AMPON 'REAPPOINTED' BOT CHAIRMAN

 

Ampon is currently also secretary-general of the Cabinet. The other candidate was reportedly Sansern Wongcha-um, the former secretary-general of the National Economic and Social Development Board.

 

RETAIL HOLDINGS SELLS SINGER THAILAND STAKE

Retail Holdings and its subsidiaries and affiliates announced that the company had sold, through the Stock Exchange of Thailand, its entire 40-per-cent equity stake in Singer Thailand to Thai investors for about US$44.8 million (Bt1.5 billion). 

Singer reported to the SET that its parent company sold its 24.99-per-cent stake in the company at Bt14 per share for a total of nearly Bt945 million to Jay Mart, a mobile-handset distributor, which would succeed as its largest shareholder. It said it did not know who the buyers of the remaining 15-per-cent stake previously owned by its parent firm were.

 

MINISTRY TARGETS |TELECOM ISSUES

The Information and Communications Technology Ministry will submit for the Cabinet’s consideration in one package within three months its plans to deal with hot issues in the telecom sector. 

These range from disputes between the state telecom agencies themselves to the plan of CAT Telecom to transfer some bandwidth for auction.

Minister Pornchai Rujiprapa said yesterday that the ministry’s attempt to deal with these issues might cause another delay in the auctions of 1,800- and 900-megahertz spectrum licences from late this year, but the ministry had to move forward to solve these issues.

The current intention of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission is to put four licences up for auction, two of 12.5MHz each on the 1,800MHz spectrum of TrueMove and Digital Phone Co (DPC), and two of 10MHz each on the 900MHz spectrum. It plans to hold the 1,800MHz auction in November, and take bids for the two 900MHz licences the following month. 

Pornchai said there were 28 legal disputes between CAT and TOT and between the two state agencies with their private concession holders. The combined value of these cases is Bt800 billion. 

He said he would discuss with CAT next week its proposal to transfer 5MHz of bandwidth held by Total Access Communication (DTAC) under the 1,800MHz spectrum to the licensing regulator for auction.

The NBTC is keen to reclaim telecom spectra from all state agencies for reallocation by auction. Pornchai said there would be no need to use the junta’s near-absolute power under Article 44 of its interim constitution to reclaim target spectra, if the NBTC could do so through normal legal processes.