EDITORIAL : THE BANGKOK POST, THAILAND

 

Hint of scandal may taint SEC

At the behest of Finance Minister Korn Chatikavanij, the Stock Exchange of Thailand has started an investigation into the alleged hostile takeover of Thoresen Thai Agencies, one of the country's leading bulk shippers, by a group of minor investors called Atlas Holding. In its latest move, Atlas Holding notified the SET in a letter on Monday that, as a representative of 75 shareholders holding 10.199% of TTA, it was calling for an extraordinary general meeting to push for changes in the company's board, management and business model.

SET president Charamporn Jotikasthira told the press on Monday that the SET would ask Atlas to clarify when it acquired the TTA shares and would also try to find out if anyone was acting on inside information and attempting to manipulate TTA's share price.

Although the SET's quick response in this matter is welcome, it regrettably falls short of public expectations and is miles away from the real issue at stake which is of much public interest: the role of Vijit Supinit, former governor of the Bank of Thailand and current chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, in this takeover bid.

ML.Chandchuttha Chandratat, TTA's president and chief executive officer, told a press conference last Thursday that Mr Vijit was involved in the takeover attempt of TTA by the investor group. Three other key players in the attempt were identified as Bee Taechaubol of the Country Group, a finance and property firm; Veera Manakongtricheep, former managing director of a now defunct financial firm, and Michael Fernandes.

According to ML Chandchuttha, Mr Vijit, Mr Veera and Mr Fernandes met him at the TTA office on May 10 to discuss the takeover. The group proposed Mr Vijit as TTA's new chairman replacing Aswin Kongsiri, with ML Chandchuttha to be replaced by Mr Fernandes.

One-sided information though this is, from the TTA's top executive no less, it is explosive enough to shame the SEC. It has also warranted a host of questions which, unfortunately but as expected, remain unanswered by the man at the centre of the scandal, chairman Vijit of the SEC.

When asked about Mr Vijit's role in this unsavoury affair yesterday, the SET president brushed off the question, saying simply that the SEC had its own internal corporate governance guidelines regarding conduct. Not a satisfactory answer.

Mr Vijit, meanwhile, has kept his silence.

At best, the SET probe will likely provide us with answers we neither seek nor care about, be it insider trading or share price manipulation. What the public wants to know is: Is it true that Mr Vijit was at the May 10 meeting as claimed by the TTA president? If he was, what was his real business there and why? Did he know that his presence there was inappropriate and could be construed as a conflict of interest? Or was he unwittingly used by Atlas to help in the alleged takeover bid?

Seen in this context, the SET investigation seems a rather sad joke. Both the SET and the SEC may be faithful adherents of the "silence is golden" rule; Mr Vijit, anyway, will be going into retirement on July 13 and is likely to be quickly forgotten. But the SET and the SEC are here to stay. And the silence of these agencies puts their credibility and reputation at risk.