Prachai sells shares, certain he'll win a seat

General news - Friday December 14, 2007

Prachai sells shares, certain he'll win a seat

BUSRIN TREERAPONGPICHIT AMPA SANTIMATANEEDOL

THEERAWAT KHAMTHITA

Embattled Matchimathipataya leader Prachai Leophairatana has shown how confident he is of winning a parliamentary seat in the election as he has sold his entire stake in TPI Polene Plc (TPIPL), preparing for an asset declaration as required by law. Prachai sold his entire 1.52% stake in TPIPL on Dec 7 at 8.35 baht per share, according to disclosures made to the Securities and Exchange Commission. The transaction involved 30.75 million shares worth over 256 million baht.

An executive at TPIPL said the sale was aimed at clearing Prachai's share portfolio before submitting his formal asset declaration to authorities once he becomes an MP or a minister.

''If he takes a political position, the law requires that he be independent from business interests, so he is taking steps before this,'' the source, who is close to Prachai, said.

Prachai has fielded himself at the top of his party list for proportionate representation votes in election zone 6, covering Bangkok, Samut Prakan, and Nonthaburi, as several polls have shown he has a little chance of winning the seat.

In another development, a dozen Matchimathipataya party candidates from the North and Northeast complained to the press that they were in the red and that Prachai had not funded their vote campaigns as promised.

At Prachai's TPI building which is his party's headquarters in Bangkok yesterday morning, 12 Matchimathipataya candidates from the Northeast showed up to demand money. They said their boss had not given them 1.5 million baht each for their vote campaigns.

The candidates are not attached to an established political faction.

Candidate Warin Atthanak from Mukdahan province said he and his colleagues had not received a single baht.

Mr Warin said his colleagues checked their pass books and tried to cash their cashier's cheques but to no avail. Each of them is indebted to the tune of hundreds of thousands of baht. Unlike them, other candidates who were faction members had already received campaign funds from Prachai, he said.

Bangkok Post