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Published on November 12, 2007

The warning followed a news report in a Thai newspaper headlined "Ch Karnchang tipped to win train bid". Appearing in the report were comments by Prasert. Although he did not say Ch Karnchang would win, the headline suggested so.

It is open knowledge that the company is one of 10 contenders for the Bt8.5-billion project to construct the 15-kilometre electric-train line from Bang Sue to Taling Chan. If that headline is accurate, it means Ch Karnchang will be able to increase its backlog immensely, leading to remarkable increases in its revenue and net profit - which should affect its share price. The fact is Ch Karnchang's chances of winning are equal to that of any other contender.

Unsurprisingly, at the moment he entered a meeting room to give an interview to The Nation, Prasert looked a bit jumpy.

He carried with him a notebook. On top were

three documents stapled together.

During the one-hour

interview, he avoided answering any questions about financial projections. And before answering any questions, he would look down at the papers in front of him, as if to check whether he was breaking

any rules.

The contents were revealed after the interview ended. Included in the papers are general guidelines for company executives when meeting the press, including types of information that must not be revealed. Another document was a revenue and net-profit projection.

Indeed, this rule applies to all listed companies. But executives do divulge such material information when meeting the press, with or without a warning from the regulator. It's kind of confusing.

Two weeks ago, I remembered a report from Dow Jones Newswires. It quoted PTT president Prasert Bunsumpun as saying his company expected this year's revenue to grow more than 10 per cent from last year, thanks to higher product prices.

Although he did not go deeper into net-profit estimates, it was easy for analysts to calculate the figure, because they know the profit margins.

When I pushed Prasert of Ch Karnchang to reveal the same thing, he simply said, "We only share the same name."

He may have wanted

to add that despite having the same name, the two Praserts live in different worlds. Who would dare question the boss of PTT

- Thailand's biggest com-pany?

achara@nationgroup.com