Shin may get extra time to up free float
The Stock Exchange of Thailand is preparing to relax its de-listing rule for Shin Corp Plc, which has seen the number of its shares in individual hands fall below the minimum free-float level.
SET president Kittiratt Na-Ranong said yesterday that the bourse would consider extending the period allowed for Shin to increase the level to meet the SET's regulation of 15 per cent if it files a request with a reasonable explanation. "We have more than 20 listed companies whose free float is less than 15 per cent. We've stretched the rules for some banks that have financial problems by extending the period of time for them up to two to three years. Some cases take up to 10 years," Kittiratt said. To promote trading liquidity, the bourse's rules require a listed company to keep at least 15 per cent of its shares available for trade in the open market. If the level dips below the floor, the SET normally gives the firm a year or longer in some cases to bring its free-float level back up. Failure to do so means the firm would be de-listed from the exchange. Kittiratt's comment came before Temasek Holdings, the investment arm of the Singaporean government, informed the Securities and Exchange Commission of the results its mandatory tender offer for Shin shares. Temasek filed its report yesterday as scheduled. Temasek told the SEC that it has acquired 96.31 per cent of Shin, completing its takeover of the telecom empire from the family of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. Cedar Holdings Co Ltd and Aspen Holdings, indirectly owned by Temasek, said that during the tender offer period which expired last Thursday, 1.42 billion shares - or 46.91 per cent of Shin's outstanding shares - were tendered. The tendered shares, combined with the 49.6-per-cent stake acquired in January from the Shinawatra and Damapong families, brought their holding to 96.12 per cent. And after 159 million warrants are exercised, their combined stake would rise to 96.31 per cent. Temasek spent Bt78 billion on the tender, in addition to Bt73.3 billion used to pay the Shinawatra and Damapong families for their stake. The tender of shares at Bt49.25 apiece took place amid intensifying political conflicts which have their roots in the Shinawatra and Damapong families' sell-off of their Shin stake. The announcement helped relieve investor anxiety that Temasek might scrap the stock offer due to the relentless anti-government protests. Piyarat Setthasiriphaiboon The Nation
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