In the race to wire all these homes Jasmine is mostly vying with True, backed by the deep pockets of Thailand’s richest clan, the Chearavanont family.
* Thai Beverage Man Tan Passakornnatee Is On a Mission—Forbes Asia
Each day, after he announces a winning number, there’s another human interest story for the 2.7 million fans of his TanMaiTan, the most popular Facebook page in Thailand.
* Indonesia hoteliers eye emerging middle class—Hotel News Now
Mobile ownership is “virtually universal” among Indonesian adults, said Kapoor, and Indonesians are far more likely to access the Internet by mobile phones than Filipinos, Malaysians, Singaporeans or Thais.
* 2012 Southeast Asian Philanthropists
... donated more than $50 million to universities in China, Indonesia, Singapore and the U.S., primarily for scholarships. This year gave $24 million to the National University of Singapore for medical research. Plans to donate 10,000 laptops to needy Indonesian students at the top of their high school classes.
* Deals and developments in Sri Lanka—Hotel News Now
With nine hotels and more than 800 rooms, Aitken Spence Hotels ranks as the nation’s second-largest hotel owner after John Keells Hotels. It plans to build four additional hotels during the next few years that will result in a total 2,132 rooms.