EDITORIAL

Quick conclusion needed in King Power case

By The Nation

 

Eyes of the world will be on judiciary to see how they deal with charges against Leicester city club owners 

It’s safe to say that Thai politics and business have immensely impacted English football, at the league level at least. It was ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra who bought and then sold Manchester City, a major turning point for the then-average club that is becoming one of the biggest names in world football. King Power, Thailand’s duty-free giant, took over Leicester City when the club wasn’t even in the English Premier League, and bankrolled its dramatic, fairy-tale path to the country’s football summit.

 

What do Thaksin and King Power have in common? Legal problems in their own countries. King Power learned last week that corruption charges, which surfaced months ago, will likely go ahead, possibly threatening its ownership of Leicester City. The company is accused of having corruptly shortchanged the Thai government of Bt14 billion in connection with its duty-free business at Suvarnabhumi Airport.

 

Legal authorities bearing down on King Power will have to see if the lapse in supposed revenue-sharing was intentional. To King Power, the whole issue stemmed from a contract dispute that the company was confident it would win.

 

According to The Guardian’s sport section, it is still unclear how the allegations would affect King Power’s ownership of Leicester City. Premier League rules prohibit a person convicted of a criminal offence or dishonesty from owning more than 30 per cent or being a director of a club. Yet only individuals have been impacted by the rules and there is no precedent of companies being charged or possibly standing to be charged.

 

Unlike Thaksin, who bought Manchester City when serious political trouble had already begun at home, King Power had been a glorious Thai connection to English football until just a few days ago, when a court ruled that the charges against the firm would go ahead. 

 

King Power is adamant that, despite what the court says, the allegations have yet to be formally accepted. All of a sudden, though, the firm’s hero status in world football has been threatened.

 

A trial might take place next year, if the charges are not finally dropped. To the company, which has vehemently denied the charges, the sooner this issue comes to a conclusion, the better. Its football team is struggling at the moment, meaning the fans could turn at any moment against the owners they so adored a couple of years ago. It is simply not good for a football club to have trouble both on the pitch and at the boardroom level.

 

All this means that everyone has to bite the bullet. 

 

The allegations have been lingering and the court procedures have been slow and what they have produced is subject to contrasting or unclear interpretations. This kind of news is not good for King Power, which has issued statements insisting it often abides by absolute business ethics.

 

The dispute doesn’t seem to be too complicated, meaning a quick ending one way or the other is very much possible. Yet Bt14 billion is not a small amount. King Power and its accusers have disagreement over percentage figures that are wide apart, which makes it rather unbelievable that lawyers involved in the contract had failed to spot potential problems. The longer the issue drags on, the more all involved will suffer – the company, as well as the country’s justice system, which is already under the global microscope.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/opinion/30332027

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2017-11-20

The most corrupt organisation in Thailand ....... some say

 

is it true...................?

King Power, licensed to print money.... a gold mine that never ceases to

make money....

There's a slight mystery in my mind why "duty free" outlets in Thailand are so profitable given the anecdotal evidence of relatively few customers as well as the undeniable evidence of gouging and overpricing.

 

Added to which it's not exactly an enjoyable shopping experience.

 

Still I know I must be wrong because KP is hugely profitable.

31 minutes ago, jayboy said:

There's a slight mystery in my mind why "duty free" outlets in Thailand are so profitable given the anecdotal evidence of relatively few customers as well as the undeniable evidence of gouging and overpricing.

 

Added to which it's not exactly an enjoyable shopping experience.

 

Still I know I must be wrong because KP is hugely profitable.

Ever been to the King Power complex near Victory monument in Bangkok?

I suggest you never go because it is filled with busloads of yelling Chinese who are brought in all day long and who all walk out with receipts for stuff they can pick up at the airport.

 

I agree that I don't see the attraction of shopping there (but they are forced to go there by the bus company who gets a commission) and that it is not cheap (maybe it is compared to where the Chinese normally shop), but they do excellent business there.

 

Duty free outlets shouldn't be that profitable as shopping space at airports is the most expensive in the world.

That is, if you need to pay full rent and commissions.

It probably becomes extremely profitable when you got a monopoly due to your connections and you only pay commissions of a fifth of what you should pay.

2 hours ago, webfact said:

King Power, which has issued statements insisting it often abides by absolute business ethics.

Often but not always?

Nothing gonna happen here...!

 

1 hour ago, Bob12345 said:

Ever been to the King Power complex near Victory monument in Bangkok?

I suggest you never go because it is filled with busloads of yelling Chinese who are brought in all day long and who all walk out with receipts for stuff they can pick up at the airport.

 

I agree that I don't see the attraction of shopping there (but they are forced to go there by the bus company who gets a commission) and that it is not cheap (maybe it is compared to where the Chinese normally shop), but they do excellent business there.

 

Duty free outlets shouldn't be that profitable as shopping space at airports is the most expensive in the world.

That is, if you need to pay full rent and commissions.

It probably becomes extremely profitable when you got a monopoly due to your connections and you only pay commissions of a fifth of what you should pay.

Thanks.I shall make a point of avoiding the Victory Monument KP complex.

 

And yes you are almost certainly right that favorable terms "negotiated" for the airports combined with the monopoly results in much reduced overheads and hence increased profitabilty.The only losers are the general public - or at least those gormless enough to be sucked in.

My feeling is that King Power have had it too easy and got over confident. Those in power see how much money they are making and are demanding a bigger slice of the lucrative pie. A compromise, together with an out of court settlement will be reached, and the status quo will carry on.

 

Sadly it seems we have not reached a point where this type of blatant grand scale corruption is no longer acceptable 

The most corrupt organisation in Thailand ....... some say
 
is it true...................?

Golly, it is up against some real opposition there!

Opposition which would make their football giant killing exploits look like a walk in the park!

Sent from my KENNY using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

7 minutes ago, Katipo said:

My feeling is that King Power have had it too easy and got over confident. Those in power see how much money they are making and are demanding a bigger slice of the lucrative pie. A compromise, together with an out of court settlement will be reached, and the status quo will carry on.

 

Sadly it seems we have not reached a point where this type of blatant grand scale corruption is no longer acceptable 

This is a misunderstanding about Duty free goods Yes it is free of taxation however that does not mean it is cheaper than you would get at a department store Nothing says they cannot charge the same As is often the case they are the only game at the airport so you are stuck paying high prices  The price then set  They use Liquor and Cigarettes and perfume as lost leaders  Get them in the store they buy their liquor then buy the charger for their Iphone or some other item that is 30% more than in the storys

Wake up people you are being scammed

This is a misunderstanding about Duty free goods Yes it is free of taxation however that does not mean it is cheaper than you would get at a department store Nothing says they cannot charge the same As is often the case they are the only game at the airport so you are stuck paying high prices  The price then set  They use Liquor and Cigarettes and perfume as lost leaders  Get them in the store they buy their liquor then buy the charger for their Iphone or some other item that is 30% more than in the storys
Wake up people you are being scammed

How can booze and fags be loss leaders when they are also grossly overpriced?


Sent from my iPhone using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

I would love to know who the players are in this company going back a couple of decades

 

I could guess but I'll keep it to myself

Instead of buying at KP I always went to 7-11 or Family Mart, it is much cheaper.

Headline..Quick Conclusion Needed...pargraph 8 "we might have a trial next year". Thailand the land of bluff, bluster, judicial mayhem, nepotism and running cases out so long no one ever remembers what the <deleted> they were ever being prosecuted for. Classic Thailand

20 minutes ago, smedly said:

I would love to know who the players are in this company going back a couple of decades

 

I could guess but I'll keep it to myself

Id imagine the clue may be in the company name but like you I aint sayin more than that. Not exactly a name you could use without some connection or permission I would reckon.

48 minutes ago, starky said:

Id imagine the clue may be in the company name but like you I aint sayin more than that. Not exactly a name you could use without some connection or permission I would reckon.

nope, I think you got that one wrong

I thought the King Power contract in 2004 is for a 10 years tenure. So it expired in 2014. What ever happen to that? Anyone? 

5 hours ago, smedly said:

I would love to know who the players are in this company going back a couple of decades

 

I could guess but I'll keep it to myself

 

If memory serves, the controlling family has/had ties to someone who died a while back,,,,

I love this editorial...

 

It's kind of like, we have reason to be concerned about this alleged big-time corruption because it potentially threatens Thai ownership of a UK football team.

 

But if was just regular, ordinary big-time corruption -- the kind that seems to occur every day here almost everywhere -- then no big deal. That kind is nothing to get too excited about.

 

This is a golden goose to all political figures. It sits in the middle.

 

To avoid loss of face, they may get a slap on the wrist and a small fine. Its not a company you would want as an enemy.