Thailand’s biggest convenience store operator, CP All, plans to apply for licences to open 7-Eleven stores in countries including Cambodia by 2015, according to a Reuters news report yesterday.

The other two countries are Myanmar and Laos, and the plan is part of CP All’s expansion strategy in the region, said the company’s president, Piyawat Titasattavorakul.

Reuters reported he will apply for licences ahead of the ASEAN economic integration in 2015.

No details were given on the number of branches he would open.

CP All is the world’s third-largest operator of 7-Eleven franchises.

The company is a subsidiary of Charoen Pokphand Group.

Attempts to contact Piyawat yesterday were unsuccessful.

The company’s assistant vice-president of corporate communication, Banyat Kamnoonwapana, insisted that “[Piyawat] only mentioned plans, but not the year [by which he intends to open the stores].”

Svay Sovann Ratana, general manager of a Pencil Supermarket branch in Phnom Penh, said he is not too concerned by the prospect of 7-Eleven coming to the city.

“Even though the market here is small, it still has space for competitors,” he said.

But Ly Bunsong, Kiwi Mart’s marketing manager, said, “7-Eleven is a big brand. My company is new – around two years old – and I don’t think we will grow as fast as 7-Eleven.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Low Wei Xiang at [email protected]