native Kanjanapas is no stranger to it. Seeking to improve the city’s transportation conditions, he believed that a mass transit system, particularly an electric sky train, could “greatly benefit the people and help solve the traffic congestion problem in Bangkok”.
“Each of our trains can transport 1,000 people, equivalent to about 250 cars, while reducing air pollution,” he tells The Edge Singapore. Though the project faced “resistance and economic challenges”, the group remained adamant that the system was good for the country and eventually pushed through to introduce the first mass transit system in Thailand, he adds.
See also: Nominations open for EY Entrepreneur Of The Year 2023 awards in Singapore
Apart from its efficient mode of transport for the people of Bangkok, it is evident that Kanjanapas is also passionate about reducing his company’s carbon footprint. The BTS Group is currently the world’s first and only zero-carbon-emission mass rail transit operator. However, he says it seeks to continuously improve its energy efficiency by maintaining a policy of finding alternative energy sources.
The group also ensures that at least 10% of its energy is from renewable sources. In its efforts to ensure sustainability through the group’s businesses, the BTS Group has been selected to list on the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) in the index’s Emerging Markets group for four years from 2018 to 2021.
“It remains the only Thai rail transport company ranked among the globally-recognized DJSI and has had its governance assessed as ‘Excellent’ by the Thai Institute of Directors (IOD) for 11 consecutive years,” Kanjanapas says.
Recognised for his work with the BTS Skytrain, Kanjanapas has been named the winner of the EY Asean Entrepreneurial Excellence award. The honorary award is presented on board EY’s Entrepreneur of the Year platform, honouring successful Southeast Asian businesses that contribute to the economy and community in the region.
“I am thankful and honoured... and I would like to again thank all of our employees and business partners, including the various financial institutions, for supporting us through every crisis and being determined to remain by our side with confidence that our mass transit electric train project is significant and beneficial to the country,” he says.
Early beginnings
Kanjanapas, the scion of a Thai property clan, set to establish himself separately from the family early on. Instead of joining the family business, Kanjanapas wanted to run a firm that enabled him to pursue his ideas.
“I started in the retail and restaurant industries, which were difficult, but I was committed, and I respected the occupation and my clients,” he says. The journey to developing the BTS Skytrain did not come easy either, with Kanjanapas first purchasing a plot of land in Thailand’s Thana City to list his company, which was then known as Tanayong, in 1991.
Following the listing, the group had secured a concession from the Thai government to develop the Skytrain, but it had to first navigate through the Asian currency crisis (also known as the “Tom Yum Goong crisis”, named after the spicy prawn shrimp soup and so-called because of the heat Thai citizens were feeling at the time) in 1997. The value of the Thai baht plunged against the US dollar (USD) before enjoying the fruits of his labour. The days during the 1997 financial crisis were dark times for the company, with its debt going to as high as 100 billion baht.
Attributing his success to his “sincerity”, “commitment” and the ability to “make the right choices”, Kanjanapas saysthat he has always believed in taking actual action and finding a successful solution to any issue at hand.
The next generation
Due to the financial crisis, Kanjanapas’ eldest son, Kavin — who returned to Thailand shortly after graduating from school in Britain in 1997 — worked alongside his father to rescue the BTS Group. “My son has been a friend by my side; we work together like brothers and confidantes. We’ve been to financial institutions together, met creditors, engaged in negotiations, and overseen the electric sky train. We’ve always used facts and data to resolve disagreements,” says the older Kanjanapas.
Since 2015, Kavin, the group’s current CEO, has taken over the reins and is presently in charge of the business, overseeing its day-today operations. Notably proud of his son and his “strong [and committed] administrative team, Keeree adds that he has imparted his wisdom to his son and his team.
“[To them], I always say ‘don’t cheat yourself. I also encourage [them] to ‘act with genuine sincerity [and] not to let go as soon as the situation becomes complicated,” Kanjanapas says. “If everyone is only focused on the same thing and competing to work on that, how will it ever happen? If your actions are truly beneficial, there is nothing wrong with slightly lower profits.”
Charity work
Giving back to society is the BTS founder’s passion. Now that he no longer spends as much time on the group’s operations, he devotes much of his time to charity work. “I feel I have made it past many trials and tribulations, witnessed many miracles in my life, so I’ve decided that from now on, I will give back to society in my way,” he says.
“I have to take an active role in delivering aid. Still, I don’t speak much of it as I don’t want others to see my work as a publicity stunt.” He adds: “I don’t like to donate money; I need to build with my own hands. I don’t believe in donating to foundations and funds because I fear the people in need won’t benefit [from the donations].
These days, Kanjanapas recognises the value of putting his name to his work, adding that his charity work, conducted under the name “Keeree and Friends”, was so named as his friends and associates expressed their interest in contributing to his projects after they found out. “I’m doing charity work now because if I wait until I’m 70 or 80, I probably won’t have the strength to contribute to society.”
