Thread: Thailand : Thai Airways seeks $545 mil for working capital

^Does that mean it is not sfae for those that have bought THAI tickets? I have a mate who is flying with them in May and has paid already!!!

GOOD GOVERNANCE

AOT minor shareholders launch complaints
Published on January 28, 2009

The minor shareholders of Airports of Thailand (AOT) have won an Administrative Court injunction against payment to directors of bonuses at five times the previous year's level.

Last week's shareholders' meeting resolved that directors would receive Bt1.3 million each as a bonus for fiscal 2008, up from Bt256,000 the previous year.

The court yesterday agreed to launch an urgent inquiry into the move.

The minor shareholders also proposed that AOT's board be represented by all categories of shareholders, not only the government. AOT is now a listed company, and other shareholders should be allowed into the boardroom, they argued.

AOT, a state enterprise under the Transport Ministry, is 70-per-cent owned by the Finance Ministry.

Finance Minister Korn Chatikavanij said he did not know the details of the minor shareholders' petition but that AOT must abide by the requirements for other listed companies.

The bonus payment was proposed during a shareholders' meeting last Friday. Minor shareholders protested by walking out of the meeting room, saying they did not want to be counted as shareholders who endorsed the payment.

They said the hike in bonuses was inappropriate in light of the present economic situation and continued losses at the company.

They also cited the State Enterprise Act, which restricts bonuses for state-enterprise directors to no more than Bt250,000.

They returned to the meeting room but walked out again when the company proposed 14 candidates for the board even though the election was not included on the agenda. They said the appointment of directors had to be on the agenda and that shareholders had to be given time to study information on each nominee beforehand.

Thai Investors Association president Vichai Poolwaraluck said AOT's shareholder resolution was now posted on the association's website so that other investors could review the case.

"The association will press ahead to raise awareness of good governance," he said.

The company should have informed shareholders of the election of directors ahead of the meeting, as that is a crucial issue and shareholders should have the facts on all candidates before voting, he said. Though the Finance Ministry is the majority shareholder, as a listed company, AOT must take into account the voices of minor shareholders, he said.

AOT has suffered financially since the opening of Suvarnabhumi Airport in 2006, which entailed a huge investment.

In 2007, its net profit collapsed to Bt1 billion from Bt10 billion a year earlier, partly because of a legal dispute with King Power International Group - the duty free operator - which led to a halt in concession payments. After booking revenue from King Power in 2008, AOT showed a net profit of Bt7.3 billion, but revenues are expected to drop this year due to the falloff in tourist arrivals.

nationmultimedia.com

^ you forgot...

Thai govt says national carrier's finances 'alarming'
17 minutes ago

BANGKOK (AFP) — Thailand's deputy prime minister on Wednesday said the financial state of flag carrier Thai Airways was "alarming" and promised the government would step in to help it.

Suthep Thaugsuban proposed talks between the finance and transport ministries to resolve the crisis at the airline, in which the government holds a majority stake.

"The problem at Thai Airways is very alarming and the government will take care of it absolutely," Suthep told reporters.

"I have to admit that the government is very concerned because as of now the airline still has not submitted its rehabilitation plan."

On Tuesday Finance Minister Korn Chatikavanij insisted the carrier would have to submit a detailed recovery plan in order to receive taxpayer funds.

In a statement to the Thai stock exchange last week, Thai Airways said it needed 19 billion baht (544 million dollars) to resolve its liquidity problem this year.

It also hoped to raise 15 billion baht to replace short-term debt, the statement said.

A Thai Airways official on Wednesday blamed its massive drop in revenue on political upheaval in Thailand, as protests against the previous government dragged on for most of 2008, coupled with the global financial crisis.

"The airline began to suffer losses in the second half of last year because of internal political chaos," he told AFP, highlighting the week-long blockade of Bangkok's two airports by protesters late last year as a particular blow.

"This triggered a decreasing number of passengers, and refunds for passengers who had already booked."

The airline said last year it had lost about 20 billion baht because of the closure of the international and domestic airports, which stranded around 350,000 passengers in Thailand.

Last week Thai Airways announced it would move all its remaining domestic flights from Bangkok's decades-old Don Mueang airport to the new Suvarnabhumi Airport to save up to 700 million baht a year.

Earlier this month, Thai Airways also said it would ask to delay the delivery of six A330 aircraft from European aircraft manufacturer Airbus due to a shortage of cash.

Thai Airways' net loss for the first three quarters of 2008 was 6.61 billion baht, against a net profit of 2.53 billion baht for the same period in 2007, according to company figures.

google.com

Thai Airways to issue 1 billion new shares
Sep 3, 2010

Bangkok - Thai Airways International Pcl on Friday announced plans to issue 1 billion new shares to raise an estimated 484 million dollars for plane purchases and other improvements.

The public offering is to be made on September 16 and 17 at Bangkok Bank and Krung Thai Bank branches nationwide.

'I expect we will raise about 15 billion baht (484 million dollars),' company president Piyasvasti Amranand said.

Thai Airways was to remain a majority state-owned company with the Finance Ministry holding 51.03-per-cent equity in the national airline.

The extra capital would 'increase financial strength and flexibility, improve competitiveness of our fleet by executing comprehensive re-fleeting and aircraft retrofit programme,' Piyasvasti said.

'We aspire to be one of the top three airlines in Asia and top five in the world,' he added.

The airline experienced its first loss in 2008, losing 20 billion baht in a year in which the world aviation industry was hard hit by high oil prices and the onset of the global financial crisis.

The company was back in the black last year, and reported a profit of 12.3 billion baht in the first half of this one.

But it is saddled with a debt of close to 38 billion baht, making a public share offering necessary, Piyasvasti said. Last month the company signed an agreement with Airbus SAS to purchase seven A330-300 aircraft over the next couple of years.

In an effort to compete with low-cost airlines such as Air Asia, Thai Airways last month announced plans to set up Thai Tiger as a joint venture with Singapore's Tiger Airways.

The new low-cost airline will be launched in the first quarter of 2011. 'With Thai Tiger we are going to regain some of the market share we've lost,' Piyasvasti said.

Low-cost airlines claim 17 per cent of the market in Asia, up from around 2 per cent when they first appeared in the region around a decade ago.

monstersandcritics.com

Flew Thai several times but not lately because they've hiked up their fares, but saying that I would use them if they shaped up and matched others prices.

Tried the Arab budget lines and they stitch you up on your baggage weight if your a kilo overweight and if they do charge you they charge like wounded buffalos.

Last few times flown British Airways and unbelievably good value compared with other main airlines. I'm not a fan of BA but I have to say it's more than good enough and great value lately.

23 kg baggage allowance for economy but they will waive / ignore up to 32kg and only another £28 for another bag if you need it. Last trip over I brought just over a 100kg across and it cost me less extra charges than it would have done to send it freighted and crated.

Last thing that's handy is...they speak English and you can reason with them, not like the muslim "men" hating stuck up ignorant slags who work for the muslim Middle East airlines!