Office to sell off shares using mark-to-market

The State Enterprise Policy Office (Sepo) plans to gradually sell shares held by the Finance Ministry with a stake of less than 50% over the next 4-5 years, using a mark-to-market pricing method.
According to Tibordee Wattanakul, director-general of Sepo, previous attempts to sell shares with less than a 50% stake were unsuccessful because of a lack of buyers and fears of scrutiny if the state incurred losses because of the share sale price.
Mr Tibordee said there are two methods for selling shares: the equity approach, which is based on the original acquisition cost, and the mark-to-market method, which considers the current market price of the shares.
He said the current market prices of some shares held by the ministry have dropped, making losses inevitable if sold at the original acquisition cost.
This makes a mark-to-market sale approach necessary, said Mr Tibordee.
Although selling below book value may result in a loss, there are opportunity costs associated with holding those assets because selling them returns liquidity to the state, he said.
If the assets are not sold, they will remain stagnant, potentially causing greater harm to the state, said Mr Tibordee.
The Finance Ministry holds stakes of less than 50% in 133 companies.
Sepo plans to gradually auction off these shares over 4-5 years, following ministry approval.
Eventually, the ministry expects to retain shares in roughly 20 companies with stakes of under 50%.
Sepo estimates the ministry could gain 30-40 billion baht from the share sales.
Mr Tibordee said some of the shares where the ministry holds 3-5% are small and may not attract investor interest.
Sepo may collaborate with private companies holding the same shares to combine them and sell them as larger blocks, making them more appealing to investors, he said.
Most of these shares were acquired incidentally or through legal circumstances, such as through asset seizures by the Anti-Money Laundering Office, which often limits management authority and fails to yield returns because of the minor stake and declining share prices.
Any share sales must be reviewed and approved by the cabinet, which determines which shares the ministry retains based on whether they align with the ministry’s mission.
Shares that do not serve this purpose will be authorised for Sepo to proceed with sales efforts, said Mr Tibordee.