THE WEEK IN REVIEW : FBA changes get cabinet approval

THE WEEK IN REVIEW :

FBA changes get cabinet approval.

The cabinet on Tuesday approved in principle amendments to the 1999 Foreign Business Act that limit foreign investors to holding no more than 50% of the shares or voting rights in Thai companies. Economic ministers insisted the changes would help improve the investment climate as they would boost compliance with the law.

But deputy Democrat leader Kiat Sittheeamorn charged that it was a "dangerous move" that would undermine confidence in the country.

Businesses which violate the rules on voting rights will be required to inform the Commerce Ministry within one year. Those in violation of the foreign ownership limit will have to reduce their holdings to 49% within two years.The new law will apply to businesses on Lists 1 and 2, but exempt most businesses on List 3. The cabinet will forward the draft amendment to the Council of State for its constitutionality to be checked.

Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister M R Pridiyathorn Devakula said the amendment would ease uncertainties over the country's regulatory framework, after an investigation which began last year into nominee issues with Kularb Kaew Co, a shareholder of Shin Corp.

The current law allows some foreign businesses to dominate ownership of Thai firms through majority voting rights, the finance minister said.

But Mr Kiat said there were "other things" the government should have done. "So far it has chosen to implement measures that undermine confidence in the country's economy. First, capital controls. Now, the foreign business law," he said.

He called on the government, in particular the Commerce Ministry, to clarify why it needed to impose the rule.

Sonthi: Martial law powers may be used

Tough powers available under martial law will be exercised if the security environment warrants it, Council for National Security (CNS) chief Gen Sonthi Boonyaratkalin said Tuesday.

The CNS already has martial law at its disposal, although it had not invoked the full extent of it, he said.

"We will keep tabs on the situation. If it gets more violent, we will be compelled to apply martial law as we are positioned to exercise it. We have power over all issues, but we haven't used it on a single one."

Gen Sonthi's remark follows Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont's warning the previous week that there could be increasingly violent attacks over the next few months.

There are 35 provinces where martial law is still in effect, mostly northern and northeastern provinces where the Thai Rak Thai party had strong support and is believed to remain a dominant political player.

Thaksin stripped of red passport

The government and the CNS have tightened their grip on Thaksin Shinawatra by revoking the deposed prime minister's diplomatic passport, and advising the broadcast media to stop reporting any messages deemed unfavourable to national unity.

Deputy Foreign Minister Sawanit Kongsiri told the National Legislation Assembly in a closed-door meeting Wednesday that the red-covered passports given to Mr Thaksin and his wife, Khunying Potjaman, have been cancelled.

Mr Sawanit was responding to NLA member Nitipum Nawaratana's inquiry about the couple's diplomatic passports.

According to a source, Mr Sawanit said the revocation on Dec 31 was prompted by Mr Thaksin's alleged attempt to get involved in political movements in the wake of New Year bombings in Bangkok and neighbouring Nonthaburi.

Mr Sawanit said the ministry would do everything it could under the law to curb movements deemed as destabilising the government. He said the ministry also ordered all Thai embassies and consulates around the world to stop receiving the couple, who still have ordinary passports.

Chavalit visits Prem

Former prime minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh visited Privy Council president Prem Tinsulanonda on Thursday morning in what is seen as a bid to end his rift with the Council for National Security. Gen Chavalit arrived at Gen Prem's residence Si Sao Thewes at 9:15 a.m. and left the place about an hour later.

Wearing yellow shirt, Gen Chavalit left Gen Prem's residence without talking to the press. Gen Chavalit's visit to Gen Prem was described as a traditional New Year courtesy call, but many suspect there was more to it.

Gen Chavalit is seen as an opponent to the CNS - he criticised CNS members for accepting top executive posts on the boards of state eterprises after the coup and suggested them to allow ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra to return to Thailand. Gen Chavalit also claimed that the CNS had put him under surveillance and tapped his phones out of fear he might help Mr Thaksin return to Thailand. The rift deepened when Gen Chavalit was put on a list of people to be questioned following a series of bombings in Bangkok and Nonthaburi on New Year's Eve.

AoT backs rebirth of Don Muang

The board of Airports of Thailand Plc approved Thursday the use of Don Muang for domestic flights with no international connections and set March 15 as the possible date for the relaunch of services at the old airport.

In an attempt to save costs from expanding Suvarnabhumi airport and to fully use its existing infrastructure, the board led by chairman Gen Saprang Kalayanamitr decided to move to Don Muang domestic flights with no connections to international routes operated by Thai Airways International (THAI) and no-frills carriers. Domestic flights with passengers connecting with international routes will remain at Suvarnabhumi.

It targeted March 15 for the resumption of regular services for Don Muang, which was closed on Sept 28, when the country's main airport moved to Suvarnabhumi.

Human Rights Watch blasts coup

New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) says rights in Southeast Asia have deteriorated in the past year, and Thailand's coup is one of the main reasons.

HRW said basic rights in Thailand, already eroded under the ousted government of Thaksin Shinawatra, had deteriorated after the military seized power last Sept 19.

It criticised restrictions on civil liberties imposed immediately after the coup, including martial law, bans on political gatherings and restrictions on the media.

HRW also took issue with a culture of impunity under Thaksin and his harsh policy toward Burmese refugees.

INTERNATIONAL

West Bank settlements grew in 2006

The population of Israel's settlements in the West Bank grew by 5.8 percent to 268,379 in 2006, the Israeli Interior Ministry said Tuesday.

Israel is supposed to have frozen construction in settlements according to the internationally backed "road map" peace plan, but Israel insists it must build to accommodate natural growth.

One portion of the growth in the West Bank was an influx from Gaza. Israel withdrew from the Gaza Strip and dismantled its 21 settlements there in 2005, and most of the 8,500 settlers moved to the West Bank.

Also Tuesday, Israeli Defense Minister Amir Peretz ordered a halt to construction of a 30-kilometer (18-mile) stretch of the separation barrier Israel is building along the West Bank, his ministry said. The section is in the sparsely populated southern part of the West Bank in the Judean Desert.Environmentalists have warned that the barrier would interfere with movement of animals in the desert.

Blair says manner of

execution was wrong British Prime Minister Tony Blair said Tuesday that the manner of Saddam Hussein's execution was completely wrong and unacceptable

In his first public comments about the Dec. 30 hanging, Blair told a London news conference he hoped disputes over the taunting of the former Iraqi dictator and the release of illicit video footage of the execution would not lead people to forget the gravity of Hussein's crimes.

China 'reassures' Olmert

Israeli PM Ehud Olmert has said he has received candid reassurance from China that the country opposes any plans by Iran to develop nuclear weapons.

Mr Olmert, in China as part of a three-day visit, met his Chinese counterpart Wen Jibao.

Speaking after the discussions, Mr Olmert said he was "positively surprised" by what he had heard.

The US and EU claim Iran is seeking nuclear weapons, but Iran says its programme is entirely peaceful.

"China made it absolutely clear that it opposes an Iran with a nuclear bomb," Mr Olmert told reporters after the 90-minute meeting with the Chinese premier.

Spicy foods target cancer cells

Scientists have discovered the key to the ability of spicy foods to kill cancer cells.

They found capsaicin, an ingredient of jalapeno peppers, triggers cancer cell death by attacking mitochondria. The research raises the possibility that other cancer drugs could be developed to target mitochondria.

The Nottingham University study is featured in Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications.

The study showed that the family of molecules to which capsaicin belongs, the vanilloids, bind to proteins in the cancer cell mitochondria to trigger apoptosis, or cell death, without harming surrounding healthy cells. Capsaicin was tested on cultures of human lung cancer cells and on pancreatic cancers.

Lead researcher Dr Timothy Bates said: "As these compounds attack the very heart of the tumour cells, we believe that we have in effect discovered a fundamental 'Achilles heel' for all cancers.

"The biochemistry of the mitochondria in cancer cells is very different from that in normal cells...This is an innate selective vulnerability of cancer cells."

Bush's Iraq plan runs into opposition

President Bush's call to increase the American military commitment in Iraq ran into intense Congressional opposition Thursday from Democrats and from moderate Republicans who expressed profound skepticism.

A day after the president set out a new strategy for bringing stability to Iraq, the White House found few allies on either side of the aisle when Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice appeared before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. The reception she received suggested that Mr Bush's prime-time address to the nation on Wednesday had done little to build political support for sending additional troops to Baghdad.

Chavez wants to abolish term limit

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, sworn in to another six-year term on Wednesday, said he would seek a constitutional amendment that could extend his tenure as he hastens his country's transformation into what he calls "21st-century socialism."

In a three-hour discourse in the National Assembly that received widespread news coverage across Latin America, Chavez promised that "we are going to radicalise this process of ours, we are going to deepen this revolution."

Perspective
Bangkok Post
Monday January 15, 2007