E-Malt.com News article: Thailand: Time not right for ThaiBev to list on home market

Thai Beverage Pcl (ThaiBev), the country's largest brewer and distiller, has scrapped plans to list shares on its home market and will not do a backdoor listing via a subsidiary, its CEO was quoted as saying by Reuters on September, 14.

"We no longer have a plan to list in Bangkok," Thapana Sirivadhanabhakdi said. "We did get approached by the Thai bourse some time back but we couldn't go in and the timing just wasn't right."

He added that the company also had no plan to do a backdoor listing through a subsidiary, green tea maker Oishi Group .

Singapore-listed Thai Beverage has faced repeated problems when trying to list on the Bangkok bourse.

The most recent failed attempt was in late 2008, when anti-alcohol activists staged a protest in front of the stock exchange, demanding that the authorities change market rules to stop alcohol-related firms getting a listing.

The company first tried to go public six years ago as part of plans to bring its sprawling operations under one company, but it gave up in the face of opposition from monks and anti-alcohol activists who said it would promote alcohol consumption in Thailand.

Thai Beverage eventually decided to list instead in Singapore in May 2006.

Thai Beverage, owned by liquor tycoon Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi, makes Chang beer and top-selling Mekong whisky.

It is market leader for beer in Thailand, ahead of unlisted rival Boon Rawd Brewery, the maker of Singha beer.


15 September, 2010