Asia’s Worst Stock Loser Erases Thai Founder From Billionaire Status
- Energy Absolute’s stock is worst decliner in MSCI Asia gauge
- Investments in EV transport squeeze renewable-power generator
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Somphote Ahunai, whose net worth topped $4.8 billion two years ago, is no longer a billionaire after a series of unwieldy efforts to diversify one of Thailand’s biggest renewable-power producers into a Tesla-like transport specialist.
Shares of Energy Absolute Pcl posted a record monthly drop of 51% in June, slashing Somphote’s fortune to less than $600 million, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Even after a 11% rebound this month following Somphote’s furious defense of the company’s financial health, the stock has still lost about 70% of its value this year, the biggest decline among almost 1,400 companies in the MSCI Asia Pacific Index.