Temasek 'awaiting details' on Thai investment limits
Singapore's state-linked Temasek Holdings said Wednesday that it would await further details on Thailand's decision to pusha head with new limits on foreign investment before taking any action.
The Thai cabinet Tuesday approved changes to the Foreign Business Act, agreeing to limit foreign investors to holding no more than 50 percent of the shares or the voting rights in companies.It follows a controversial deal between Temasek and the deposed premier Thaksin Shinawatra's Shin Corp last year, which may have violated foreign ownership laws and led to street protests and a military coup on September 19. "We await details. We'll then consult with our legal counsel on the implications of the changes," said Myrna Thomas, Temasek's managing director for corporate affairs at the company's Bangkok office. Companies have traditionally set up their operations in Thailand so that the local subsidiaries are nominally owned by Thais but effectively controlled by foreigners. The practice became controversial last year after investors led by Temasek bought 96 percent of telecom giant Shin Corp for 3.8 billion dollars, giving it key stakes in Thailand's biggest mobile operator, a satellite company, a television station and an airline. The investment firm bought half of those shares from billionaire businessman Thaksin's family, sparking public outrage that eventually led to the putsch. After the coup, the commerce ministry ruled that the takeover violated foreign ownership requirements, casting doubt on the legality of the operations of thousands of local subsidiaries of foreign companies. Agence France-Presse
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