He is a young, dynamic Scandinavian entrepreneur who pays attention to detail. He used real lawyers and invested in registering a company with the purpose of production. The property he bought was to be used to construct a simple factory to produce a sought after product on the mainland.
He received a title deed and other documentation at the time the property was handed over.
One year later the factory stood ready and production was going well. It became a success for the young man who by now had got married in Thailand. Cheap local labour and skilled Scandinavian leadership was the formula behind his success. Production increased day by day until ...
A Thai man he had never met before showed up at the factory. Smiling and polite, he greeted the young boss and was impressed with how nice and solid everything looked.
He was apparently on the edge of tears as he told Karsten that there had been a tragic misunderstanding. The property on which he had built the factory was apparently not the same property as in the deed!
Karsten couldn’t believe what he was hearing and started to laugh. – “Are you crazy?” was his initial reaction.
- The well dressed Thai man pulled some incomprehensible maps from his briefcase and pointed out the property that Karsten allegedly had bought. It was far from the area he had originally bought and was located in a swampy jungle area. Karsten felt the impossibility of the situation. He had heard about many hopeless cases in Thailand and started to have doubts.
After he had confronted his own lawyer, things started to happen. The case became expensive. After one hour in the courtroom Karsten realized that the battle was lost. He was in despair and furious.
Karsten didn’t see any other way but to start all over again. Thanks to faithful investors and an incredible gungho spirit he did just that. Karsten only had a month to leave the factory he had built. It took almost another full year until the new factory was ready. In the meantime he rented expensive premises to continue his production to the best of his ability.
Karsten in his anger hired local people and machines and demolished the old factory right down to the ground. Even the enormous concrete floor was reduced to gravel.
- “Damn me if that Thai swindler will enjoy the fruits of my labour.” he thought
(This story is well known amongst Scandinavians in Pattaya. The name has been changed)