Published on February 01, 2006

Despite a week of arguments by the pro-government camp, the legitimacy of last month’s Bt73-billion Shin-Temasek deal remains tough to comprehend for non-partisan academics, senators, civil society groups and the mass media.

While the premier and his lieutenants have all denied any wrongdoing, a growing number of people are unsure whether the premier’s family fully complied with all the relevant laws in the sale of their stake in Shin Corp to Temasek Holdings.

These laws include the Revenue Code, counter-corruption laws, Securities and Exchange Commission laws and Stock Exchange of Thailand regulations.

More than a dozen top Cabinet members, Thai Rak Thai Party officials and bureaucrats have dismissed all the accusations against the deal as groundless.

Finance Minister Thanong Bidaya said he hasn’t seen any problems in the deal. “Legally, there’s nothing wrong,” he said.

The Revenue Department’s report shows that everything was conducted in accordance with the law, Thanong said.

Sirote Swasdipanich , director-general of the Revenue Department, said the sale of Shin shares by the premier’s family was not subject to taxation because it was done on the stock market.

Kittirat Na-Ranong, president of the Stock Exchange of Thailand, said the premier’s son and daughter had incorrectly reported that the sale of shares from Ample Rich to them was conducted on the stock market.

“They ticked the wrong box in their filing to market authorities. They’ve corrected the mistake. The shares were actually sold outside the market by Ample Rich to Panthongtae and Pinthongtha Shinawatra,” he said.

Government spokesman Surapong Suebwonglee said the premier had told the Cabinet that the deal was in accordance with the law and that there would be more clarification from the parties on questions raised by critics.

Parliament president Bhokin Bhalakula said the Bencharongkul family earlier also divested its holding in DTAC, another mobile phone operator. “Why don’t we take that deal as the precedent and find out whether there was anything wrong with the Shin deal?”

Thai Rak Thai Party spokesman Sita Divari said it would be bizarre if the premier’s family had to pay taxes on shares sold on the stock market since all 300,000 stock investors do not have to do so.

PM’s Office Minister Suranand Vejjajiva also saw nothing wrong with the deal. “If he or his family are going to do something with their new wealth, I think it’s their private business.”

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