Thailand wants to 'properly' buy back satellites

The Straits Times, February 20, 2007


THAILAND wants to 'properly' buy back ShinSat's satellites from Temasek Holdings, Thai military junta leader General Sonthi Boonyaratglin said on Tuesday, ruling out any sudden seizure.

Speaking to reporters after a meeting of the powerful Council for National Security (CNS), General Sonthi said: 'The possible way to retrieve the satellites is to buy them, although the plan to get them back is still not clear.'

Asked whether the military would seize control of the satellites, he said: 'We will do no such thing. That would hurt the system of international trade. We will only do things the right way'.

The tone of his comments on Tuesday were far more conciliatory compared to last weekend, when General Sonthi had called the satellites 'national assets which should not simply be taken away from the Thai people'.

He said plainly then that he wanted the satellites back, alleging that Singapore could monitor Thai army phone calls through its control of Shin Corp which also dominates Thailand's mobile phone market.

Shin Satellite (ShinSat) is a unit of Thai telecom giant Shin Corp in which Singapore's Temasek Holdings has a controlling stake.

Adding his voice to fresh sentiments that the satellite saga could end with a business deal was Minister for Information and Communication Technology Sitthichai Pookaiyaudom who told journalists on Tuesday that Thai officials and Temasek have been in informal discussions and that 'if Temasek gets a good price, it will sell Shin Satellite'.

Mr Sitthichai said Thai officials had estimated the value of ShinSat at 5-7 baht per share. Its shares closed yesterdat at 7.75 Baht.

'We need to talk more with Temasek. It's not final yet,' the minister said, declining to give further details.

There was no immediate comment from Temasek.

Mr Sittichai also said a poll by the National Statistical Office would gauge Thai public opinion to determine if a majority wanted the satellites to be controlled by Thailand rather than Singapore.

If more than 75 per cent of the public supported the move, the ministry would take action, he said.

But if only 50 per cent of the public said they wanted the satellites back, the ministry would not act.

'The decision will depend on the public's feeling and opinions. The issue is very delicate and affects public sentiment. We have to be very careful in how we proceed,' Mr Sitthichai said, adding that recent opinion polls had shown some 70-80 per cent of the public wanted the satellites back.

Temasek had paid US$3.8billion for its stake in Shin Corp. Shin Satellite, whose share prices have fallen by around 50 per cent since early 2006, is currently worth around US $200million at market prices.

Temasek's 41 per cent holding in ShinSat through Shin Corp, is worth about US$85m at current market prices.

Temasek's purchase of the Shin Corp stake from the family of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra in January 2006 had set off massive protests.

The deal catalysed the anti-Thaksin movement in Bangkok, which spawned a political stalemate eventually leading to the military's intervention in a coup d'etat in September 2006.

Thailand's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been in recent days struggling to downplay any rift in Thai-Singapore bilateral ties.

At a seminar at Chulalongkorn University yesterday, on business and political links between the two countris, a senior official said the issue of ShinSat should be 'delinked from overall bilateral relations.'