Sepo sell-off of foreclosed shares nears

The State Enterprise Policy Office’s plan to put the foreclosed shares of 24 unlisted companies on sale is expected to be finalised this month, Sepo’s chief says.

The plan is being considered by Finance Ministry policymakers, said Sepo directorgeneral Prapas Kong-Ied.

None of the 24 companies operate in the government’s strategic industries, and most have been seized from politicians, he said. Sepo will evaluate the value of each security and select the proper timing for divestment.

Among the 24 companies, four were seized from massage parlour king turned TV host Chuvit Kamolvisit in 2012 by the Anti-Money Laundering Office, said Piyawan Lamkitcha, deputy director of Sepo.

The Finance Ministry is a small shareholder in the four firms, owning 0.5-2% of each, though they have never yielded any return for the ministry.

The ministry owns 10,000 shares in Davis Diamond Star Co Ltd, 6,000 shares in Davis Copa Cabana Co Ltd, 7,446 shares in Davis Golden Star Co Ltd and 10,000 shares in Davis Silver Star Co Ltd. They have been registered with the Commerce Ministry as real estate rental businesses.

The cabinet on Sept 27 last year resolved to permit the Finance Ministry to dispose of assets that were derived from foreclosures, as well as shares in companies that fare better when operated by the private sector.

Apart from the shares in the 24 companies, Sepo will gradually sell other assets held by the Finance Ministry to comply with the five-year divestment plan through 2021.

Shares of 109 listed and unlisted companies are held by the Finance Ministry, with combined market value of 1.15 trillion baht and book value of 800 billion.

Of the total, 23 companies with book value of 771 billion baht are state enterprises, while the remaining 86 with book value of 31 billion are non-state enterprises.

A source at Sepo said other shareholders or relatives of those whose shares had been foreclosed had asked to buy them back, but legal issues had hampered their requests.