"We are the caretaker government," and as such cannot approve their listing plans, said Suchai Charoenrattanakul caretaker information and communications technology minister.

The ministry hopes to hatch a plan to merge the two state-owned companies to ease their redundant businesses and boost their competitiveness.

"Both have to be combined to survive the intense competition from the private sector," he said.

Both state agencies had planned to raise capital on the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) many years ago but the plans were delayed due to unclear government policy. And talks on listing their shares by the end of the year seem to be a distant possibility, especially after their executives admitted that it would to be put off indefinitely.

TOT must postpone its listing plans as it deals with its many unsettled court dispute cases, including one with True Corp Plc.

In February, an arbitration panel ruled that TOT would have to pay True Bt9 billion plus interest, for using True's network to provide service to TOT customers.

The state agency appealed the decision to the Central Administrative Court, and it can take a year before the dispute is resolved.

And CAT is yet to finish negotiating a joint venture with Hutchison-CAT Wireless Multimedia on a deal to collaborate on providing cellular service between their networks.

CAT's and TOT's issues make it difficult for them to evaluate the value of their businesses and assets.

Moreover, both state agencies have yet to hire new presidents. Last month all members of CAT's board of directors stepped down following the resignation of the board's chairman.

CAT's board has also been criticised by the company's labour union for forcing the company to miss several business targets. The ICT minister said that he would appoint a new CAT board next week.

Telecom Reporters

The Nation