National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) secretary-general Suranan Wongvithayakamjorn said the rule would apply to NTC licensees and the licensees' concessionaires. Final details are expected to be printed in the Royal Gazette in May.

The rule is aimed at preventing foreigners from using nominees to dominate local telecom operators. Companies that are found in serious breach of the regulation will have to report to the NTC every month about their progress in overcoming the ownership imbalance and complying with the rule.

The nominee issue came to light as a result of the takeover of Shin Corp Plc by Singapore state investment arm Temasek Holdings. The purchase was conducted through a complex ownership structure in a number of companies, allowing Shin Corp's foreign ownership to remain below the statutory limit of 49 per cent.

Wealthy Thai businessman Surin Upatkoon, who was appointed a new director of Shin Corp yesterday, was accused of being a Temasek nominee after he acquired a 68 per cent stake in Kularb Kaew, a major shareholder in Cedar Holdings, last week.

Cedar Holdings and Aspen Holdings are Shin Corp's major shareholders. Temasek is the majority shareholder of both Cedar and Aspen, which after a tender offer earlier this month, hold a combined 96.1 per cent of Shin.

According to The Straits Times in Singapore, Malaysian-based Surin insisted that he is not a nominee for any party.

"This is a purely commercial deal," he told the newspaper. "I see this as a strong long-term investment and a rare opportunity to be partners with Temasek and SCB [Siam Commercial Bank]."

The Straits Times said Surin, who is little-known in Thailand, has been accused by opposition politicians of being a Temasek stooge. It said Temasek is battling swelling hostility in Bangkok over its takeover of Shin Corp, previously controlled by the family of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

The deal has raised anti-Singaporean sentiments in Bangkok, where protesters have demanded that Temasek cancel. They say that the sale was akin to handing over Thai national assets, such as Shin satellite and iTV, to foreigners.

Surin told The Straits Times that he rejects the criticisms.

"The company is still controlled by Thai nationals and I intend to play a serious role," he said.

Surin said that he was approached by Temasek's investment banker, Goldman Sachs, early this month to consider participating in the Shin Corp deal. He said he had held meetings with Shin Corp's senior management, as well as Temasek's point man in the transaction, S. Iswaran, and he liked what he saw.

"There is huge growth in the businesses of the group and these kinds of investment opportunities come by very rarely," he was quoted as saying.

Separately, Temasek Holdings raised more than US$1.2 billion this week by selling its stakes in various holdings, all part of its efforts to manage its global portfolio, the firm said yesterday.

According to Agence France Presse, Temasek said the sales were not part of its efforts to fund its acquisition of Shin Corp, as some have speculated. The company said the Shin deal had been fully funded and completed.

"This is part of our ongoing efforts to actively manage our portfolio to maximise shareholder value. We manage our portfolio on an active basis," Temasek spokeswoman Rachel Lin said.

Temasek this week raised about US$1.2 billion (Bt48.27 billion) from the sale of a 4.7-per-cent stake in Singapore Telecommunications (SingTel), along with US$73.35 million (Bt2.86 billion) by unloading Olam, a global supplier of agricultural products and food ingredients.

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The Nation