DTAC May Clarify Its Position To Court In Foreign-Ownership Row

[webfact]

DTAC may clarify its position to court in foreign-ownership row

The Nation

Total Access Communication (DTAC) has reportedly prepared to clarify its position to the Central Administrative Court in connection with a legal challenge to some state agencies for allegedly allowing the cellular company to operate a business in contravention of the foreign-business law.

According to DTAC's filing to the Stock Exchange of Thailand on Tuesday, the court recently summoned DTAC as a co-defendant in a complaint filed by a third party against government agencies for dereliction of duty by allowing DTAC, which it claimed was a foreign entity, to operate a telecommunications business unlawfully.

DTAC said in the SET filing that this was a lawsuit against government agencies and did not involve the company, which still operates its business as usual.

One of the defendants is reportedly the Business Development Department of the Commerce Ministry.

In April, DTAC's rival TrueMove complained to many state agencies that DTAC was a foreign entity doing business in Thailand by circumventing the foreign-business law, which caps foreign shareholdings in telecom operators at 49.99 per cent.

The department then stepped in to probe the case. In July it passed the results of its preliminary probe into whether DTAC was breaching the Foreign Business Act on to central investigation police for further investigation.

The department has taken the view that although its probe indicated that all financial support for Thai investors in DTAC appeared to come from foreigners, the department had no documentation or legal evidence to prove the allegation that the foreign-business law had been violated.

It is the police who have the authority to request documents from DTAC and its stakeholders.

DTAC and its Norwegian strategic partner Telenor have insisted that DTAC's operations have complied with all laws and regulations.

-- The Nation 2011-10-28

[InterestedObserver]

And here we go again. They never did decide whether or not the Shin (read Thaksin) telecoms deal with Singapore was legal or not.