Stocks majority-owned by Singapore’s Temasek Holdings fell in Bangkok trading after a Thai court ruled Feb 26 that ex-leader Thaksin Shinawatra abused his power to benefit those companies, reported Bloomerg.

Shin Corp., 42% owned by Temasek, fell 3.5% as of 11:50 a.m. local time. Advanced Info Service Pcl, the nation’s biggest mobile-phone company, dropped 3.1%. Thaicom Pcl, a satellite monopoly, declined 8.3%. Shin controls Advanced Info and Thaicom.

A government review of Shin’s contracts with state agencies may further cloud the regulatory environment as Thailand struggles to liberalise its telecommunications sector. The country’s three mobile-phone operators have all amended their concessions with the state-owned telecoms operator.

 

The Supreme Court seized 46.4 billion baht ($2.1 billion), or about 60% of the amount Thaksin’s family gained from its 2006 sale of Shin to Temasek, Singapore’s state-owned investment company. About 30.2 billion baht  ($1.3 billion) will be returned to Thaksin’s family, the judges said Feb 26.

 

The judges agreed that changes to Advanced Info’s royalty payments to a state-owned telecoms operator while Thaksin was prime minister from 2001 to 2006 benefited the company. They also said changes to rules governing satellite concessions and approval of a loan to Myanmar benefited Thaicom.

 

But seeking compensation from Shin-related companies “is going to be messy,” Adithep Vanabriksha, who oversees more than US$2 billion as Aberdeen Asset Management Co.’s head of Thai equities, said in an interview today.

 

“There are more investors impacted than just Thaksin,” he said. “There were other companies in the industry that benefited as well. Investors are worried.”

 

Total Access Communication Pcl, Advanced Info’s biggest rival, fell 2.2% in Bangkok trading. True Corp., Thailand’s third-biggest mobile phone operator, dropped 0.7%. The benchmark SET index climbed 1.1%.

 

Temasek directly owns 41.7% of Shin, while a group of investors, including a Temasek unit, holds 54.6%, according to Thai stock exchange data.