The other five contenders for the post include TOT senior executive vice president Somkual Bruminhent and former TOT union member Porncha Meemak.

Jurairat, currently chief executive of Siam Paper Plc, was one of the veteran executives of Shin Corp, founded by caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. She also has close ties with Thaksin's wife, Khunying Pojaman.

Jurairat has served as Shin's vice president for finance and executive vice president for finance.

Jurairat's last position in the Shin group before resigning in 2001 was managing director of its Internet venture capital firm, AD Venture.

TOT stopped accepting applications for its top post on Sunday.

The contenders for the post have to have experience of managing an organisation with annual revenues of more than Bt5 billion, and must not have been a member of management of the telecom firms under TOT concessions in the past three years. The term of the TOT president is four years.

TOT has operated without a president for several months since the board removed Teerawit Charuwat from the post in May, citing his failure to achieve business goals.

TOT is looking for a new president to steer it through intensifying competition due to market liberalisation.

The Information and Communications Technology Ministry recently ordered TOT and CAT Telecom Plc to merge their businesses to boost competitiveness.

In a separate matter, Thailand Post Co

has extended the deadline for accepting

applications for its president's post to the end of the month after receiving only three

applications by the previous cut-off date of August 17.

Thailand Post's rules require a minimum of four candidates for the post. The applicants will present their business vision to the board next month before the board selects the president in October.

Thailand Post senior executive vice president Ormsin Chivapruk is among those in the running for the top job.