State Enterprise and Public Interest: Trade Competition Law Issue

Abstract

           This Article is aimed at elaborating on a business activity carried out by government under one of its entity called a ‘State Enterprise’ and its obligation to ‘Public Interest’.  Such a State Enterprise is, particularly, in the category whereby a nearly similar amount of its shares are also owned by other private share holders trading in the stock market, such as, the PTT Public Company Limited.  The elaboration on public interest issue will be focused on the provisions of Thai trade competition laws, i.e. the predecessor, Trade Competition Act, B.E. 2542 and its follower, the Trade Competition Act, B.E. 2560.   

            In principle, both of Thai competition laws focus on free and fair trade competition conducted by all businesses under variety of their provisions which promote free trade and prohibit unfair trade.  However, both laws exempt their application to all state enterprises including PTT Public Company Limited.  Irrespective of the amendment regarding this exemption made in Thai competition law which is currently in force, i.e. Trade Competition Act, B.E. 2560, such amendment, according to the writer, is still inefficient and might even introduce some other new problems to the law itself.             

            In the course of this study, the writer has found out that competition law is inevitably a law aiming at public interest.  The exemption from its application to state enterprises should thus be carefully considered, particularly, to a state enterprise being in the same status as the PTT Public Company Limited because the benefits it gains do not entirely fall on the government, but also on a large number of its other private shareholders, the details of which will be further presented in this Article.