Thai SEC Chairman quits over shipping firm scandal

Reuters: The chairman of Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Vijit Supinit, has quit after an accusation he was involved in a hostile takeover attempt for Thoresen Thai Agencies Pcl, the country’s top dry bulk shipper.

“The SEC has received a resignation letter saying that he will resign from the chairman’s position,” the regulator said in a statement after a board meeting on Thursday. The resignation is effective Friday.

The SEC said the resignation came after newspaper reports that Vijit was involved with a group of investors who were trying to take over the company by buying shares in the market.  Vijit was not available for comment.  Last week, Thoresen’s president and CEO, Chandchutha Chandratat, told reporters Vijit was behind a hostile takeover bid by investors who claimed to own 30 percent of the company and were seeking a restructuring of the business.

Chandchutha’s comments led to criticism over Vijit’s role as head of the securities watchdog, while the SEC said it would consider whether it needed to revise its regulations on corporate governance and ethics.

The Stock Exchange of Thailand is in the process of examining the shareholding structure of the company after Chandchutha said it had no evidence of a major change in the list of shareholders as of 13 May.