Charoen Pokphand
CP is the principal corporate and consumer-facing brand associated with Thailand-based Charoen Pokphand Group, a diversified multinational active in agriculture, food, retail, telecommunications, and other businesses.
Last updated October 13, 2026
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Overview
Charoen Pokphand, commonly called CP Group, is a Bangkok-based Thai conglomerate with origins in a small seed shop founded in Bangkok's Chinatown in 1921. Established by Chinese immigrant brothers Chia Ek Chor and Chia Jin Eng, the business initially imported seeds and agricultural goods and exported livestock products. Over time, it moved into animal feed, poultry production, contract farming, food processing, retail, telecommunications, finance, and other sectors. The group's defining commercial model has been vertical integration. It connects the supply of seeds, animal feed, breeding stock, farming support, processing, distribution, and branded food products. This model expanded from Thailand into other Asian markets and later into countries including Mexico, Portugal, Turkey, and the United States. CP's agricultural subsidiaries became particularly significant in China, where its Chia Tai operations were among the earliest foreign investments after the country's economic opening. The group is widely associated with the development of modern feed and poultry production in mainland China. CP's major businesses include Charoen Pokphand Foods, CP All, CP Axtra, and True Corporation. Charoen Pokphand Foods is an international producer of animal feed, poultry, pork, shrimp, and processed foods. CP All operates the Thai 7-Eleven convenience-store network under a local license and has made the chain one of Thailand's most visible retail formats. CP Axtra operates the Makro wholesale business and Lotus's retail business. True Corporation provides mobile, broadband, television, and related digital services after the combination of True Corporation and Total Access Communication. The group has also invested in financial services, digital payments, property, industrial businesses, and strategic partnerships with international companies. Its corporate structure includes numerous subsidiaries and publicly listed affiliates rather than a single listed parent. The Chearavanont family remains central to the group's ownership and governance. CP describes its operations through eight business lines and fourteen business groups, with investments in twenty-one countries as of 2025. Its scale gives it an important role in Thailand's food system and retail economy, while its concentration across agriculture, convenience retail, wholesale, and communications has also attracted public and regulatory scrutiny.
History
Charoen Pokphand began in 1921 when Chia Ek Chor and Chia Jin Eng opened a seed business called Chia Tai Chung on Song Sawat Road in Bangkok's Chinatown. The founders imported seeds and vegetables from China and exported pigs and eggs to markets including Hong Kong, Taipei, Kuala Lumpur, and Singapore. The early business experimented with different trading activities before developing greater expertise in agricultural inputs and animal production. By the 1950s, the company had increasingly focused on animal feed, particularly feed for chickens. Growth was initially difficult, but a major turning point came in the 1970s when the business became involved in a struggling chicken farm. CP developed a vertically integrated system in which it supplied farmers with chicks and feed, provided technical guidance, purchased mature animals, processed them, and distributed the resulting products to retailers, restaurants, and fast-food operators. The model helped CP become a dominant supplier of chicken and eggs in Thailand. The group expanded beyond feed and poultry into breeding farms, slaughterhouses, processed foods, livestock marketing, and aquaculture. It began international operations with feed production in Indonesia in 1972 and chicken exports to Japan in 1973, followed by expansion into Singapore in 1976. During the 1980s it adapted its contract-farming and integrated-production model to shrimp and other aquaculture activities. China became one of CP's most important international markets. After China began opening to foreign investment in 1978, CP was the first foreign investor to establish a company in the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone. Its Chinese operations used the name Chia Tai, or Zheng Da, and expanded into feed, poultry, motorcycles, retail, and other businesses. The group became one of the largest foreign investors in mainland China and was credited with helping expand industrial feed and poultry production. CP diversified substantially during the 1980s and 1990s. It acquired rights to operate 7-Eleven stores in Thailand and KFC restaurants, entered petrochemicals through a partnership with Solvay, and invested in telecommunications through TelecomAsia, later associated with True Corporation. Several subsidiaries and affiliates were listed in Thailand, Hong Kong, China, and the United States. Following the 1997 Asian financial crisis, the group concentrated its principal public-facing activities around food, retail, and telecommunications. In the 2000s, CP focused its retail strategy on 7-Eleven after selling its interest in the Tesco Lotus venture in 2003. It continued to build Charoen Pokphand Foods internationally and pursued strategic investments in China and other markets. In 2013, the group acquired HSBC's stake in Ping An Insurance. In 2014, CP and Itochu formed a cross-investment alliance, and in 2015 the two companies joined a broader investment arrangement involving CITIC. The group's retail footprint expanded again through its 2020 acquisition of Tesco's Thai and Malaysian operations, which were subsequently rebranded as Lotus's. In 2021, CP and Telenor announced plans to combine True and dtac, creating a larger telecommunications company that began operating under the True name in 2023. In the same period, CP's digital-finance subsidiary Ascend Money attracted additional investment. In 2023, Siam Makro changed its corporate name to CP Axtra as its wholesale and retail activities became more closely integrated. By 2025, CP described itself as operating eight business lines and fourteen business groups, with investments in twenty-one countries.
- 2023
CP Axtra name adopted
[1]Siam Makro changed its name to CP Axtra to represent its combined wholesale and retail activities.
- 2021
Ascend Money financing
[1]Ascend Money raised capital from existing investors at a reported valuation of $1.5 billion.
- 2020
Tesco acquisition approved
[1]CP's purchase of Tesco's Thai and Malaysian operations received the required competition approvals.
- 2015
CITIC investment alliance
[1]CP and Itochu announced a joint investment in CITIC, creating a trilateral alliance with the Chinese financial group.
- 2014
CP-Itochu strategic alliance
[1]CP and Itochu exchanged equity stakes to develop international food-trading and investment opportunities.
- 2013
Ping An investment
[1]CP received clearance to acquire HSBC's stake in Ping An Insurance.
- 2003
Focus returns to 7-Eleven
[1]CP sold its interest in the Tesco Lotus venture as part of a post-crisis strategy to concentrate on its 7-Eleven retail platform.
- 1997
First CP Lotus store in Shanghai
[1]The group's Chinese retail affiliate opened its first Shanghai store.
- 1990
Telecommunications investment
[1]CP acquired an interest in TelecomAsia, a joint venture created to build and operate telephone lines in Bangkok.
- 1987
Thai 7-Eleven rights acquired
[1]CP acquired the rights to operate the 7-Eleven convenience-store brand in Thailand.
Products and positioning
An integrated Asian agribusiness, food, retail, and consumer-services conglomerate with a strong emphasis on vertical integration and regional scale. An integrated, multinational agribusiness and food platform that connects agricultural inputs, farming, food manufacturing, distribution, and consumer retail, while also serving as the umbrella identity for a diversified Thai conglomerate.
Agribusiness and food · 1978
Charoen Pokphand Foods
CP Foods produces animal feed and operates across breeding, livestock farming, aquaculture, food processing, and international food trading. Its portfolio includes poultry, pork, shrimp, and prepared foods. The company operates subsidiaries in numerous countries and exports to markets across Asia and beyond.
Convenience retail · 1989
7-Eleven Thailand
CP All operates Thailand's 7-Eleven network under a country license acquired by CP Group in 1987. The stores sell packaged food, beverages, prepared meals, household necessities, and payment and delivery services, making the chain a central part of Thailand's daily retail infrastructure.
Wholesale retail · 1989
Makro
Makro is CP Axtra's cash-and-carry and wholesale format, serving restaurants, small retailers, food-service operators, and households. The business forms the wholesale side of CP Axtra's combined Makro and Lotus's portfolio.
Supermarket and hypermarket retail · 2021
Lotus's
Lotus's is the retail brand used for the former Tesco operations in Thailand and Malaysia acquired by CP Group in 2020. It includes large-format stores and related retail channels serving consumers with groceries, fresh food, general merchandise, and household goods.
Telecommunications · 2023
True Corporation
True Corporation provides mobile communications, broadband, fixed-line, television, digital, and related communications services in Thailand. The present company followed the combination of True Corporation and Total Access Communication and operates the True and TrueMove platforms.
Animal nutrition
CP animal feed
Animal-feed products are a foundational part of the CP business model. They support livestock and aquaculture operations and connect the group's agricultural-input activities with its integrated farming and food-production chains. Specific formulations and product ranges differ by species and market.
Fresh food
CP fresh poultry and eggs
CP-branded fresh poultry and eggs are among the consumer-facing products most closely associated with the group's food operations. They are supplied through integrated production systems involving feed, farming, processing, quality control, and distribution, with exact formats varying across markets.
Packaged and prepared food
CP processed and convenience foods
The CP food portfolio includes processed poultry, ready-to-cook items, ready-to-eat foods, and other convenience-oriented products. These offerings extend the group beyond primary agricultural commodities and are designed for retail, food-service, and household consumption channels.
Aquaculture
CP aquaculture products
Aquaculture is part of CP's broader integrated food and agricultural platform. Activities may include feed, farming, processing, and related services for aquatic species. The products and operating models are market-specific and form part of the group's wider food-supply capabilities.
Brand decisions
2023
Rename Siam Makro as CP AxtraStrategyBackground
The company had consolidated wholesale and retail operations after combining Makro with the Lotus's business.
Action taken
Siam Makro Public Company Limited adopted the name CP Axtra Public Company Limited.
Aftermath
The new identity was intended to clarify the company's broader scope and support its long-term growth strategy.
2021
Pursue True-dtac mergerM&ABackground
CP Group and Telenor sought to combine two major Thai telecommunications operators and create a larger technology and digital-infrastructure company.
Action taken
The parties announced an equal partnership and pursued regulatory approval for the merger.
Aftermath
The regulator acknowledged the transaction in 2022; the merged company retained the True Corporation name and began trading in 2023.
2020
Acquire Tesco operations in Thailand and MalaysiaM&ABackground
CP already controlled major Thai convenience-store and wholesale businesses, so the purchase raised competition concerns and required review by authorities.
Action taken
CP submitted the winning bid for Tesco's businesses in Thailand and Malaysia and obtained the relevant approvals later in 2020.
Aftermath
The acquired stores were progressively rebranded under Lotus's beginning in February 2021.
Reported transaction value. approximately US$10.6 billion (2020)
Recent events
Teck Resources lowers coal sales outlook and raises cost forecast[4]
Reported:
Teck Resources updated its sales and production guidance amid logistics disruptions caused by heavy rain, flooding and mudslides in British Columbia. It lowered its fourth-quarter steelmaking coal sales estimate and raised expected annual site cash costs and transportation costs.
- Unconfirmed
Telenor and CP announce plan to combine Thai mobile units[5]
Telenor and CP said they plan to combine their Thai mobile units, dtac and True, in a merger that would create a new company. The tie-up remains subject to board, shareholder and regulatory approval.
Baisha signs agricultural technology park cooperation agreement[6]
The Baisha Li Autonomous County People’s Government, China Mobile Communications Group Hainan Co., Ltd. and Zhengda Group’s Zhengda Agricultural Technology (Zhejiang) Co., Ltd. signed an agreement to cooperate on building a modern agricultural science and technology demonstration park and related agricultural development and poverty-alleviation initiatives.
Sources6 sources
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