Thai Cabinet to Consider Telecom Compensation Report

Thailand’s information ministry will submit a report to Cabinet Feb 1 urging the government to seek compensation from the nation’s biggest mobile-phone companies over losses caused by changes to their operating licenses.

“I want to look at the overall picture to make sure that this business is treated fairly and the rules are consistent,” Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said today, declining to confirm whether the government will pursue claims against Advanced Info Service Pcl, Total Access Communication Pcl and True Move Ltd., a unit of True Corp. Information Minister Chuti Krairiksh said yesterday Advanced Info should pay compensation after a court ruled last year that former premier Thaksin Shinawatra abused his power to benefit the company. In the early 1990s, state-controlled TOT Pcl and CAT Telecom Pcl offered concessions to private companies to invest in a mobile-phone network they could operate for a set period in return for royalties.