'Who is Rene Benko's Thai partner?'

'before filing for bankruptcy.

She has closed numerous deals with various partners around the world and has been particularly active in Asia with Central Group, an international conglomerate owned by the famous Chirachivat family of Thailand.

Chirachawat Family Central Group

The Chirachiwat Family Central Group was founded in 1947 by Tiang Chirachiwat, a Chinese immigrant who moved from Hainan Province to Bangkok in 1927.

This patriarch had 26 children from three wives, leading to the current 220 descendants who jointly own and operate the Central Group, which includes global businesses in retail, real estate development, hotel and restaurant and''much more.

The Central Group is led by grandson Tos Chirachawat as executive director and chairman of the board.

According to Forbes, the Chirachawat family is the fourth richest in Thailand with an estimated fortune of $12.4 billion.

Joint deals

Benco's relationship with the Chirachivat family dates back to 2015, when Signa sold a stake in Berlin department store KaDeWe to the Central Group.

Later, the two companies became co-owners of other assets such as Munich department-store Oberpollinger, Hamburg premium hall Alsterhaus and Swiss retailer Globus - a deal that included a 600 million franc loan from Julius Baer, according to a report by SonntagsZeitung.

Group'.