"I am looking to reap a return from the earnings growth of Shin, which is estimated to be 5-6 per cent per year," he told reporters at yesterday's Shin Corp shareholders' meeting.

Surin was rumoured to be Singaporean state-linked investment arm Temasek Holdings' nominee after he reportedly injected that amount into Kularb Kaew, a major shareholder in Cedar Holdings, which in turn is a major shareholder in Shin. Making the rumour more convincing is the fact that Surin was not well known in Thailand but a major shareholder and a director of Malaysia's Multi-Purpose Holdings Pte.

The nominee issue is being considered by the Commerce Ministry. If the ministry concludes he is a nominee, Temasek's takeover of Shin Corp could be in jeopardy.

"I'm not the nominee of anyone. I'm a famous figure whom everybody knows," he said, challenging reporters to ask anyone in Malaysia.

As for investing in Kularb Kaew, he said that he had been approached by an investment banker in Malaysia who knew him to be in a position to make such an investment. "When I first invested in Multi-Purpose Holdings five years ago, I invested 400 million ringgit [Bt4.14 billion at the current rate]."

He said he took a few weeks to decide. "It was a good opportunity to make an investment in Thailand, after years of doing business in Malaysia," he said, adding that he may consider making further investments in the Kingdom. He also said he did not plan to take up an executive position in Shin now that he was appointed as a director of the telecom holding firm. "I'm pleased to be a director. In Multi-Purpose Holdings, I am also a director, with no part in management."

At the shareholders' meeting, Shin's chief executive, Boonklee Plangsiri, insisted there were no plans at the moment to divest any of the companies under Shin. And he insisted no company had approached Shin for a stake in iTV Plc, despite reports that the Dhosapaak Communications Agency of Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi was interested in taking over the television station.

"There's been no offer. Right now, we are awaiting the Administrative Court's ruling on iTV's concession fee," he said.

Boonklee said Shin also had no intention of selling Shin Satellite Plc (ShinSat) at this moment. After Temasek's takeover, there were fears that foreigners would control the satellite operator, and that could be detrimental to national security.

Boonklee said Shin was weighing its options for raising its free-float ratio to the required level of 15 per cent of all issued shares. Currently, Temasek owns 93 per cent of the company, so only 7 per cent of the shares are being circulated in the market.

"One option could be to issue new shares," he said.

Usanee Mongkolporn

The Nation