InTouch has no plan to raise its stake in Thaicom
InTouch has no plan to raise its stake in satellite operator Thaicom back to 51 per cent or more, as the Supreme Court's verdict to confiscate the assets of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra concerned Thaksin, not the group's subsidiaries, its ex
Somprasong Boonyachai, executive chairman of the firm formerly known as Shin Corp, said that if Thaicom and other units want to raise capital, they would do so for investment only, not for other purposes. They will also try their best to avoid disturbing their shareholders, especially at this time when the cost of funds is very low.
He said he would explain this to the Information and Communications Technology Ministry, which recently asked Thaicom to submit a report on whether InTouch will raise its shareholding to at least 51 per cent from 41 per cent at present.
The ministry made the request to Thaicom at the urging of Infobahn founder and former Thaicom CEO Dumrong Kasemset. Dumrong had pointed out that in its decision to confiscate the assets of Thaksin in February 2010, the Supreme Court cited InTouch’s share reduction to 41 per cent in 2004 without the Cabinet’s approval. The court ruled that Thaksin had abused his power to benefit his telecom empire.
Somprasong said he has insisted many times that the ruling applies to an individual, not to InTouch subsidiaries.
He said he did not understand why Dumrong raised the case at the ICT Ministry when it was Dumrong who initiated the InTouch share reductions in Thaicom when he was CEO.
Somprasong also said InTouch had set five goals this year, of which some have already been achieved, such as the recent awarding to Thaicom of a satellite operating licence by the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC). InTouch has also started up its venture capital business, while its Internet arm CS LoxInfo will launch a cloud computing service soon.
InTouch is waiting for the NBTC to finish drafting regulations for granting a terrestrial digital TV licence. It wants to provide one high definition TV channel, one entertainment channel and one channel for teens.
"We’ll not jump into the pay or cable TV frontier, where the piracy problem prevails. If we can enter the digital TV business, we’ll produce 10 per cent of content ourselves and the rest will be developed by potential partners," he said.
InTouch is also seriously considering joining with possible partners in the bidding for English Premier League broadcasting rights in Thailand. It has already been approached by many firms about becoming a partner, but the decision hinges on many factors, including return on investment.
InTouch’s cellular flagship Advanced Info Service is also eager to secure a licence to provide 3G service on the 2.1GHz band in the NBTC’s auction set for mid-October.
"We must get one. We see no obstacles and we’re ready for the bidding contest," he added.
