The Ministry of Labour has said it is ready to cooperate with an inquiry panel set up to investigate allegations the Social Security Office (SSO) spent an excessive 7 billion baht to purchase the SKYY9 Centre on Rama IX Road when its claimed appraisal price was 3 billion baht.
Labour Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn said on Wednesday he is ready to cooperate to ensure transparency in the investigation.
"The purchase of SKYY9 is ready to be scrutinised. The SSO conducted a study on the purchase and commissioned independent companies to estimate the price and consider whether the purchase is worth investing in," Mr Phiphat said.
Phiphat: Wants a transparent probe
The minister added that a deputy permanent secretary for the Labour Ministry, the SSO's current secretary-general, and the SSO's deputy secretary-general was appointed to the seven-member inquiry panel.
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said she instructed Interior Minister Anutin Charnvirakul to form an inquiry panel to investigate the SSO's purchase of the SKYY9 Centre.
Mr Anutin explained that while the SSO is under the Labour Ministry, he also serves as a deputy prime minister who oversees the Labour Ministry.
He said Mr Phiphat has also asked him to investigate the issue.
He added the alleged excessive spending occurred when the current permanent secretary for labour previously served as the secretary-general of the SSO.
Mr Anutin also said that when the permanent secretary for labour is being investigated, the official who leads the investigation must hold the same rank to ensure a smooth probe.
The current permanent secretary for labour, Boonsong Thapchaiyut, who served as the SSO's secretary-general at the time of the purchase, on Wednesday refused to comment on the issue.
When asked if the purchase aligned with the law, he only nodded in acknowledgement.
Deputy Commerce Minister Suchart Chomklin on Wednesday dismissed allegations by Rukchanok Srinork, a People's Party MP for Bangkok, that he was involved in the SSO spending excessively to purchase the SKYY9 Centre.
In a message on Facebook on Wednesday, Mr Suchart said that her criticism amounted to defamation. "Don't distort the truth by using dirty politics," wrote Mr Suchart, who previously served as a labour minister at the time of the purchase between 2022-2023.
On Monday, Ms Rukchanok raised suspicions about the SSO's purchase of the SKYY9 Centre on Rama IX Road, saying the building was worth an estimated 3 billion baht, but the SSO bought it for more than twice that amount.
Another People's Party MP, Sahassawat Kumkong, said this building was purchased through a trust, and about 70% of the trust was spent on its purchase.
He said the labour minister at the time was also found to have transferred a close aide to a committee directly in charge of investment, including purchasing the building.
Ms Rukchanok claimed on Wednesday that the SSO bought the company that owned the building. She said the company was found to have a debt of more than 2 billion baht.
The SSO's current secretary-general, Marasri Jairangsee, on Tuesday said the SSO invested in buying the building via the Private Equity Trust, an investment vehicle under the Trust for Transactions in the Capital Market Act, regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). She said two independent estimators certified by the SEC estimated the price of the building.
She said the price was estimated at 7.3 billion baht based on the income approach formula, but if the cost approach is used, the building's value is estimated at 8 billion baht. However, she said the SSO invested only 6.9 billion baht to buy the building.
The SKYY9 Centre on Rama IX Road was one of many buildings left unfinished and abandoned following the 1997 "Tom Yam Kung" financial crisis.
Due to the property developer's non-performing loan, ownership of the building changed hands several times before it was acquired by Bangkok Commercial Asset Management Plc.
The company later resold it to a group of businesses operating department stores for approximately 1 billion baht. The building was subsequently renovated and renamed I.C.E. Tower.
In 2020, it was sold to Cas Capital (Thailand), renovated again, and rebranded as Cas Centre.
After the renovations, its estimated value rose to about 2.2 billion baht, while the land on which it stands was valued at 1.5 billion baht at the time.
The building was sold once more in 2022 to a group of private companies. The SSO later set up a private equity trust to invest approximately 9.4 billion baht in private companies that are not listed on the stock market.
Of the 9.4 billion baht, about 3 billion baht was allocated for overseas investment, while the remaining 6.9 billion baht was used to purchase the building.
It was later found that a company named AGRE 101 had sold the building to the SSO's private equity trust. Currently, about 45% of SKYY9's space has been rented out. Of this, 25% is already occupied by tenants, while the remaining 20% is expected to be occupied within the year.
According to the DDproperty website, the rental fee at SKYY9 was 600 baht per square metre as of March 10.