Legal Measures in the Change of Status of Provincial Waterworks Authority to Be a Public Limited Company

Abstract

This research article aims to study (1) concepts and theories on privatization of state enterprises; (2) problems of legal measures for changing state enterprises to be public limited companies of Thailand; (3) compare legal measures for changing state enterprises to be to be a public limited company of Thai and foreign countries; and (4) drafting legal measures to change the status of the Provincial Waterworks Authority to be a public company limited according to the State Enterprise Capital Act, B.E. 2542 by using a qualitative research method and collecting data through documentary research, in-depth interviews and focus group discussion and analyzed the data by using content analysis techniques and comparison interpretation.

Findings are as follows: Although in the past Thailand used to have the idea of privatizing state-owned enterprises in the period that owed the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in 1997, the Provincial Waterworks Authority was one of the state-owned enterprises that the government at that time must be completed under the agreement of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), but due to several legal problems. Whether it is the Provincial Waterworks Authority Act, B.E. 2522 and especially the State Enterprise Capital Act, B.E. 2542 that is the main law that prevents the Provincial Waterworks from converting. Therefore, if the Provincial Waterworks Authority is able to draft the State Enterprise Capital Act (Only for the Provincial Waterworks Authority Public Company Limited) B.E. . . . which is a specific law used to solve the problem of changing such status. It can help increase economic efficiency, reduce costs and the burden of government debt that arises. As well as helping to raise the efficiency of operations and earning income from the privatization of the Provincial Waterworks Authority to be used in the country's infrastructure investment.