Bangkok--Mar 8--SET
During the “Top Executives’ Networking Forum 2005”organized by Federation of Thai Capital Market Organizations (FeTCO) in Phuket on March 4, the forum was opened with a discussion on “What Can the Capital Market Do For State Enterprises?”. All the speakers agreed that new capital generated through the capital market certainly would help push the state enterprises forward while enabling them to compete more efficiently against their rivals. It is also a step that will help develop entire organizations; from the top executives to the operations staff, as well as enable the organizations to more efficiently utilize the country’s resources.
Mr. Mingkwan Sangsuwan, President of MCOT Plc. (MCOT) said that its recent listing on The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) has enabled MCOT to expand its business considerably both in the television and radio sectors, leading to a big leap in its revenues during the past year.
What is more, without MCOT’s public listing, the pursuit of the company’s vision and business plan to become a modern global TV station would have been confronted with several additional hurdles, especially when it came to the joint ventures and business re-structuring it intends to pursue. The registration of new units to handle these pursuits would have been another hurdle.
Dr. Sathit Limpongpan, Chairman of the Board of Directors of TOT Corporation Pcl., said that TOT expects that the increase in its capital that TOT received by listing on the SET this year will bring about 3 major turnarounds, namely, in strategy, operations and finance. These changes will help TOT expand its telecommunications business into a more comprehensive system, like a telecom supermarket, which will encompass basic, public and wireless telephone services; Internet broadband and a multimedia system.
Furthermore, since TOT will become a registered company, its executives strived more to improve their work efficiency because shareholders will be keeping a close eye on them. Consequently, TOT’s listing should surely attract a considerable number of investors.
From the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT), a large state enterprise in Thailand, Mr. Kraisri Karnasuta, EGAT’s Governor, said that EGAT is now ready to be listed on the SET in October. Currently, more than 80% of its employees understand the importance of the capital increase and the move will help push the organization to grow further, with more stable operations. They also understand that the capital increase will provide EGAT with adequate capital to build more power plants over the next 5 years without negatively affecting the employees’ conditions. Besides, the listing will allow both its employees and the entire country a chance to co-own EGAT.
Mr. Banyong Pongpanich, Chairman of Phatra Securities Plc., explained that the listing of state enterprises on the stock exchange will greatly benefit consumers, as they will be offered better quality products and will be able to inspect the operations and performances of listed companies more easily and comprehensively. The listed company’s employees will also benefit from improved efficiency as a result of the company’s expansion, which, in turn, should lead to better remuneration. The listing on the stock market of state enterprises will also help develop the country’s capital market further.
Furthermore, the 3 agencies have also expressed their sense of responsibility for the greater society, and have all agreed that becoming listing will help them pursue their social roles more effectively.
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