Bangkok's Central Bankruptcy Court has rejected a bid by Thailand's Ministry of Finance for an additional two administrators to help manage the business rehabilitation process at Thai Airways International (TG, Bangkok Suvarnabhumi).
During a January 22 hearing, the court said the current three administrators were doing an acceptable job. The ministry, which remains Thai's top shareholder after a recent debt-to-equity conversion process and a fresh share issuance, had wanted to add officials from the Office of Transport and Traffic Policy and Planning and State Enterprise Policy Office to the panel of administrators, who are overseeing the airline during the court-supervised business rehabilitation procedures, a process somewhat akin to Chapter 11 in the United States.
Among other things, the court said the current administrators had managed the process without incurring a single debt default, and adding the extra two administrators would cost THB10 million baht (USD300,000) annually, which the court considered an unnecessary expense.
The court's decision came despite the majority of creditors voting in favour of adding the extra administrators, although some minority shareholders protested against it. However, the court did approve proposals to reduce the par value of shares to eliminate accumulated losses and accelerate debt repayments. Among other things, speeding up debt repayments will benefit creditors.
After the court's ruling, Thai Airways CEO Chai Eamsiri told the Thai PBS World broadcaster that the airline remained on track to exit the business rehabilitation process in the first half of this year and relist on the Bangkok Stock Exchange shortly afterwards.
