02.10.09 Court order suspending Rayong projects to affect Thailand's image
The Central Administrative Court’s order for 76 industrial projects
in the Map Ta Phut industrial estate in the eastern seaboard province
of Rayong to temporarily halt operations will have a wide range of
impacts on Thailand’s image and undermine the investor confidence,
warns a top securities executive.
Kongkiat Opaswongkarn, Chief Executive Officer of Asia Plus
Securities Plc, said the injunction is considered a grave concern
because it could affect the country’s image in terms of the environment
and health awareness.
Government and state agencies concerned must not hesitate to find a
way out because they had previously attempted to persuade foreign
investors to invest more in Thailand.
He said the case would not only impact existing investment projects,
but also cause a possible shift of new investment from Thailand into
its neighbouring countries.
In this scenario, the investment in the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) would be definitely affected.
Projects having already won approval for their investment plan, but
unable to get off the ground will experience difficulties in preparing
employment and marketing schemes, he said. All business expansion plans
must be suspended.
Mr Kongkiati said the court order reflected Thailand’s failure in
management throughout the past three years, which would put Thailand at
a disadvantage in terms of competitiveness with its rivals such as
Malaysia and Vietnam.
Asked whether the court’s decision would impact listed firms on SET, Mr. Kongkiati said it would cause stock prices to drop.
Many stock analysts had decreased their estimates of stock prices of
companies affected by the order such as PTT Plc and Siam Cement Plc.
Unless the problem is quickly solved, Mr Kongkiati said, it would
impact both the country’s sovereign rating and its creditworthiness.
(TNA) Source: TNA, 02.10.09 http://enews.mcot.net/view.php?id=12095
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