Temasek buys Shin Corp

SINGAPORE: Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's family has sold a 73 billion baht (RM7.1bil) stake in Shin Corp, which controls Thailand's biggest mobile phone operator, to Singapore's Temasek Holdings Pte. 

Thaksin's family sold 1.49 billion shares, or 49.6% stake, at 49.25 baht each, the Singapore government's investment arm said in a statement yesterday. The fund will make a tender offer for the remaining shares in Shin Corp and its mobile phone unit, Advanced Info Service Pcl, according to a filing with the Thai Stock Exchange earlier. 

The stake was sold “so there won't be criticism of conflicts of interest and other such things,'' Thaksin told reporters in Bangkok yesterday. 

Thaksin is exiting Shin Corp, whose assets encompasses phones, satellites and airlines, after the company's shares rose to match an 11-year high. Temasek, which has made almost half its investments at home, is stepping up overseas purchases after profit growth slowed. 

“Thailand is a growing market with one of the highest per capita incomes in South-East Asia,'' said Pang Shun-Pen at HSZ Singapore Pte. “There's lots of room to grow in the telecommunications industry and it's good if Singapore can tap that.'' 

Thaksin's family sold their shares to Cedar Holdings Ltd and Aspen Holdings Ltd, Shin Corp said. 

Shin Corp. executive chairman Boonklee Plangsiri , left, and Temasek's managing director of investments S.Iswaran speaking at a news conference on Monday, Jan. 23, 2006, in Bangkok, announcing that Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's family has sold its controlling stake in the telecommications conglomerate Shin Corp. to Singapore's Temasek Holdings in a deal worth 73.3 billion baht (US$1.88 billion, euro1.55 billion). - APpic

The Temasek units were granted a waiver by Thailand's takeover panel, to avoid mandatory tender offers for the remaining shares in Shin Corp units ITV Pcl and Shin Satellite Pcl, because the companies “do not constitute a substantial portion of the assets of Shin'', the exchange statement said. 

Shin Corp, established and controlled by the Thaksin family, owns Advanced Info, Thailand's biggest cellular phone operator, and Shin Satellite, Asia's third biggest operator of commercial orbiters. Other assets include television station ITV, Internet service provider C.S. Loxinfo and budget airline Thai AirAsia Co. 

Competition has eroded the market share of Advanced Info, Shin Corp's primary asset and Thailand's third largest company, to 56% as of November from 58% a year earlier. – Bloomberg

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