‘Without our money, people will struggle’: Muangthai Capital’s new CEO Parithad Petampai defends the role of microfinance in Thailand

Parithad Petampai wasn’t sure he’d be ready to take over the CEO role at Muangthai Capital, Thailand’s largest microlender. Parithad’s parents—his father Chuchat Patcharachai and his mother Daonapa Petampai—had founded the company over three decades prior.

Last August, Parithad was catapulted into the position of CEO, after a court deemed Chuchat legally incapacitated.

“I’ve been sitting next to my dad for almost twelve years, yet he didn’t let me touch the wheel. I was always worried about how I’d be able to drive the car,” Parithad told Fortune on the sidelines of Maybank’s Invest ASEAN Summit in Singapore. “But when the day came, it felt automatic.”

Chuchat passed away in April, just months after his son took over as CEO last August. Daonapa continues to serve as managing director, while Parithad’s brother Suksit sits on Muangthai’s board of directors.

“It’s not easy,” Parithad admitted, pointing to generational differences between him and his parents. “My mom is very traditional. It took me two years to convince her to allow workers to input information digitally, rather than writing everything on paper first!”

How Thailand’s largest microlender got started

Chuchat and Daonapa founded the business in 1992 as Muangthai Leasing, a motorcycle financing operation. “We came from a poor family,” Parithad explained. “My grandparents were Chinese immigrants who moved to Thailand.”

The couple listed Muangthai on Thailand’s stock exchange in 2014, raising 3 billion Thai baht ($89.9 million) during its IPO. “Before we IPO-ed, Muangthai only focused on Thailand’s central and northern areas,” Parithad said. “But as the company matured and grew, we also moved into the eastern part........

© Fortune