The State Enterprise Policy Office (Sepo) is preparing to reclassify certain shareholdings in the Finance Ministry's portfolio that were previously designated as strategic assets to be retained, allowing them to be sold.
According to Tibordee Wattanakul, director-general of Sepo, the office manages more than 100 securities in which the Finance Ministry holds less than a 50% stake. These holdings were acquired for various reasons, and some were classified as strategic national assets, making them ineligible for disposal.
Sepo is preparing to propose the reclassification to the ministry before submitting it to the cabinet for approval.
Mr Tibordee said market conditions have changed and competition in these industries has increased, meaning continued state support is no longer considered necessary. These holdings should be reclassified, allowing the ministry to dispose of certain shareholdings, he said.
Mr Tibordee declined to identify which companies could lose their strategic status, citing potential business impacts.
Sepo has implemented an ongoing plan to manage ministry shareholdings of less than 50%, rationalising both listed and unlisted investments that are no longer deemed necessary. The objective is to convert these assets into government revenue and rebalance the portfolio towards investments offering better returns.
Among the ministry's 25 unlisted equity holdings, five companies are considered to have strong potential, he said. These investments were acquired for historical reasons, including after military coups or through asset confiscations by the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC).
Sepo has engaged a financial advisor to conduct valuations of these unlisted shares, a process that is nearing completion. However, disposing of unlisted shares remains challenging because there are no readily available market prices for reference, Mr Tibordee noted.
In addition, the ministry tends to set relatively high asking prices to protect government officials from potential scrutiny or allegations of selling assets below fair value.
The companies cannot be disclosed because they are commercially sensitive, and disclosure could adversely affect their business reputations, he said.
The ministry already divested shares in listed companies in which it held less than a 50% stake. Last year, the ministry sold 16 listed securities, generating proceeds of more than 3 billion baht.
This year, the ministry sold four securities worth around 600 million baht.
The proceeds were reinvested in listed shares offering stronger returns, such as those of PTT Plc, Sepo noted.
Despite efforts to reduce the portfolio, the ministry continues to receive new securities each year through the transfer of assets confiscated in various legal cases.
On average, 6-10 new securities are added to the portfolio annually, including shares transferred from the NACC, the Anti-Money Laundering Office and narcotics-related asset forfeiture cases.
