The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) has demanded that Inter Far East Energy Corporation Plc (IFEC) explain why a creditor filed a business rehabilitation petition with the Central Bankruptcy Court.
"The SET requires IFEC to clarify additional information regarding [why] the [company's] creditor filed a rehabilitation petition to the Central Bankruptcy Court, while financial statements for the year ended 2016, which are the latest financial statements submitted to the SET, showed that IFEC had shareholders' equity of 3.28 billion baht," the bourse said in a release. "Since the rehabilitation petition [submitted] through the court significantly affects shareholder benefits, the SET requires IFEC to clarify additional information by Aug 30, 2018."
The identity of the creditor filing for a rehabilitation plan, the amount of debt IFEC owes to this creditor and details of the plan are some of the requirements that the SET has asked IFEC to clarify.
Two major bond creditors and retail investors, meanwhile, will go to court next week to seek a repeal of the business rehabilitation plan, said Yaowaluck Ritsomjit, leader of the investor group.
Retail investors, who hold IFEC shares worth 3.2 billion baht all together, and two major bond creditors, Solaris Asset Management and Asia Plus Securities, with a combined debt worth 3.3 billion baht, will take action to block the rehabilitation plan, Ms Yaowaluck said.
She said the creditor filing the request with the Central Bankruptcy Court is one of the bond creditors that wants IFEC to fall into bankruptcy in order to maintain the current management team led by IFEC chief executive and director Suphanan Rittiphairoj.
But the company is now in the process of setting up a shareholders' meeting to select new directors to fill vacancies, Ms Yaowaluck said.
"Only one creditor going to court is not fair to the many creditors and retail investors who have also received damage from investing in IFEC shares," she said. "Other creditors also disagree with the current management team and want to change the management team based on the Securities Act."
IFEC's financial condition does not warrant a bankruptcy filing, she said, as the company had total assets worth 12.6 billion baht as of August 2017, versus total liabilities of 9.3 billion.
IFEC has been marred by a series of internal problems and regulatory scandals.
It was reported earlier that Mr Suphanan had continuously refused to set up a shareholders' meeting. His previous attempt to appoint two new directors failed because those individuals had not received the Commerce Ministry's endorsement, due to a lack of qualifications and an unclear appointment process.
The crisis has stretched on for a year and six months, leading investors to take matters into their own hands despite having market regulators in place.
The SEC also recently imposed civil fines on current and former executives of IFEC on grounds of insider trading.
The market regulator has ordered Mr Suphanan and former director Thanawat Chansuwan to pay civil fines and return total benefits worth a combined 25.86 million baht.
