View Full Version : Matchima-Eats its own heart out!
http://www.prachatai.com/english/news.php?id=351
Bangkokians with long memories may remember his irreverent column in The Nation in the 1980's. During his period of enforced silence since then, he was variously reported as participating in a 999-day meditation retreat in a hill-top monastery in Mae Hong Son (he gave up after 998 days), as the Special Rapporteur for Satire of the UN High Commission for Human Rights, and as understudy for the male lead in the long-running ‘Pussies -not the Musical' at the Neasden International Palladium (formerly Park Lane Empire).
And if you believe any of those stories, you might believe his columns.
Political Policies Explained While U Wait
Harrison George
02 November 2007
Alien Thoughts
It is the self-appointed duty of this column to explain to Prachatai readers the policies of the parties planning to contest the general election in December. Today we will examine the stated policies of the party with the catchy name - Matchimathipat ......
Exasperated Prachatai Editor: Just hold it right there. Have you not read the regulations from the Election Commission? You can't go naming parties like that. You'll have us closed down for bias.
Myself: Oh, sorry. What if I use a code name?
Exasperated Editor: Like what?
Myself: Well, working from the etymology of their name, how about the ‘Halfway Rule' party?
EE (who doesn't always get it): Well, alright. But be careful.
Myself: Thank you.
Now, as I was saying. This Halfway Rule party has placed a full-page ad in the local English-language press to set out its policies for the benefit of English-speaking foreigners who can't vote for it.
Unfortunately, their policies still remain a bit of a mystery.
This is a result of Policy No. 1, which supports the sufficiency economy. Readers will be aware that the sufficiency economy includes the principle of ‘not too little, not too much'. In the case of Halfway Rule, this means ‘not too little that we can't splash a small fortune on full-page ads, but not too much that we pay an extra hundred or two to have someone check our English for us.'
Eager Thai Student Who Reads Prachatai to Improve His English: Yes, I was wondering about that. Policy No. 2 says they will counter ‘malversation' and it's not in my dictionary.
Myself: Nor in Wikipedia, MS Word's spellcheck and most other dictionaries. But if you look in legal dictionaries you will find it means ‘misconduct in public office', clearly a major policy challenge in modern Thailand.
Now did you also spot the reference in Policy No. 3 to the ‘southern boarder provinces'? These must be areas with high concentrations of boarding schools, dormitories, and rooming houses, though why they should need more ‘tranquillity, peace and safety' than northern boarder provinces, or any other province come to that, is not altogether clear.
Skipping past the solidified domestic market of Policy No. 4, we come to a novel economic policy (No. 5) of debt immunity. This will be especially useful to any businessman whose companies went whoopsy in a serious way, such as, oooh, I can't just think of an example right now but I'm sure the good leaders of the Halfway Rule party have someone in mind.
But let no one think that the creativity of the Halfway Rule people stops at the English language. They have plans for the Thai diet as well. Policy No. 22 lists 7 categories of ‘economic animals', including cats and dogs. Now there is a tradition of dog-eating in parts of the Northeast that are not normally mentioned in polite society, but nibbling on Tibbles is going to be a novelty for everyone.
And Policy No. 23 talks of ‘a fast-foods grown tree (Minosa)'. A tree that grows from fast foods is an intriguing prospect, so I checked Minosa. Now there is a municipality of 57 souls in Guadalajara called La Miñosa but I can't see how 57 MacDonald's-munching Spaniards will do much for the Thai economy, no matter how much they eat.
Eager Thai Student: Perhaps it's a misprint for Mimosa?
Myself: Ah, I had thought of that. But a Mimosa tree (as opposed to a shrub or herb) would have to be mayarap yak and I can't see any farmer thanking you for propagating that pest.
Economics may not be the strong suit of the Halfway Rule party. In accordance with Section 83 of the new constitution which mandates a ‘a free economy, relying on market mechanism', Policy No. 19 talks of a ‘market mechanism' and then promptly sets fixed prices of rice, sticky, rice, jasmine rice, rubber, cassava, sugar cane and grade A longan with no market mechanism anywhere in sight.
Public health could also be in for a rough time if the Halfway Rule politicians get into government. Policy No. 36 speaks of ‘free-cured deceases in the list of deceases to be more extensive.' Raising the death rate is an unusual way of tackling budget shortfalls in public health services, but I am sure it will be effective if not altogether popular.
Eager Thai Student: I'm glad you've explained these policies to me. I thought it was my English, but they really don't make sense, do they? It's all just pie in the sky.
Myself: Yes. Thai Pie In the Sky. Or, to be more succinct, TPI's policies. Geddit?
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/IK03Ae02.html
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Meanwhile, the upstart Matchima Thippitai Party (MTP), led by former cement and petrochemical tycoon Prachai Leophairatana, is promising an even more aggressive populism of 42 welfare-oriented policies. The MTP's targeted infrastructure spending plans overlap with those of the Democrats and the PPP, including new mass transit lines for Bangkok and a major upgrade of the national rail system. However, Prachai has also oddly broached resurrecting the Kra Canal project, which was first talked of over a century ago but never realized because of the extraordinary costs involved. The project would cut across southern Thailand to link the Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Thailand, saving maritime traffic from having to use the Malacca Strait.
The MTP is also offering to serve up an even larger entree of populist spending programs, including a significant expansion of the previous government's universal health care scheme, doubling the size of the previous government's 1 million cows policy to 2 million cattle, and a richer universal education scheme, including free food, uniforms and textbooks for schoolchildren.
Prachai, who famously defaulted on billions of dollars worth of debts held by foreign banks in the wake of the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis, and who also helped to finance the anti-government rallies which contributed to Thaksin's demise, has let it be known he expects to be appointed finance minister in exchange for delivering his elected MPs to any Democrat-led coalition government.
Moreover, his pitched battle with foreign creditors to retain control of his indebted companies, and his recent statement that Thailand needs to follow the strong state-led economic models seen in Singapore and Malaysia, have already raised reservations among some foreign analysts about a new wave of market-distorting economic nationalism if Prachai has significant sway over the next government's economic policymaking.
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http://www.asiasentinel.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=809&Itemid=31
Tycoon Politics Return to Thailand
Daniel Ten Kate
31 October 2007
The man who lost a giant company in a long-running battle with creditors has stormed into the Thai election fray by advocating the creation of a welfare state.
With Thailand’s first election since last year’s coup less than two months away, the wild card looks to be Prachai Leophairatana, the man who oversaw Thailand’s biggest corporate bankruptcy and then fought a 10-year battle to get his failed company, once known as Thai Petrochemical Industry, or TPI, back in his grasp.
The long-time businessman is spending millions, if not billions, of baht, on the upcoming election and is borrowing a page from the playbook of deposed Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra by promising the world to the poor. He is spreading a message of compassion and government welfare that will “take care of people from the cradle to the grave,” in his words.
So what are his abundant, seemingly unrealistic, promises all about? Many analysts say Prachai simply wants to buy back the company, now known as IRPC, which he founded in 1978. TPI fell into a river of red ink on Prachai’s misguided expansion plans and was the subject of a spectacular battle between the tycoon and national and international creditors who lost as much as US$$3.5 billion.
“Winning back his company is an open secret,” Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a political scientist at Chulalongkorn University, said of Prachai's foray into politics. “That’s the objective and it’s blatant.”
Local news reports say Prachai wants the company returned at 3.3 baht per share – the same price state-run oil firm PTT paid when it took a majority stake two years ago in a court-approved buyout. IRPC shares are now trading for twice that.
But Prachai denies that he wants to buy IRPC. He says he is simply joining the political fray “because everyone else did such a bad job running the country.”
“The TPI matter compared with national interests is very small,” he told a small group of reporters in a wide-ranging interview on Tuesday. “The TPI case is in the courts already…. I have no more debt burden. TPI was robbed by the Thaksin government, but the past is the past.”
In a political world where money equals power, Prachai has suddenly become a force. He is one of the few major money men among the hodgepodge of parties that sit somewhere between the country’s two more prominent political ones: The neo-liberal Democrats and the populist People’s Power Party, which is comprised of loyalists to deposed prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
Four parties – Prachai’s Matchimatippatai (Middle Path Democracy), Pua Paendin (For the Motherland), Ruamjai Thai Chat Pattana (United Thai Developing the Nation) and Pracharaj (Citizen) – have sprung up from lawmakers who formerly sat under the giant umbrella of Thaksin’s Thai Rak Thai party, which was dissolved by a military-run court in May.
Prachai has had a hand in the composition of all of them, and is just now starting to take a more overt role as leader of Matchimatippatai after lurking behind the scenes over the past two years.
After finally losing TPI to PTT in July 2005 following nearly a decade of court battles, Prachai started funding anti-Thaksin protests led by outspoken publisher Sondhi Limthongkul. (“I helped a little bit” with funding Sondhi’s protests, Prachai said with a laugh.) The protests peaked after Thaksin’s family sold its stake in Shin Corp to Singapore’s Temasek Holdings for US$2 billion in a largely tax-free deal, which forced the premier to call an early election.
After a court nullified the April 2006 election, the protests never really gained momentum again. On August 3 of that year, Prachai joined veteran politician Sanoh Thienthong, a renowned kingmaker during the time of weak coalition governments in the 1990s, for the launch of the Pracharaj party.
“Originally nobody dared to fight Thaksin,” Prachai said of why he joined up with Sanoh.
But Prachai’s stint as party secretary-general didn’t last long. After the coup, which Prachai says was all “pre-arranged,” he announced he was stepping down from his position in Pracharaj to go back into business, saying that his mission to topple Thaksin had been accomplished.
“At the time, I expected [appointed Prime Minister] Surayud [Chulanont] to do his job properly, but he ran the economy into the ground,” Prachai said.
News reports trickled out that said Surayud resisted calls from Prachai’s allies in the military and the National Legislative Assembly to offer the industrial tycoon his company back at 3.3 baht per share. Prachai said the reports were false: “The government didn’t want to do anything [with IRPC], and I don’t care.”
Continued in next post
http://www.asiasentinel.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=809&Itemid=31
Tycoon Politics Return to Thailand
Daniel Ten Kate
31 October 2007 - Continued from previous post
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http://www.asiasentinel.com/images/stories/smoothgallery/OCT2007/prachai.jpg
[Photo: Asian Sentinel]
Neo-Welfare State
Since the election date was announced, Prachai has come back to the political arena in force. In the interview, he spoke bluntly about the tumultuous world of Thai politics and his own aspirations. His own party has laid out an ambitious agenda that makes Thaksin’s populist efforts look meager by comparison. Matchimatippatai plans to offer many things for free, including elementary and secondary education, university, school lunches, uniforms, textbooks, health care and medicine. It also plans to lower taxes – a move Prachai says would widen the tax base and increase state revenues – and immediately increase civil servant wages by 5,000 baht ($143) per month in a bid to stamp out corruption.
“Thaksin’s populism is totally different from my policies,” Prachai said. “Populism is just temporary to get votes while our policy is more long term.”
To pay for the policies, Prachai intends to strip out spending on mass transit projects from the government’s 400 billion baht ($11.76 billion) annual investment budget and amortize the cost over 30 years. This, he says, would free up capital for the government to spend directly on the public.
“Everyone thought of populism, but nobody thought of the welfare state,” he boasted. “Right now we have no welfare state and people are so poor. But we won’t go to the extreme where it creates unemployment.”
“We will be in the government”
Matchimatippatai comprises a unique mix of lawmakers that is typical of fickle post-Thaksin politics. About half of the group comprises members of Somsak Thepsutin’s Matchima faction that used to join with Thaksin, and the other half consists of former members of publisher Sondhi Limthongkul’s People’s Alliance of Democracy that fought against Thaksin.
“Most of our party members are from Thaksin’s party,” Prachai said. “All the grassroots people [in the Northeast] belong to us. We’ve just changed the head.”
The outspoken Prachai still has strong words for both the Democrats and Thaksin. He called former Democrat finance minister Tarrin Nimmanhaeminda a “traitor” for helping to enact tough financial laws after the 1997 crisis, and said Thaksin “tried to nationalize my property and then tried to privatize it to line his own pockets.”
Nonetheless, he said, those past grievances would not prevent him from joining up with the Democrats, PPP or any other party to form the next coalition government. Prachai believed his party could win 120 seats in the 480-seat legislature, putting him in a position to potentially be prime minister in the unlikely scenario that he beats both the Democrats and PPP on December 23. Either way, he plans to join with the winners.
“I don’t want to be in opposition,” Prachai said. “We’ll be in the government…. I will join with the Democrats, Pua Paendin, PPP or anyone else. You can never tell in politics.”
If his party doesn’t win the largest number of votes, Prachai is hoping he can come in second with enough weight to win the finance portfolio. That would put him in charge of the largest shareholder of PTT, which is in turn the largest shareholder in Prachai’s former company.
“I need to be finance minister to push through our policies,” he said.
Not just an ATM
Just as Thaksin did when he formed Thai Rak Thai, Prachai has used cash to quickly form alliances. He freely admits that the election may end up costing him a few billion baht (at least US$58.8 million), but insists he’s not simply an automated teller machine for politicians.
“I will pay for what is proper,” said Prachai, adding that 1.5 million baht (about $44,000) is enough to finance the campaign of one lawmaker.
“Anymore than that they just put in their pocket,” he said, referring to MPs who constantly switch parties looking for the highest payout. “Why should I pay for that? I also love my money. If they don’t like me, I don’t care.”
Prachai, who declined to reveal his net worth, recently terminated his relationship with Pracharaj’s Sanoh after he asked the veteran politician to step down as party leader.
“I asked Sanoh to step down, but he refused,” said the 63-year-old Prachai. “I cannot sell him to the public as the head of the party. I don’t want to invest in someone who I cannot sell.”
At one point, Pua Paendin nearly managed to rope in Pracharaj and Matchimatippatai into one large party, but Prachai said he wouldn’t finance all the members and the potential merger fell through.
Despite saying he would join a coalition with either the Democrats or Pua Paendin, Prachai also took jabs at the rival parties. He called Democrat leader Abhisit Vejjajiva “a young kid” and claimed the party was receiving help from Privy Council President General Prem Tinsulanonda, a former prime minister who commands wide respect among the Thai public.
“The Democrats are controlling the game,” Prachai said. “The unofficial head of the party is Prem Tinsulanonda, who ordered everyone to take care of them.”
Prachai also claimed the military was forcing leading Thai companies to fund the Pua Paendin party.
“Pua Paendin belongs to the military so we cannot afford to merge with them,” Prachai said. “Thai people don’t want military people running the country.”
Sondhi Limthongkul is still a “very good” friend, Prachai said, adding that he now has a good relationship with Somkid Jatusripitak, a key leader in the Ruam Jai Thai Chat Pattana party who headed Thaksin’s economic team when PTT took over TPI.
He even signaled that he could set aside his differences with Thaksin.
“What’s past is past and I look only to the future,” Prachai said. “If we need to fight we will fight, but after the fighting we need to forgive the past.”
“Singapore is the best model”
So what would a Prachai Leophairatana administration look like? In what may come as a surprise given the anti-Singaporean overtones of the anti-Thaksin protests last year, Prachai sees the island nation as an ideal model for Thailand—not unlike the deposed Thaksin.
“Singapore is the best model,” Prachai said. “If we follow that model, Thailand will be a very powerful country.”
“If [Singapore founder] Mr. Lee Kuan Yew could do it, so could Mr. Prachai Leophairatana,” he added.
Prachai hopes higher civil servant wages will lead to an efficient, corruption-free government that is similar to that in Singapore. Meanwhile, his new “welfare state” would increase the standard of living among Thais, he claims.
Human rights workers may be wary not only of Prachai’s fondness of Singapore, but also for how he would deal with the military junta in neighboring Burma that brutally shot down peaceful protestors about a month ago in the largest pro-democracy demonstrations since 1988.
“I don’t want Myanmar to interfere in Thailand’s business,” he said. “Myanmar has some very clever people with wealth. They can solve their own problems.”
The petrochemicals entrepreneur added that Thailand, which receives about a third of the country’s gas from Burma, is not overly dependent on the rogue state.
“Myanmar depends on us because we are the consumer,” Prachai said. “We can cooperate. They are happy and we are also happy.”
Prachai is also against privatization of state enterprises, a stance that’s not surprising given what happened with TPI. In a veiled reference to his former company, he said: “If we are a capitalist country then we have to return private assets to the private sector. We are not a communist country.”
Along those lines, he said his party is not “against foreigners.”
“We’ll encourage foreigners to invest in Thailand but to come clean and not use nominees,” Prachai said. “We’ll try to make everybody happy.”
Indeed, making everyone happy seems to be Prachai’s strategy as he heads into the election. It remains to be seen whether he is simply a paper tiger or if he can muster up enough votes in two months to become a political heavyweight.
“We’ll wait to see which party gets the most votes and then form the government very fast,” Prachai said. “It can be done overnight. Everyone knows each other; everybody should be happy.”
Education is made new party's watchword
Published on November 3, 2007
The Matchimathipataya Party's slogan for its campaign rallies will be "Good-hearted Uncle Prachai: Free education up to bachelor's degree" to highlight its education policies, party leader Prachai Leophairatana said yesterday.
Prachai said the party would hold its first rally in Chiang Mai on Thursday, to be followed by a rally in Bangkok on November 17.
"All party rallies will be under the slogan 'Good-hearted Uncle Prachai: Free education up to bachelor's degree' in order to woo young voters," he said.
Prachai said he planned to hold major rallies in Nakhon Sawan, Udon Thani, Ubon Ratchathani and Nakhon Pathom, but none in the South, considered the Democrats' stronghold, because he did not want to clash with the Democrat Party.
The party's policies on education include free schooling from kindergarten through undergraduate level, halting the policy to make universities autonomous, raising salaries of education personnel and a 10-year debt moratorium for teachers, he said.
Prachai said he had put party candidate Thawatchai Sajjakul in charge of campaigning in all 12 constituencies in Bangkok, where his party expects to win all 36 House seats.
He was optimistic that party secretary-general Anongwan Thepsuthin would secure victory in direct as well as proportionate voting in Sukhothai.
Prachai said the party expected no adverse impact from the Wadah faction's decision on Thursday to team up with People Power Party since it had not planned to campaign in the South.
"Matchimathipataya will field some candidates in the South, but does not expect to campaign hard," he said.
Thawatchai said his Bangkok constituents appeared enthusiastic about his party's policies.
"My constituents have asked a lot of questions about the economy and this led me to devise a campaign strategy to promote my party leader Prachai, an experienced hand in business and economics, as the next prime minister," he said.
The party denied news reports about the appointment of Somsak Thepsuthin as its campaign manager, saying that Somsak could not hold any executive position because of his five-year ban from politics related to the court order that disbanded the Thai Rak Thai Party for committing electoral fraud.
It said the former Thai Rak Thai executive offered advice, but was not involved in campaigning.
The Nation
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/11/03/politics/politics_30054769.php
It almost goes without saying that they would run the country the same way too!:
01 December 2007
Irate pick-up drivers protest against Matchima Thipataya
More than 200 pick-up drivers who helped run the Matchima Thipataya Party’s election campaigns protested in front of the TPI building on Sathorn Road, claiming that they have not received their compensations from the party over the past four days. The angry drivers parked their vehicles in front of the TPI building, causing difficulties for other commuters to pass by.
Until recently, the Matchima Thipataya Party agreed to pay them, allowing the demonstrators to dissolve. However, the frustrated drivers insist that they will never help Matchima Thipataya’s Member of Parliament (MP) candidates run their campaigns again. They say the party should contact them directly rather than using middlemen.
Reporter : RTI-Reporter03
http://thainews.prd.go.th/newsenglish/previewnews.php?news_id=255012010014
It almost goes without saying that they would run the country the same way too!:
http://thainews.prd.go.th/newsenglish/previewnews.php?news_id=255012010014
Prachai guilty of stock manipulation but still in the race
Matchima Thipataya Party leader Prachai Leophairatana was found guilty of violating the stock market regulations and sentenced to three years in jail on Monday. He remains in the race pending the appellate review.
The shares manipulation happened in 2003 when Prachai was the chief executive officer of TPI, the umbrella group of TPI Polene which then applied to become a listed company.
The Criminal Court ruled in favour of the public prosecutors that Prachai and his stock broker Chienchuang Kalayanamitr had conspired to mislead the initial public offering relating to the valuation of TPI Polene at Bt91 billion amounting to Bt89 per share.
Prachai did not step forward to clarify the questionable valuation.
Chienchuan also received the threeyear jail term. His brokerage house and Prachai's TPI were each fined Bt6.9 billion.
The Nation
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/read.php?newsid=30058121
http://thainews.prd.go.th/newsenglish/top/prachai.jpg
[Photo: PRD]
Prachai resigns from Matchimathipataya
(BangkokPost.com) - Prachai Leophairatana announced his resignation from Matchimathipataya party on Tuesday, a day after he was found guilty of manipulating shares in TPI Polene Plc.
Mr Prachai also stepped down from the party leader.
(More to follow!)
Link may expire:
http://www.bangkokpost.com/breaking_news/breakingnews.php?id=124213
Prachai resigns as leader of Matchima Thipataya
Matchima Thipataya Party leader Prachai Leophairatana resigns from his party on Tuesday after the Criminal Court found him guilty of violating stock market regulations and sentenced him to three years in jail on Monday.
Prachai announced his resignation at about 11.30am and added he is out of the election race.
The party held an urgent meeting shortly afterwards.
The court ruling disqualified Prachai from becoming a Cabinet member, but he was still able to run for an MP's seat in the December 23 election.
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/read.php?newsid=30058205
Earlier in the morning. It strikes me that the main cause of Prachai's problems is his own mouth and his tendency to play by no rules at all!:
Old power clique blamed for Prachai’s problems
(BangkokPost.com) – Spokesperson of Matchimathipataya party, Dr Narong Piriya-anek accused the old power clique of being behind party leader Prachai Leophairatana’s political quagmire.
Dr Narong Piriya-anek said that Mr Prachai had always fought with the old power clique for social justice and that it was now “payback time.”
He then stressed that Mr Prachai has not been barred from politics after he was charged by the Criminal Court over the manipulation of TPI Polene Plc’s share price and sentenced to three years in jail.
Mr Prachai would still be allowed to be an MP if elected after the poll, but will be banned from being appointed as a cabinet minister in the next government.
“We still don’t know the truth behind all of this so Mr Prachai is still regarded as innocent. He is a straightforward sort of person and because of that he has always rubbed opponents from the former government the wrong way,” said Dr Narong.
He went on to praise Mr Prachai for his many qualities which he said “were the key to solving the country’s problems”, insisting Mr Prachai should not bow down to pressure for him to stand down as the unofficial leader of Matchimathipataya party.
“There are still a large number of people who still believe in him, who understand his plight and don’t want to see him resign. He will give a press conference this morning and I really think members of the old power should stop with their dirty political games.”
Link may expire:
http://www.bangkokpost.com/breaking_news/breakingnews.php?id=124210
Prachai U-turns on political decision
(BangkokPost.com) – In a sudden turnaround to Tuesday morning’s political drama, Prachai Leophairatana has asked for 2-3 more days to decide whether he should resign as a member of Matchimathipataya party.
This morning, the petrochemical-tycoon-turned-politician announced his resignation from Matchimathipataya party of which he is its unofficial leader. The move followed the Criminal Court’s decision on Monday to sentence him to three years behind bars over the manipulation of TPI Polene Plc’s (TPIPL) share price.
Members of Matchimathipataya party voted unanimously to allow Mr Prachai to continue serving as party leader. In a sign of gratitude for their support, he thanked them and asked for a few more days to decide what to do.
“There are some well-respected individuals who are against the idea of me being the party leader,” he said.
Meanwhile, Election Commission (EC) member Sodsri Sattayatham affirmed that Mr Prachai's resignation is not yet official despite this morning's announcement that he would step down.
“Party executives need to forward his resignation letter to the Election Commission first before his resignation is legally accepted,” she explained.
“Once it is official, all election posters and billboards of him need to be brought down or the party faces disciplinary action,” she said.
Link may expire:
http://www.bangkokpost.com/breaking_news/breakingnews.php?id=124219
See previous post on Prachai's political U-turn:
Link may expire:
http://www.bangkokpost.com/breaking_news/breakingnews.php?id=124219
TPI Polene shares hit the floor
Published on December 5, 2007
Investors flee after Bt6.9-bn fine against cement-maker
The share price of TPI Polene (TPIPL) plunged to the floor yesterday, amid investor concerns over hefty fines against the company following a court verdict and despite the company's pledge to appeal the judgement.
The stock fell Bt3.95 or 29.92 per cent to Bt9.25.
TPIPL shares resumed trading in the afternoon after the cement firm notified the Stock Exchange of Thailand of its decision to appeal against the Criminal Court's judgement.
TPIPL was fined Bt6.9 billion on Monday for violation of the securities law in 2004, while its founder Prachai Leophairatana was sentenced to a three-year jail term without probation.
"The judgement imposing a fine against the company and the punishment against Prachai Leophairatana, as a director of the company, shall not have any effect on the management and operation of the company," senior executive vice president Orapin Leophairatana said.
"The company does not have to pay any fine unless a final judgement is delivered that the defendants have committed offences."
At a separate event, Prachai - leader of the Matchima Thipataya Party - said he would fight the verdict, which bars him from holding a Cabinet post.
Despite a negative short-term outlook, securities houses still believe TPIPL will weather the storm because of its huge capital base. As the case will take years to reach the final stage, even if the company has to pay the fine, it will have time to raise the necessary funds.
However, in the short term, the company could face risks related to its ongoing debt restructuring.
Brokerage houses expect the company to set aside reserves for the Bt6.9-billion fines in the current quarter. They also expect the reserves to hit the firm's financial position, and recommend investors to sell the stock.
Asia Plus Securities said in a report that the reserve would push TPIPL into the red to the tune of Bt2.55 billion. It made a net profit of Bt4.53 billion in the first nine months of the year.
The securities firm also expects an impact on the company's ongoing Bt8.44-billion debt restructuring as well as other investment plans. TPIPL plans to refinance its Bt8.44-billion debts by the end of the year.
Kim Eng Securities (Thailand) said that if TPIPL were required to pay the fine now, its debts would rise to Bt21 billion while the delayed debt restructuring would increase its interest expenses. While interest costs were estimated at Bt586 million this year, the amount would rise to Bt1.33 billion. This would deplete the company's 2008 earnings to Bt1.41 billion from the earlier estimate of Bt2.15 billion.
"Although the ruling will not have an impact on the company's existing operation, it would impact the fair value," said Credit Lyonnais Asia Securities.
"It is true that the case will be appealed and the Bt6.9-billion fine is not a certainty. However, the worst-case scenario here is for the company to be fined this much, and that is equivalent to Bt3.40 per share against our previous fair price of Bt20 a share."
The securities house cut TPIPL's target price down to Bt12, taking into account the fine of Bt3.40 per share.
The Nation
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/12/05/business/business_30058247.php
See previous post on Prachai's political U-turn:
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/12/05/business/business_30058247.php
Prachai may face contempt hearing
Published on December 5, 2007
Things have gone seriously wrong for Matchima Thipataya Party leader Prachai Leophairatana, who was sentenced by the Criminal Court on Monday to three years in jail for stock manipulation.
He risks being charged with contempt of court and libel related to his fiery remarks following the court's sentence.
The Criminal Court yesterday summoned the embattled Prachai to testify in a hearing on Friday before ruling on whether to hold him for contempt relating to his remarks about his conviction being influenced by the "old power" clique, the euphemism for the ousted Thaksin Shinawatra administration.
People Power Party deputy secretary-general Noppadon Pattama, who is also a legal adviser to former prime minister Thaksin, said Thaksin's legal team would also sue Prachai for libel.
Election Commissioner Sodsri Satayatham meanwhile said: "The Election Commission [EC] will summon Prachai to clarify his remark last week that EC officers demanded Bt60 million from him.
"If he does not clarify his accusation and does not send a written apology to the EC, the commission will also sue him, she said.
Prachai was sentenced on Monday before his temporary release on bail pending his appellate review.
He blamed his unfavourable verdict on the ousted government that still wielded formidable influence across the country.
Court clerk Than Boonya-tulanont said chief justice Withoon Khlongmeekhun wanted Prachai to clarify whether he meant the court lacked impartiality.
Prachai announced his resignation from his party membership publicly yesterday. However, he changed his mind later, saying he would decide in a few days.
Prachai was speaking after a meeting with his wife Orapin, his younger brother Pramuan Leophairatana, his deputies Sunthorn Wilawan and Intarat Yodbangtoey and secretary-general Anongwan Thepsuthin. About 50 MP candidates also attended the meeting. Anong-wan refused to accept Prachai's resignation letter.
Meanwhile, the meeting tried to give Prachai moral support. Some candidates also laid prostrate at his feet to convince him to remain as party leader.
"Fight on, billionaire fighter. Don't leave your subordinates to die," shouted MP candidates in the meeting.
The meeting told the media that it supported Prachai's leadership unanimously.
Orapin said she would respect Prachai's decision. It was Prachai's first time in politics and she begged people to protect her husband's life.
It remains unclear whether Prachai will be allowed to remove himself from the race. Election law stipulates a mandatory stay after allocating ballot numbers. But a campaigning provision also stipulates that every candidate must adopt a party's banner to qualify for the race. If Prachai has already resigned his membership, he might be able to quit the race because of disqualification.
Sodsri said Prachai must file the resignation letter to the party's registrar and could let his deputy take care of his work.
When the resignation is complete, he will be disqualified for the election and only nine candidates will remain in the party's proportionate MP candidate lists for Zone 6.
However, the EC will inform Bangkok authorities to remove Prachai's campaign posters as they might be considered as deceiving people and which punishment could mean the party's dissolution, she said.
Matchima Thipataya director, Arak Rojnutama said the party had begun removing some posters to protect the party. The posters featured the picture of Prachai alone as proportionate MP candidate.
Kesinee Taengkhieo,
Attayuth Butrsripoom
The Nation
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/12/05/headlines/headlines_30058279.php
05 December 2007
Lawyer of Dr. Thaksin to take legal action against Mr. Prachai
Deposed Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra (ทักษิณ ชินวัตร)'s legal adviser, Mr. Noppadol Pattama, plans to file a lawsuit against former Matchima Thipataya Party leader Prachai Leophairatana (ประชัย เลี่ยวไพรัตน์) for libel next week.
According to lawyer Noppadol’s allegation, Mr. Prachai claimed that ousted Prime Minister Thaksin influenced the court in order for him to be imprisoned for three years and fined 6.9 billion baht. In response, Mr. Noppadol says no figures can interfere with the court in reality, and his client still has many legal cases to deal with.
However, Mr. Noppadol says the intention of this lawsuit is to protect his client’s rights and credibility, not to create adversaries.
Reporter : RTI-Reporter03
http://thainews.prd.go.th/newsenglish/previewnews.php?news_id=255012050005
TPI to delay debt restructuring plans
(BangkokPost.com) – Thai Petrochemical Industry (TPI), the third largest cement manufacturer in Thailand, will postpone plans to refinance its 8 billion baht debt to next year.
The debt restructuring process was due to have been completed by the end of this year.
TPI founder Prachai Leophairatana, who last week was found guilty by the Criminal Court and sentenced to three years in jail over the manipulation of shares of TPIPL, a subsidiary of TPI, confirmed reports that the refinancing scheme had been delayed.
“We will request authorization from the Central Bankruptcy Court for the refinancing scheme to be put off until next year,” Mr Prachai said.
“We will have to await the court’s decision on this request.”
TPIPL shares fell by 6.49 percent on Thursday morning at 8.65 points after taking the lowest dive to hit 8.50 baht. The drop in share prices goes against the overall market climate which enjoyed a 1.14 percent gain not long after the Stock Exchange of Thailand began trading this morning.
TPIPL shares began to decrease in value since Tuesday after the Criminal Court sentenced Mr Prachai to a 3-year jail term and fined TPIPL 6.9 billion baht.
Link may expire:
http://www.bangkokpost.com/breaking_news/breakingnews.php?id=124263
Prachai's about turn to lead and contest the polls
Matchima Thipataya Party leader Prachai Leophairatana on Thursday rescinded his resignation and reaffirmed to continue leading his party to contest the December 23 election.
"All party members have given their moral supports to my leadership, hence I will continue to serve them," he said.
Prachai spoke following a meeting with ranking party members and partylist and constituency candidates who turned out in full force to ask him to reconsider his decision to leave the party.
He said he is back in the race, quelling speculation about his party's disintegration ahead of the polls.
The Nation
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/read.php?newsid=30058376
Prachai gets 1 month in jail for contempt
(BangkokPost.com) - The Criminal Court on Friday sentenced Prachai Leophairatana to one month in jail for contempt of court with no suspension.
Mr Prachai, founder of Thai Petrochemical Industry (TPI), was slapped last week with a three year jail term for manipulation of share prices of TPI Polene Plc (TPIPL). The Criminal Court also fined TPIPL 6.9 billion baht.
Mr Prachai, who insisted he was innocent, accused the court of being manipulated by former premier Thaksin Shinawatra.
Mr Prachai appeared tense after the verdict refusing to give any interviews.
He was later released on a 20,000-baht bail.
Link may expire:
http://www.bangkokpost.com/breaking_news/breakingnews.php?id=124297
Prachai found guilty for contempt and Matchima in limbo
The Matchima Thipataya Party is in limbo on Friday after the Criminal Court sentenced its embattled leader Prachai Leophairatana to serve one month in jail for contempt.
Prachai immediately sought and received the temporary release by posting Bt20,000 cash for bail in order to avoid stepping inside the cell before he would have a chance to petition for his appellate review.
Under the election law, Prachai faces automatic disqualification from the race if he was imprisoned for any duration under a court order.
Prachai was found guilty for contempt after criticising his Monday's conviction for stock manipulation as an unfair decision influenced by the "old power" clique, the euphemism for the Thaksin Shinawatra government.
The court ruled that it found no cause to grant leniency as Prachai portrayed the judicial review as unfair and under the influence of former prime minister Thaksin.
"Prachai is a well educated man with an important position in the political party, hence there is no justification to suspend his jail term," the court said in its ruling.
In his defence, Prachai showed remorse during the court's hearing and issued his deepest apology for his remarks.
On Thursday's evening, Prachai convened a high level party meeting to sort out party affairs ahead of his court session.
He reportedly told his party's candidates that they had to campaign on their own without his financial support while he tried to resolve his legal wrangling.
He also banned his deputy Thanaporn Sriyakul from entering the party's headquarters on suspicion of acting like a spy for Thaksin.
He put a distance between himself and the Matchima faction members, including his party secretary general Anongwan Thepsuthin.
Anongwan closed down her office in Prachai's TPI building hours before the court session.
The Nation
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/12/07/politics/politics_30058513.php
Wisarut
08-12-07, 08:04 PM
Even though Prachai got 1-month in jail for court contempt ... he got bailed out ... and his wife has to make public apology ...
ONLY somsak Thepsuthin gains from the series of Miseries of Prachai ... and Sanoh and CNS are goign to dump Prachai since he had ruined the plan to precvent Ai Maew, Ai samak and PPP gaining the puower back by his own hot tempered.
Ai Samak is also facing the court for the libel suit filed by the former deputy BMA Governor from Democrat sicne Ai Samak has accusedd Deputy Governor on Corruption charges .... This libel case is now at Appeal court ... after the Criminal Court has delivered Guilty verdict to AI Ai Samak
Furthermore, If the court has found that AI Samak and PPP men has fabricated the "secret plan" documents ... He'll face antoehr chage of fabricating the government documents.
The case of fabrcatign signature to render the Democrat candidate of MP disqualified from election ... is also lead into the case of PPP Party Dissolution ...
If Samak failed to gat a bail on time, he will be disquafied from runnign the election .... since he got the prison term due to the criminal charges ...
Never expect that Ai Samak will get a bail on time since PPP men are going to dump Ai Samak after they wat waht they want sicner they know that This Big Mouth is a loose cannon whcih cold wrech havoc to theri plan to get power back. Furthermore CNS men (Bing Bung included) are goign Ai Samak on a chopping block, as requested by Papa Prem ...
Thaksin is trying to set up the Creconciled National Government and drawe a truce with Papa Prem ... Howeverr, papa Prem say NO truce for a man like Ai Maew and his cronies.
http://thaiinsider.info/portal/content/view/5076/23/
Matchima edges towards break-up
Published on December 9, 2007
The likelihood that the Matchima Thipataya Party, headed by the embattled Prachai Leophairatana, will disintegrate has risen after financial support for many MP candidates was cut off.
Prachai, who is facing a three-year jail term for stock manipulation, is currently supporting only candidates who were previously part of the People's Alliance for Democracy, including Karun Sai-ngam, Somboon Thong-buran, Nirun Pitakwatchara and Maleerat Kaewka.
Prachai has stopped providing funds to members of the Somsak Thepsuthin faction due to a conflict involving one of the faction's MP candidates.
However, Rattanaporn Thammakosol, a Bangkok MP candidate, yesterday said Prachai had not called it quits as he still chaired the party's executive meetings to help candidates contesting the December 23 poll.
She said Prachai and deputy party leader Amarin Khoman would focus on Bangkok constituencies, while other senior party figures will help those contesting in provinces.
Party sources said Prachai had cut off financial support for candidates of the Somsak faction after Thanaporn Sriyakul alleged that he failed to pay Bt60 million in promised funding.
Rachot Pisitbannakorn, a deputy secretary-general, said Somsak - a former key executive of disbanded Thai Rak Thai Party - had already sought funding from other sources.
"Our faction should win 37 or 38 House seats mainly in constituencies in Sukhothai, Chai Nat, Nakhon Sawan and Surin provinces, because most of our candidates are former MPs and heads of local government organisations," he said.
"In this election, small parties such as Matchima will be quite crucial, since no major party will win the majority to form a one-party government and a coalition government needs support from small parties."
Party secretary-general Anongwan Thepsuthin meanwhile denied she and supporters were leaving the party due to the conflict with Prachai.
However, Anongwan, wife of Somsak, who is facing a five-year ban on political activity, admitted that the sentence against Prachai had diminished the party's electoral chances.
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/12/09/politics/politics_30038729.php
I believe Uncle Prachai is also suffering from a bad ticker:
POLENE
Prachai sells 30.75 mn shares of Polene
According to the Securities and Exchange Commission, Prachai Leophairatana, director and major shareholder of TPI Polene has sold 30.75 million shares of the company for Bt8.35 per share via the stock market yesterday.
The total transaction value was Bt256.76 million. - The Nation
Siriporn Chanjindamanee
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/12/13/business/business_30058998.php
1,000 Ubon Ratchathani villagers led by Matchima candidate lay siege to TPI head office
Somkiat Naiwikul, a candidate of Matchima Thippataya candidate for Ubon Ratchathani, led some 1,000 villagers to rally outside the TPI Plc head office to demand party leader Prachai Leophairat to pay for election campaign expense.
Somkiat said if Prachai refused to pay him and other Matchima candidates in Ubon Ratchathani for the election expenses, he would file complaints with the Election Commission alleging Prachai with having spent the money to buy votes.
The Nation
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/read.php?newsid=30059245
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