Seven state units told to keep working on problem-solving
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THE STATE Enterprise Policy Commission has urged seven state enterprises to solve their remaining problems quickly in order to improve their efficiency.
The commission yesterday acknowledged that the seven enterprises had made some progress over the past year. However, they also lacked progress in tackling some key problems, Ekniti Nitithanprapas, director-general of the State Enterprise Policy Office, said yesterday.
The commission will evaluate their progress again in March.
The seven state enterprises are TOT, CAT Telecom, Thai Airways International, the State Railway of Thailand (SRT), the Bangkok Mass Transit Authority (BMTA), the Small and Medium Enterprise Development Bank of Thailand, and Islamic Bank of Thailand.
For TOT and CAT, the commission has advised the Information and Communications Technology Ministry to set them clearer roles to prevent redundant duties, and concrete results should be seen in March.
The commission also told the SRT that every time it makes investment plans, it must be able to define its sources of funding clearly for Cabinet consideration.
The SRT should also consider allowing the private sector a greater role in joint investment in its projects, instead of going solo, in order to reduce the government’s financial burden.
The commission reaffirmed that the SRT has to allow joint private investment in the operations of the Red Line mass-transit route and the extension of the Airport Rail Link.
It urged the SRT to transfer its land in Bangkok’s Makkasan area to the Finance Ministry within two years, except those plots located by hospitals and residential areas, which should be transferred within three years.
The BMTA was advised to review its bus-procurement plan and propose it to the Cabinet in March. It also should hasten the procurement of 489 NGV (natural gas for vehicles) buses, with a goal of completing the tendering process by March.
It was also urged to start developing its part of the joint ticketing system. Moreover, it should consider allowing more private companies to operate the bus service jointly.
The commission also urged Thai Airways International to finalise the plan to boost the proportion of online ticket sales in relation to sales via agents and propose such a plan to the commission in March.
Ekniti said these state agencies had made progress in many areas. For example, TOT cut costs by Bt17 billion last year, exceeding the reduction target of more than Bt6.8 billion. But it has yet to settle its dispute over ownership of telecom towers under the concession system.
The commission yesterday also approved in principle a revised bill on state-enterprise supervision and management, which is aimed at reforming the enterprises and enhancing their efficiency through good corporate governance.
The bill is expected to be forwarded to the Cabinet this month.
Former Bank of Thailand governor Prasarn Trairatvorakul, who chairs the commission’s subcommittee preparing the establishment of a national state-enterprise holding entity, insisted that the primary goal of the bill was to reform the state enterprises, not to privatise them. Under this bill, the state enterprises and their employees will not lose their existing status.
The committee sought opinions and consulted with all relevant parties, from the ministries to the state enterprises’ executives and labour unions, since last year as part of the vetting of the bill.
The draft law comprises two main parts: overseeing the state enterprises and the establishment of the national state enterprise holding entity, which will be wholly owned by the Finance Ministry, to supervise 12 state-enterprise corporations.
