Sepo proposes amendments to investment law

Sepo director-general Ekniti Nitithanprapas said yesterday that the act should be amended to accommodate investment, especially in small projects, for which it should be more flexible.
“The act has been executed for four years but some sections need to be revised, such as the definition of projects that qualify for joint investment,” he said.
Currently, Sepo has to use public-private partnerships to fast-track investment. Meanwhile, the 12th National Economic and Social Development Plan (2017-2021) requests that state enterprises invest at least Bt47 billion per year. Hence Sepo has to revise the act to support the “Thailand 4.0 vision”, he said.
Under the “SEPO 4.0 plus” plan, the office will adopt the 20-year National Strategy and the 12th National Economic and Social Development Plan as the guidelines for its five-year plan. He said SEPO 4.0 Plus meant strategy, efficiency, partnership and organisation, with the Plus being the motivation of morale.
Beginning in 2017, Sepo will focus on five priorities. First is a clearer role for state enterprises; second, management of state assets through the Thailand Future Fund (TFF) and Vayupak Fund; third PPP investment; fourth, “smart people” development; and fifth, digital platforms to support the working processes of Sepo.
“We will also consider what kinds of assets the state should keep which it should divest,” Ekniti said. He added that the only assets that should be held were those that comply with the Finance Ministry’s strategy. 
Assets under administration of the Finance Ministry are worth Bt1.5 trillion, including Krungthai Bank, PTT, Airports of Thailand and Thai Airways International, while the assets from repossessions are worth Bt5 billion. Ekniti said the respective roles off the TFF and the Vayupak Fund would be made clearer in the new year, with the Vayupak Fund overseeing investment portfolios while infrastructure funds will be overseen by the TFF.