The ministry may spend about Bt10 billion on the TMB in order to maintain its holding at at least 25.1 per cent. It is currently the largest shareholder of TMB, with a 31.2-per-cent stake.

The TMB plans to increase its capital of Bt35 billion. However, the ministry wants the TMB to change its executives and improve its business plan, said the source. TMB's executives will meet with Chalongphob this week.

Chalongphob will also inject Bt1.8 billion into the state-owned Islamic Bank of Thailand, which plans to increase its capital by Bt3.3 billion. Chalongphob has, however, not yet decided whether to increase the capital of the Small and Medium Enterprise Development Bank of Thailand, which has asked for fund support of Bt2.7 billion.

Nor has he agreed to increase the capital of the Export-Import Bank of Thailand or the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives, which have each asked the Finance Ministry for Bt10 billion.

In other developments, the Finance Ministry has rejected a proposal from the State Railway of Thailand (SRT) about debt-restructuring. An informed source said the ministry would not finance Bt4 billion of SRT debt in exchange for a land leasing.

The ministry wants to own a plot of land on Ratchadapisek Road, not lease it, as proposed by the debt-ridden SRT, the source said.

The ministry will finance only Bt1 billionof SRT debt in exchange for a 30-year lease, the source said.

Wichit Chaitrong

The Nation