Dhara Dhevi Chiang Mai Management invests 500M after fire

The epic conflict surrounding the "Dhara Dhevi Chiang Mai" hotel, a famous landmark in the northern region, stems from a bidding dispute involving both the previous and new owners. This ongoing saga, which has stretched on until today, centres around a large plot of land exceeding 150 rai. It remains one of the hot issues that society is closely watching, especially after the fire that severely damaged only the hotel’s "spa building" on April 23, 2025.

Suphan Sethapanich, Board Member and Executive of Siam Estate Dhara Dhevi Co., Ltd., revealed that the "Dhara Dhevi Chiang Mai" hotel is currently owned by Siam Estate Dhara Dhevi Co., Ltd., a joint venture (JV) between Siam Estate and Inter Far East Thermal Power Co., Ltd. (IThermal), a subsidiary of Inter Far East Energy Corporation Public Co., Ltd. (IFEC). 

The company won the bid to acquire the Dhara Dhevi Chiang Mai hotel (located on approximately 80 rai of land) for 2.4 billion baht.

"We had to JV with IThermal because IThermal is both the creditor and the asset owner. They purchased the Dhara Dhevi hotel for 2.4 billion baht, using 1 billion baht in cash from Siam Estate, while the remaining amount was covered by IThermal using their right to offset the balance."

"Siam Estate paid 1 billion baht in cash for the purchase of the Dhara Dhevi hotel because we saw an investment opportunity. We believe the hotel's value is greater than that, given its unique characteristics, and it has long-term business development potential."

Suphan further added that following the fire at the Dhara Dhevi hotel, which occurred at 2am on April 23, 2025, he would like to confirm once again that the hotel was not completely destroyed by the fire. The damage was minimal, with only the spa building being heavily affected, accounting for less than 5% of the hotel's total area, and it has had almost no impact on the business value.The business continues to operate as usual, and according to the investment plan, under a 500 million baht budget, the hotel will be renovated to fully reopen. The renovation will take place in two phases.

In the first phase, the hotel has already opened a restaurant and the "Kad Dhara Dhevi" market in February, which is located on the hotel’s lawn area and has attracted many tourists and shoppers. Additionally, the meeting rooms are being renovated and are expected to be completed by the end of April.

In the second phase, room renovations will be gradually carried out, with plans to complete the renovations and fully reopen the hotel by the end of 2025.

"Despite the fire, the damage was very minimal, and I confirm that we will proceed with the Dhara Dhevi hotel project because it is a charming hotel with the potential to become the talk of the town once again."

He further stated that regarding the fire at the Dhara Dhevi hotel, it should be handled by the authorities, but he noted that the fire seemed unusually unnatural and beyond normal circumstances.

As for the accusations from some groups suggesting that the fire was intentionally set for insurance money, the Office of Insurance Commission (OIC) has already clarified that the Dhara Dhevi hotel in Chiang Mai did not have any insurance coverage. Therefore, this issue can be dismissed.

"We definitely did not do that."Additionally, the buildings in question had not been in use for 6-7 years, and there was no electricity supply within the buildings. The lighting seen around the area was just temporary lighting connected to provide illumination, but he does not believe it would have sparked a fire.

Another point he wanted to clarify was the management of the "Kad Dhara Dhevi" market, which is a commercial space. He believes the best people to answer this are the partners, such as the restaurant operators in the market, who can confirm how well the management has been handled.

"We acquired the Dhara Dhevi hotel with good intentions, but after we began operations, we have faced a process of lawsuits and harassment, making it difficult for us to run our business effectively. We believe these actions are likely from the same group of people who have been trying to discredit what we are trying to do with the Dhara Dhevi hotel. As for their reasons, we think there are individuals who have lost their benefits due to our legitimate bid to purchase the hotel."

"All of this is just an opinion. The rest should be left to the authorities."

Suphan further added, "I would like to ask the group of people who are now claiming to be seeking benefits for IFEC shareholders or harmed creditors, what exactly do they really want? What is their objective?"

Currently, IFEC has two groups in distress: one is the over 2,000 shareholders, as IFEC has been delisted from the stock exchange. At this point, there are almost no old creditors left because the old shareholders have sold off their stocks.

The other group is the creditors, who have filed their names in the rehabilitation plan and are currently receiving payments.

(2025/04/27-00:00)