But he stands by his comments on MCOT
NUNTAWUN POLKUAMDEE
Securities regulators have launched an investigation into whether recent statements by Prime Minister's Office Minister Jakrapob Penkair regarding MCOT Plc violated disclosure laws.
''The Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating whether recent statements [about MCOT] violated the law,'' said SEC spokeswoman and director for corporate affairs Charuphan Intararoong.
She said disclosure of privileged information that could affect share prices would be a violation of Articles 239 and 240 of the SEC Act.
''In any case, we will also need to look at the intentions of the person who made the statements,'' Mrs Charuphan said.
Mr Jakrapob on Monday suggested MCOT president Wasan Paileeklee should step down due to the broadcaster's poor financial performance in January.
If concession revenues were excluded, MCOT, the broadcaster of Channel 9, would have posted a financial loss of 27 million baht in January, the first such loss in seven years, Mr Jakrapob said.
The government has formed a committee to investigate his performance at MCOT. But disclosure of privileged financial information about a listed company is a clear violation of securities laws. MCOT has yet to disclose its first-quarter performance and is not scheduled to do so until next month.
Article 239 of the SEC Act prohibits dissemination of information that could ''cause any other person to understand that the prices of any securities will increase or decrease'', except where such information has already been disclosed to the stock exchange. Article 240 makes it a crime to disseminate false news that could affect share prices.
Violations of either section are punishable by prison terms of up to two years or fines of at least 500,000 baht.
Mr Jakrapob yesterday shrugged off the SEC's inquiry, saying that as the SEC conducted the probe, he had the right to defend himself in the investigation.
He insisted that his information about MCOT's financial status was true and noted that the company's financial performance needed to improve.
Finance Minister Surapong Suebwonglee, who also chairs the SEC, said the SEC has a free hand in conducting an inquiry against Mr Jakrapob.
''Whoever it is, he or she must be punished if he or she violates the SEC rules,'' he said.
MCOT, which is two-thirds controlled by the Finance Ministry, reported 2007 profits of 1.1 billion baht, down from 1.5 billion the year before. Revenue also fell to 3.95 billion baht last year from 4.34 billion the previous year.
Mr Wasan yesterday denied reports that MCOT was facing a loss, noting that profits in the second half of last year rose 36% from the first half. Revenues also increased by 24% from July to December compared with the first six months of 2007, he said.
He acknowledged that programme rescheduling in January for the company's entertainment lineup had affected performance. ''But if you look at the overall picture, MCOT continues to show strong profit growth,'' Mr Wasan said.
''Excluding the programme replacements, MCOT is still profitable and we still forecast 15-20% growth in revenues in 2008.''
Mr Wasan said if anyone wanted to evaluate the performance of MCOT, they should look at the whole picture of the company and its earnings outlook.
''Since I was appointed, the performance of MCOT has improved significantly. The proof is in our performance last year, and how the second half improved significantly from the first,'' he said.
Mr Wasan was appointed MCOT chief in May 2007. He replaced Mingkwan Sangsuwan, now commerce minister, who resigned from the state enterprise following the Sept 19, 2006 coup.
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NUNTAWUN POLKUAMDEE
Securities regulators have launched an investigation into whether recent statements by Prime Minister's Office Minister Jakrapob Penkair regarding MCOT Plc violated disclosure laws.
''The Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating whether recent statements [about MCOT] violated the law,'' said SEC spokeswoman and director for corporate affairs Charuphan Intararoong.
She said disclosure of privileged information that could affect share prices would be a violation of Articles 239 and 240 of the SEC Act.
''In any case, we will also need to look at the intentions of the person who made the statements,'' Mrs Charuphan said.
Mr Jakrapob on Monday suggested MCOT president Wasan Paileeklee should step down due to the broadcaster's poor financial performance in January.
If concession revenues were excluded, MCOT, the broadcaster of Channel 9, would have posted a financial loss of 27 million baht in January, the first such loss in seven years, Mr Jakrapob said.
The government has formed a committee to investigate his performance at MCOT. But disclosure of privileged financial information about a listed company is a clear violation of securities laws. MCOT has yet to disclose its first-quarter performance and is not scheduled to do so until next month.
Article 239 of the SEC Act prohibits dissemination of information that could ''cause any other person to understand that the prices of any securities will increase or decrease'', except where such information has already been disclosed to the stock exchange. Article 240 makes it a crime to disseminate false news that could affect share prices.
Violations of either section are punishable by prison terms of up to two years or fines of at least 500,000 baht.
Mr Jakrapob yesterday shrugged off the SEC's inquiry, saying that as the SEC conducted the probe, he had the right to defend himself in the investigation.
He insisted that his information about MCOT's financial status was true and noted that the company's financial performance needed to improve.
Finance Minister Surapong Suebwonglee, who also chairs the SEC, said the SEC has a free hand in conducting an inquiry against Mr Jakrapob.
''Whoever it is, he or she must be punished if he or she violates the SEC rules,'' he said.
MCOT, which is two-thirds controlled by the Finance Ministry, reported 2007 profits of 1.1 billion baht, down from 1.5 billion the year before. Revenue also fell to 3.95 billion baht last year from 4.34 billion the previous year.
Mr Wasan yesterday denied reports that MCOT was facing a loss, noting that profits in the second half of last year rose 36% from the first half. Revenues also increased by 24% from July to December compared with the first six months of 2007, he said.
He acknowledged that programme rescheduling in January for the company's entertainment lineup had affected performance. ''But if you look at the overall picture, MCOT continues to show strong profit growth,'' Mr Wasan said.
''Excluding the programme replacements, MCOT is still profitable and we still forecast 15-20% growth in revenues in 2008.''
Mr Wasan said if anyone wanted to evaluate the performance of MCOT, they should look at the whole picture of the company and its earnings outlook.
''Since I was appointed, the performance of MCOT has improved significantly. The proof is in our performance last year, and how the second half improved significantly from the first,'' he said.
Mr Wasan was appointed MCOT chief in May 2007. He replaced Mingkwan Sangsuwan, now commerce minister, who resigned from the state enterprise following the Sept 19, 2006 coup.
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