Reform plan scheduled for six months

Reform plan scheduled for six months

A state enterprise reform plan is expected to be concluded within six months and reforms completed within a year, says the State Enterprise Policy Commission, also known as the superboard.

Veerathai: Proposals due in two months

Veerathai Santiprabhob, a member of the superboard, said all 56 state enterprises were required to submit their business plans and efficiency improvement proposals to the State Enterprise Policy Office (Sepo) within the next two months for initial deliberation before forwarding to the superboard.

Shake-ups in state enterprise boards are aimed at improving their service efficiency and eliminating political influence, priorities of the military's ruling National Council for Peace and Order.

The superboard was set up by the junta and is chaired by junta leader Gen Prayuth Chan-ocha along with members of the government and the private sector.

It is authorised to recommend policies, management and development plans for all state enterprises and empowered to supervise and follow up on the performance of state enterprises to ensure effectiveness and efficiency.

The junta will enact a law this year to make it more difficult for politicians to exploit state enterprises, Mr Veerathai said.

He said six or seven troubled state enterprises would also be required to submit business rehabilitation plans soon, and they must complete the plans within a year.

Recently, Sepo said these troubled state enterprises must turn in their business rehabilitation plans by the end of this month.

The State Railway of Thailand (SRT), Bangkok Mass Transit Authority and Small and Medium Enterprise Development Bank of Thailand are among them.

State enterprises are required to report to Sepo all investments and transactions worth more than 100 million baht after the projects win approval from the boards of each state enterprise and the National Economic and Social Development Board. The reports must be done by the fifth of the following month.

Sepo recently summoned executives of the seven top-spending state enterprises, encouraging them to speed up their investment budget disbursement for the remainder of this fiscal year and pump money into the economy.

The seven, whose investment budgets make up 55% of state enterprises' total, are PTT Plc, the SRT, the Mass Rapid Transit Authority, Airports of Thailand Plc, the Thailand Tobacco Monopoly, Aeronautical Radio of Thailand Ltd and the Government Pharmaceutical Organization.

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