SEC tells IFEC execs to meet shareholders

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has ordered Inter Far East Energy Plc (IFEC) executives to attend a shareholders’ meeting scheduled for tomorrow in order to select new directors to fill vacant positions.

As IFEC notified the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) last Tuesday that the company would set up a shareholders’ meeting on Aug 22 to select new directors, the SEC is requesting that IFEC’s three directors attend the meeting in accordance with Section 83 of the Public Limited Company Act.

The three directors are chief executive Suphanan Rittiphairoj, Boonlert Jangnopparat and Chatnarong Chatrabhuti.

The SEC said it was notified that several retail shareholders of IFEC, with a combined stake of more than 10% of total shares, wanted to use their rights in line with Section 100 of the Public Limited Company Act to set up a shareholders’ meeting and select new directors to fill the vacancies.

“The SEC views that this could be an option to resolve the [ongoing] business problem, therefore the market regulator is asking the company’s board of directors to consider the issue to ensure that a shareholders’ meeting will be held without delay,” the SEC said in a release. “Attending the [upcoming] meeting shall not overrule any previous action which could be a wrongdoing, but if the behaviour of any director is deemed to obstruct such meeting from occurring, this could be an additional wrongdoing.”

It was reported earlier that Mr Suphanan had continuously refused to set up a shareholders’ meeting. His previous attempt to appoint two new directors failed because these individuals had not received the Commerce Ministry’s endorsement, due to a lack of qualifications and an unclear appointment process.

The crisis has stretched on for a year and six months, leading investors to take matters into their own hands despite having market regulators in place.

With IFEC as a case in point, capital market regulators jointly issued guidelines for shareholders to exercise their right to convene a shareholders’ meeting, aiming to empower shareholders in circumstances where company executives refuse to hold such a meeting.

The SEC, the SET and Thailand Securities Depository Co Ltd issued the guidelines in accordance with Article 100 of the Public Limited Company Act of 1992.

The measure also marks greater clarity in the Securities Act of 1992 and is consistent with the Business Development Department’s guidelines issued earlier this month on shareholders’ rights to set up a shareholders’ meeting, according to the SEC.

The SEC said it was notified that several retail shareholders of IFEC wanted to use their rights under the Public Limited Company Act to set up a shareholders’ meeting.