{
  "id": 5239769,
  "title": "Thai ice cream founder selling business for over S$6 million to become a monk",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/02/thai-ice-cream-founder-selling-business-for-over-s-6-million-to",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-02T17:45:15.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Mothership",
    "slug": "mothership",
    "url": "https://mothership.sg/2026/09/thai-ice-cream-founder-monk/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Siripong Akkarasriyuk, the founder of Thai ice cream brand Hawell, is selling his business for 165 million baht (S$6,309,710) to become a monk. The chairman of Hawell (Thailand) Co Ltd announced the decision on Facebook on August 21. Siripong is looking for a successor to continue the brand and is offering a 5 million baht (S$191,180) referral fee. In an interview with Bangkok Post, he explained that the primary reason for selling is that he and his family have only two years left before he plans to renounce worldly life and become a monk. He wants to find land for a forest retreat to meditate and ordain as a monk, aiming to attain enlightenment as an arahant, which means a person who is deserving in Buddhism. Siripong has been planning this stage of his life for over 15 years. He has been struggling to secure mall space for Hawell's expansion, which he had planned to achieve with an annual sales target of nearly 9 billion baht (S$344,166). Due to the lack of space and the high investment required for standalone stores, Siripong decided to sell the business rather than continue expanding it. The buyer will inherit the assets, including land, a factory, machinery, licences, the ice cream shop, and the Hawell's trademark, along with 37 years of accumulated know-how and ice-cream recipes. Siripong expressed gratitude to customers for their support and stated that he still wants Hawell to move forward even if he leaves the business.",
  "summary": "He plans to cut off all contact, including with his wife and daughter.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}