The Thai government is set to investigate whether the ownership of mobile operator Total Access Communications (DTAC) breaches foreign ownership rules.
The Nation newspaper reported today that the commerce ministry had promised a thorough probe of DTAC’s…
The Thai government is set to investigate whether the ownership of mobile operator Total Access Communications (DTAC) breaches foreign ownership rules.
The Nation newspaper reported today that the commerce ministry had promised a thorough probe of DTAC’s ownership, after complaints from its competitor, cellco TrueMove.
DTAC is backed by Norwegian telco Telenor.
The ministry’s director general, Banyong Limpraoonwong, was quoted saying that the probe could take time due to DTAC’s complex ownership structure, which includes over 33,000 shareholders.
Limpraoonwong also said that, according to the ministry’s figures, 51% of DTAC is owned by Thais, with the rest held by foreigners.
But the extent of foreign involvement in the company is contested.
TrueMove has argued that Thais hold just 28.65% of DTAC, so the company is “foreign by law”.
Thai regulations stipulate that foreign companies may own no more than 49% of a telco.
In its report for Q1 2011, Telenor says its economic stake in DTAC is 65.5%.
Figures from the Stock Exchange of Thailand state that the Asian unit of Telenor directly holds a 41.04% stake in DTAC.
The next largest shareholder is registered as Thai Telco Holdings Ltd, with a 15.03% stake. Yet Telenor also owns a substantial stake in this company. In 2005, the size of the stake was 49%. A Telenor spokesman did not reply to questions on the current size of the stake and any further stakes in DTAC.
The spokesman told TelecomFinance that Telenor’s ownership of DTAC was in line with Thai rules. He said that the company would co-operate with any official investigations if it is asked.
The Nation quoted a TrueMove spokesman as saying that her company believed foreign executives had more management power and voting rights than Thai ones.
She called on the government to amend the law so that it incorporated restrictions on the voting rights and economic stakes foreigners could hold in telcos.
