THAI BEVERAGE LISTING
Kittiratt must stay on - Vijit
The Stock Exchange of Thailand's board of governors has told its president, Kittiratt Na Ranong, that it will not approve his resignation, if he lives up to his undertaking to quit when Thai Beverage begins trading on the Singapore bourse.
SET chairman Vijit Supinit said yesterday that Kittiratt had not yet delivered a resignation letter to the board. "If he does so, the board will not approve his resignation as he has done an excellent job," he said. Earlier, Kittiratt said he would leave the SET immediately if Thai Beverage Plc's shares begin trading on the Singapore Exchange, to show his responsibility for failing to persuade the company to list on the Thai bourse. Plans by Thai Beverage, the manufacturer and distributor of Chang Beer, to make an initial public offering and list on the Thai stock market failed following strong protests by social activists and religious sects. However, the company has said it will seek dual listing on the Thai stock market, following confirmation from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that it will allow manufacturers of alcoholic drinks to allocate initial public offering shares to the public. The company's stock, with a market capitalisation of at least Bt200 billion, will begin trading on the Singapore Stock Exchange at the end of this month. Vijit said Kittiratt's resignation would not be on the agenda of a SET board meeting at the end of this month. Thai Beverage's share trading in Singapore will not bring heavy pressure on Kittiratt because the company has promised it will list on the Thai stock market later, he said. Kittiratt yesterday dismissed a rumour he had already delivered a resignation letter. However, he repeated he would resign after Thai Beverage's shares begin trading in Singapore. Meanwhile, he said the SET will officially ask Thai Petrochemical Industry Plc (TPI)'s new board to sack Prachai Leophaira-tana, the company's founder, as one of its directors. "As long as Prachai remains a board member of TPI, the SET will not consider allowing the company's stock to return to the normal sector from the rehabilitation sector," he said. "However, I believe Prachai will show [the correct] spirit, as he did at Union Bangkok Insurance Plc." The stock exchange has blacklisted Prachai from being a director or executive of any listed company because the SEC says he disclosed false information in a way to boost TPI Polene Plc (TPIPL)'s share price. Apart from TPI, Prachai remains a director of TPIPL. Siriporn Chanjindamanee The Nation
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