Two new managers for THAI rehabilitation plan proposed
Concerns raised about government sector dominance and the consequent setting of the price of the debt-to-equity swap
The Finance Ministry will propose two new managers to take charge of the business rehabilitation plan for Thai Airways International Plc (THAI) during the meeting of debtors of the national flag carrier on Friday, a source familiar with the matter said on Monday.
The new candidates are Polchak Nimwatana, deputy director of the State Enterprise Policy Office (SEPO), under the Finance Ministry, and Panya Chupanich, director of the Office of Transport and Traffic Policy and Planning (OTP), under the Transport Ministry.
The source said the Finance Ministry will be exercising its right as the major debtor of THAI to propose the amendment to the rehabilitation plan by adding two new managers.
The move comes following the resignations of two of the five managers, leaving just three in place, namely former Energy Minister Piyasvasti Amranand, Fiscal Policy Office (FPO) director Pornchai Thirraveja, and former THAI president Chansin Treenuchagron.
The source said that the meeting on Friday will also deliberate the airline’s capital restructuring plan, specifically the move to reduce its share value in a bid to wipe out the accumulated debt of 60 billion baht.
If the majority of debtors vote in favour of the proposal on Friday, the panel of five rehabilitation plan managers will consist of three candidates from the government sector, two of them from the Finance Ministry.
The source said this scenario has raised concerns among business analysts that the ministry would influence the setting of the price of the debt-to-equity swap in a way that would benefit the debtors. It is also believed that the rehabilitation managers will be considered by the soon to be appointed new board of directors, thus further raising concerns that the airlines’ management could be influenced by political offices.
THAI filed for bankruptcy protection in late 2019 after reporting massive debts of 245 billion baht. The Cabinet in May 2020 gave the rehabilitation plan the green light under the Bankruptcy Act, which was later approved by the Central Bankruptcy Court in June the following year. After meeting revenue targets, the airline is in the process of selling right offering to help it exist the business rehabilitation process.
