Patareeya should resign as SET president because the stock authority did not issue any warning and acted very late in suspending the stock from trading, protest leader Ratanaporn Nammontree told reporters yesterday.

"The SET should answer questions about why the suspension was imposed very late because it should have happened at the time of the Central Administrative Court's verdict to void the arbitration ruling on concession fee payments. But the SET still let the stock trade normally without any warning and caused damage to minor shareholders," she said.

SET executive vice president Suthichai Chitvanich told the protesters that the bourse's action was in line with normal practice.

"The SET has staff to monitor information and we will inform shareholders immediately if there is any report that could cause them damage," he said. "Investors should keep in mind that investment carries risk and they should be prudent in making decisions. The SET is willing and ready to clarify the truth to the public."

However, the protesters were not satisfied with his explanation and said they would stage a further protest in front of the SET office next week.

Rattanaporn said the group planned to file a lawsuit against the SET and Patareeya in the Criminal Court following the failure of negotiations. It will also ask Finance Minister Chalongphob Sussangkarn to sack Patareeya.

"The group failed to reach agreement with the SET because it was not sincere in negotiations. The SET claimed that investors should realise that investment has risks. Does this mean that the SET is a legal casino? We consider that the SET should be a place for long-term investment and not a speculative market," she said.

She added that the group had been contacted earlier by foreign investors who also suffered damage from the iTV case, but it had declined cooperation for fear that people would consider such collaboration as damaging the country.

However, the group will start contacting the foreign investors following the failure of negotiations with the SET, Rattanaporn said.

Meanwhile, the SET said in a statement yesterday that it had continued contact with iTV to provide information since the dispute over the concession fee erupted with the Office of the Permanent Secretary of the Prime Minister's Office.

The SET publicised information relating to the Central Administrative Court's verdict in mid-May 2006, the company's appeal to the Supreme Administrative Court in June and the court's ruling in December last year.

Siriporn Chanjindamanee

The Nation