Thirachai Phuvanatnaranubala, secretary-general of the SEC, seems to be asking a rhetorical question when he asks whether Thailand's insider trading laws need to be tightened up to give better protection to minority shareholders, since the SEC was unable to initiate an insider trading case against Yingluck Shinawatra, former president of AIS, under the current legal framework.

Yingluck sold AIS shares in the market, saving significant losses, when she knew that she and her family were about to sell their stake to Temasek but before this information was released to the public.

It should be obvious to anyone that, if this type of transaction is legal in Thailand, there is very little point in having an insider trading law or spending taxpayers' money to employ highly educated people to enforce it.

On the other hand, it is still not obvious where precisely the deficiency in the law lies. It is clear that Yingluck took advantage of other persons by using information material to changes in the prices of securities which had not yet been disclosed to the public and to which information she had access by virtue of her office and position as a shareholder.

This makes the action illegal under Section 241 of the SEC Act. The problem seems to lie in the SEC's meek acceptance of Yingluck's argument that an apparently irrelevant pattern of previous trading of AIS shares somehow negated the use of material non-public information to take advantage of minority shareholders later on.

The SEC at the very least should have publicly censured Yingluck and AIS for poor corporate governance to avoid creating the appearance that it condones such behaviour. AIS should also have been ordered to implement the most basic form of compliance programme for a listed company that prohibits employees from trading the company's shares while in possession of material non-public information, or ahead of the release of corporate earnings which were about to be announced on this occasion.

Meanwhile, Thirachai has left unanswered my earlier question as to whether it is lawful for the subject of an insider trading investigation to obstruct justice by lying to the SEC.

Political Analyst

Bangkok

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Thaksin is manipulating the law, he's not a victim of it

Re: "Thaksin facing new jail threat", News, May 8. Details of the investigation into Thaksin Shinawatra's criminal wrongdoing notwithstanding, the issue of whether the former leader has broken any laws prior to and/or during his premiership seems to go on and on without end.

In spite of his PhD in criminology, the former prime minister has become entangled in a host of accusations and counter-accusations of law-breaking. One wonders whether a person's expensive education like that - sponsored by the state - has helped in improving the country's legal system or facilitated that person to find loopholes to flaunt it for his own personal gain.

The future will decide whether Thaksin is innocent or otherwise.

One glaring reality, however, is that once a legal person steps outside the law, he can no longer expect to have the protection of it.

In that case, Thaksin needs all the good luck he can get, and a clean record to prove his innocence.

Chavalit Van

Chiang Mai

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Conglomerate needs to focus before aiming big

Re: "Siam Cement reveals leadership vision", Business, May 4.

This article describes the lofty vision of our biggest industrial conglomerate becoming the "Asean sustainable leader" in the construction materials business. That sort of move will open them to some international pressure to be much more transparent in some issues of sustainability, as other global construction materials businesses have found.

Health and safety issues only appear to receive lip service. While other countries eliminated the use of asbestos in building materials decades ago, based on the clear medical evidence of a deadly link between that material and fatal lung diseases, your article on April 28 reveals that Siam Cement Group is still contemplating the change.

Another of the key issues for which the global construction materials businesses are held to account in their "sustainability performance" is their commitment to fair competition. With the big capital investments in industries like cement, the temptation to control markets and prices is obvious. Clearly Siam Cement Group, which dominates the industry in Thailand, is not doing so well on this issue, when the ex-works domestic cement price is held almost 60 per cent above the export price by collusion among the producers. Protection of their enormous market share in cement and concrete is claimed by some competitors to be achieved by abuse of their market power.

Similar industries in other countries have found that abuses of fair competition policy often fail to achieve what good industry structure and disciplined management do: sustainable returns on their investments.

Reduction of greenhouse gas emissions is a major issue for cement producers, because cement production is energy intensive, as well as sending half the limestone raw feed into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide in the clinker manufacturing stage. The focus of cement industry world leaders is on substitution of alternative cementitous materials for cement in concrete and other construction materials.

The performance of Siam Cement's subsidiary, CPAC, appears to have failed to display leadership in this important issue.

It looks like Siam Cement Group will need to work hard if it is to achieve its 2015 target of being the "Asean sustainable leader". Maybe a concentration on being better needs to go ahead of the desire for regional growth.

Todd

Thailand

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Let's get some school buses on the road - please!

After a couple of months of relative peace and quiet, the full force of Hurricane Pamkid is about to be unleashed again in another orgy of mayhem. Pamkid stands for "Pampered Kids". I was trying to see if I could get an acronym out of "arrogant and stupid parents who drive their kids to school instead of forcing the little darlings to catch a bus" - but I couldn't. Maybe in Swahili or one of those vowel-challenged European lingoes.

As you've no doubt gathered, I'm talking about the beginning of the new school year, in which Bangkok's creaking road system will once again be forced to accommodate tens of thousands of extra cars.

There are two schools within spitting distance of my house - spitting as in "spitting mad", I mean. Noisy, wretched places, they are. Anyway, one is a primary for the economically deprived. The other is a high school for the economically depraved.

Standing outside the high school at 7am and 4pm is a whole education in itself. It seems like every one of the couple of thousand kids has his or her own vehicle and driver - not a bus to be seen anywhere. One motorbike, though. But I think that belongs to the traffic cop whose services are critical. But a fair quota of motorbikes, buses and pick-ups at the poorer primary school, though.

One other thing I find very amusing while standing outside the high school and watching the spaghetti lines of cars getting themselves into a hopeless tangle is the number of quaffed and preened and heavily made-up mothers - at 7am, it's quite a sight.

Oh well. This should be a sanuk year for Thai education. What with 60 kids per class, we can expect Hurricane Pamkid to be upgraded to a real Thaiphoon.

Witawat Watawit

Bangkok

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A poetic lament for the state of Thai politics

Latest word from on high is that Thailand will get an election we haven't heard nor seen candidates so we're wondering what's the selection?

The people were told in September of elections held in twelve months.

Now we're told it will be in December a year now becomes fifteen months

Are there any new policy issues or is everything peaches and cream?

Will southern unrest keep churning or can a light in the tunnel be seen?

Seven more months of campaigning yet nary a candidate seen who will debate serious issues

or will policy stay as it's been?

Now we're sailing with nary a rudder and the paddles chopped up for kindling we don't need too meek, and don't need too strong just maybe some leaders not swindling

Ken Albertsen

Chiang Rai

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Bangkok's airports do offer some good bus services

Re: "Shuttle service needed between Bangkok's airports", Letters, May 8.

This info is for Lewis Gibson concerning shuttle buses. There are several buses on lines 550-556 running on several routes. However, one must take the shuttle from the airport to the bus terminal located near the airport first. It is free. From the airport terminal to any destination on each route costs Bt35 for each person. I took line 556 to the Southern Bus Terminal six months ago. The same distance by taxi using the meter cost me just a little under Bt500. Unfortunately, most taxis refuse to use the meter.

From Don Muang Airport to downtown Bangkok it costs only Bt10 by train. The Airports of Thailand authority should regulate the operation of taxis. Thailand's airport taxis are famous for their bad reputation around the world.

Surasak Piputtana

Bangkok