SRT may have found a Bt12-bn loophole in Hopewell debacle

[webfact]

SRT may have found a Bt12-bn loophole in Hopewell debacle

By The Nation

 

 

Fresh evidence in the costly Hopewell-versus State Railway affair of the 1990s has the Office of the Attorney General trying to reopen the vexing case in the Supreme Administrative Court.

 

New Transport Minister Saksayam Chidchob said on July 26 that his predecessor, Akom Termpittayapaisit, had two weeks earlier granted the Attorney General power of attorney in the Hopewell case on his behalf.

 

Saksayam said new evidence had emerged that could convince the court to reopen the case and ultimately rule in favour of the State Railway of Thailand (SRT).

 

If it did, there could be a windfall in the form of a Bt12-billion compensation charge being waived.

 

Saksayam arrived in office on July 10 vowing to review the matter. “I think if the new evidence gives the government a fighting chance, we might as well fight as hard as we can,” he said.

 

The Supreme Administrative Court on April 23 upheld an arbitration committee’s ruling in favour of Hong Kong-based Hopewell Co, whose Bt80-billion elevated road-and-train project in Bangkok was scrapped by the government in 1998.

 

Most of the concrete support structures have remained in place ever since, ghostly reminders of a plan gone wrong, the line never to be completed.

 

The court ordered the SRT, which had signed a 30-year concession contract with Hopewell (Thailand) Co, to pay Bt11.88 billion in compensation plus 7.5 per cent interest per annum.

 

The fresh evidence hints at an irregularity on Hopewell’s list of shareholders.

 

The original contract signed on November 9, 1990, dictated that Hopewell Holding Ltd (Hong Kong) must have shares in Hopewell (Thailand) worth at least 30 per cent of its registered capital throughout the period of the contract.

 

However, the shareholders list submitted by Hopewell (Thailand) to the Department of Business Development indicates that Hopewell Holding and Gordon Wu, the businessman who pitched the project to the Thai government, were shareholders in Hopewell (Thailand) only until December 6, 1991.

 

The minutes of a 2005 shareholders’ meeting do not mention Hopewell Holding or Wu as shareholders.

 

Mauritius-based United Success Ltd, listed as a service provider, was at that time the majority shareholder with 1.49 billion out of 1.5 billion shares.

The latest shareholders’ meeting, held last September 30, showed United Success maintaining the majority, followed by Malaysia-based FSN Consulting Co with 50 million shares. Five individuals of Thai nationality held five shares.

If it could be proved in court that Hopewell violated the terms of the contract, the SRT might not have to pay the Bt12 billion in compensation.

 

The Office of the Attorney General submitted the argument to the court on July 19 and the court is expected to take 30 days to announce whether the matter will be reopened or that the evidence is rejected.

 

 

Source: https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30374350

 

-- © Copyright The Nation Thailand 2019-08-07

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[Chang_paarp]

1 hour ago, webfact said:

Saksayam said new evidence had emerged that could convince the court to reopen the case and ultimately rule in favour of the State Railway of Thailand (SRT).

 

How convenient. New evidence after 15 years. ????

[boonrawdcnx]

Ridiculous - this is not new evidence - the only evidence this is - is what a web they are weaving when doing business here to cheat and skim off their corruption money.

The Hopewell project shamed Thailand and it would be interesting to know how much business was lost for the country because many foreign companies would not do business here after this debacle!

They cheat - and then they don’t want to pay up.

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect

 

 

[fvw53]

Do not destroy the beautiful concrete structures ...within a few thousand years the successors of the human race will - like with Stonehenge - come and worship the "previous civilisation" who built it ...and it will be a great source of tourist revenue for Thailand.

[Cadbury]

Clutching at straws. More bad publicity to deter potential foreign investors.

The Thai government will try any trick in the book to get out of paying foreign investors the money the courts have awarded to them. Same with Kingsgate's Chatree gold mine which was shut down by PM Prayut using Article 44. 

 

[johng]

1 hour ago, fvw53 said:

like with Stonehenge

It's already known as the "Thai Stonehenge"

[natway09]

The truth is that the SRT got greedy & wanted to charge Hopewell with further costs as 

"air rights" which never had been in the contract. Hopewell refused & subsequently walked away & as they had just secured a very big road contract in China did not argue too hard.

As a previous poster said,,,,,, clutching at straws

[Srikcir]

14 hours ago, webfact said:

could convince the court to reopen the case

Remember that 7.5% annual interest on the Bt12-billion that began 15 years ago will continue through the time the case is re-opened.

Lose again and add another couple hundred million baht to the already owed compensation. Such a loss might also be considered malfeasance negligence by Saksayam who should, as in the case of Yingluck, personally pay such additional compensation to Hopewell for financial damage to the nation.