New State Enterprise Policy Office panel to manage securities

The State Enterprise Policy Office ( Sepo ) is establishing a committee to manage state-owned securities, both those listed on the stock exchange and those that are not, with a combined value of more than 400 billion baht to ensure maximum efficiency.

According to Tibordee Wattanakul, Sepo’s chairman- basic, the office now holds over 100 various securities.

Some were acquired through previous government initiatives, while others were made through constitutional processes, meaning they were transferred to the state on court orders.

Selling these stocks was comparatively slower in the past, particularly for non-listed securities that had no guide price. He stated that the panel’s goal is to assess collectively how state-owned stocks should be managed, whether they should be kept or sold, with an emphasis on maximizing the country’s profit.

Now, the Finance Ministry holds around 115 stocks, both listed and unlisted on the property trade, excluding state enterprises.

These include 33 mentioned stocks, 41 unregistered stocks, and 41 acquired through constitutional proceedings, with a total price of about 400 billion ringgit. Of this number, 340 billion ringgit is held in the Vayupak Fund, and the remaining consists of various stocks.

These state-owned assets have also recently provided the Finance Ministry with income. In 2022, the government received 3.06 billion ringgit from these stocks, and in 2023, it received 3.35 billion ringgit.

The top five highest dividend- paying state securities in fiscal year 2023 were TMBThanachart Bank Plc (602.31 million baht ), Don Muang Tollway Plc ( 478.27 million baht ), Thailand Future Fund ( 186.27 million baht ), Boon Rawd Brewery Co ( 108.12 million baht ), and Bangchak Corporation Plc (98.32 million baht ).