Dumrong Kasemset, a former CEO of Thaicom, has filed a lawsuit against local conglomerate Shin Corp over the ownership of the Thai satellite operator.
The information was confirmed by Thaicom, which chose not to comment further.
Local newspapers claim…
Dumrong Kasemset, a former CEO of Thaicom, has filed a lawsuit against local conglomerate Shin Corp over the ownership of the Thai satellite operator.
The information was confirmed by Thaicom, which chose not to comment further.
Local newspapers claim that Shin Corp, now known as InTouch, and Infobahn, a company controlled by Kasemset, entered a share purchase agreement last July whereby Shin would sell its 41.14% stake in Thaicom to Infobahn for Bt5.86bn (US$187m).
But in September, Shin Corp eventually decided against selling Thaicom, arguing that the satellite operator was its key asset.
Now, Infobahn is suing the conglomerate and a first hearing is scheduled for 16 July.
According to reports, this lawsuit is an attempt to have Thaicom back in Thai hands, as Shin Corp is majority-owned by Singapore’s investment arm Temasek.
In 2006, former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who founded Shin Corp, sold a 49.6% stake in the company to Temasek in order to ease criticisms about potential conflict of interest.
But in July 2010, the Thai government signalled its intention to buy Thaicom after transmissions from anti-government protests were broadcast in Thailand through Thaicom’s customer, PTV.
At the time, Thaicom strongly defended itself, stating that it had requested PTV cease broadcasting, but its attempts to stop the transmissions failed. Thaicom ultimately encrypted PTV’s signal so that it could not be received in Thailand.
As of yet, the government has not announced any deal and Thaicom remains 41.14%-owned by Shin Corp.
