Chanin Vongkusolkij, the chief executive of Banpu Plc, which is involved in several energy businesses, said a halted listing plan should not affect investor confidence in putting more money into the energy sector.

"Investors are less concerned with this, as they know that the Independent Power Producer Scheme is still in place," he said.

The Energy Ministry plans later this year to call for bids from power companies to produce electricity.

The Supreme Administrative Court was originally scheduled to issue its ruling yesterday on whether Egat's listing is against the Constitution, but the ruling was rescheduled for Thursday.

In November, the court agreed to review a petition filed by 11 civic groups who questioned the legality of two decrees authorising the privatisation of the country's largest power producer. The court's halt order came a few days before Egat was to launch its initial public offering.

A source at Electricity Generating Plc, which is partially owned by Egat, said it would be good if Egat had to restart its listing plan as any rush will leave a number of questions unanswered

"There are unclear issues, including the role and power of the regulatory body," the source said. "Delaying the listing means Egat has time to ensure the full transparency of the plan."

If Egat is forced to return to square one, it is expected to take a year or two to prepare for listing.

Meanwhile, Dow Jones Newswires quoted Egat chief executive Kraisi Karnasuta as saying on Saturday that if the IPO were delayed, the state agency's overseas investments could be affected. He did not elaborate on how long the proposed investments might be delayed, nor how much Egat is planning to invest in power projects in Laos, Cambodia, Burma and China.

Egat originally planned to sell 1.245 billion shares to the public in its IPO, to raise between Bt31.1 billion and Bt34.9 billion, based on an indicative range of Bt25 to Bt28 per share.

Watcharapong Thongrung

The Nation