|
|
| • EXCH RATES |
|
Baht/$ 33.40/43
Bid/Ask
|
GOLD |
13,950
+ 150
|
|
BANKING
NUNTAWUN POLKUAMDEE
The Finance Ministry will not interfere in the Bank of Thailand's decision to sell off its holdings in BankThai, Finance Minister Surapong Suebwonglee said yesterday.
''The Finance Ministry has no intention of interfering in the sales process, which is the decision of the board of the Financial Institutions Development Fund,'' he said.
But the ministry and the government had a clear responsibility to ensure that public interests were met, considering that the FIDF's losses of 1.4 trillion baht incurred since the 1997 crisis were ultimately liabilities of the country.
The central bank's FIDF plans to sell its 42.13% stake in BankThai this month. BankThai yesterday requested that its shares be suspended from trade on the Stock Exchange of Thailand pending an announcement on the sale, which could come as early as today.
Reported bidders for the FIDF shareholding include HSBC, Standard Chartered, CIMB and TPF Newbridge, a US private equity fund that is the second-largest shareholder of BT at 36.74%.
Bumiputra-Commerce Holdings Bhd, Malaysia's second-biggest bank, also is interested in BankThai. ''Thailand is very much in my radar screen,'' chief executive Nazir Razak said yesterday, declining to say if the company was actively bidding.
Shares of BankThai (BT), the country's ninth largest bank, last traded at 1.32 baht each, a significant discount from par value of 3.75 baht and a book value of 1.67 baht per share.
Dr Surapong said he had also appointed a five-person investigative panel to look into the operations of BankThai and actions taken to date by the central bank.
He said the special panel, to be headed by Ampon Kitti-ampon, the secretary-general of the National Economic and Social Development Board, aimed to clarify public confusion about the status of BankThai.
''But whether the share sale will be delayed or not depends on the FIDF,'' Dr Surapong added.
BankThai reported a first-quarter loss of two billion baht on top of 2007 losses of 6.9 billion, largely as a result of poor investments made in offshore debt instruments, including products linked to sub-prime mortgage assets.
Tarisa Watanagase, the central bank governor, declined to comment on the share sale or the decision made following the FIDF board meeting on Wednesday.
She said details had yet to be settled, but that regulators were prepared to fully clarify the situation once the deal was finalised.
Dr Tarisa, as head of the FIDF board, said she would fully co-operate with the ministry investigative panel.
Prev
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
Next
