Act changes 'won't break WTO rules'
The Commerce Ministry yesterday insisted that enforcement of voting rights under the amended Foreign Business Act (FBA) would not breach World Trade Organisation (WTO) commitments.
Skol Harnsuthivarin, secretary to the Commerce Minister, said the Thai government can impose any restrictions for foreign investors and limitation of voting rights and that this does not violate WTO rules. Moreover, one share should have only one vote for both Thai and foreign investors. "Shareholders should have an equal vote basis. The government amended the FBA without bias since all investors will come under same regulations," he said. An official who works closely with the WTO agreement said that non-discrimination in the WTO applied to countries and not individuals, so there is no issue concerning individual nominees. Moreover, the way non-discrimination is described is that one country must not be treated "less favourably" than another - and in the case of "national treatment" foreigners must not be treated "less favourably" than locals. Foreign investors in Thailand have threatened the government that they will file a petition to the WTO, accusing the amendment of breaching its rules. Skol also explained that the amended FBA will not affect land ownership of foreigners in Thailand. Land ownership has been considered in line with the Land Act instead of the FBA. "The amendment focused on protecting business sectors from nominees but does not address land ownership," he said. In addition, to create understanding among foreigners on the amended FBA, the ministry will soon hold a meeting with foreign embassies and media in Thailand. The meeting will allow the ministry to provide details of the FBA to them, followed by Q&A session for a better understanding of the law. The ministry is scheduled to organise the meeting next week. Meanwhile, Skol added that this month the ministry will propose the Retail Business Act's draft to the Cabinet for approval for legal implementation to control retail business in the Kingdom. Skol added that the ministry will propose the draft Retail Business Act to the Cabinet for approval this month. The implementation is designed to create fair practices for both Thai and foreign retailers.
Petchanet Pratruangkrai Achara Pongvutitham The Nation
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