Former Thai PM in Exile Appears as Chinese Port Terminal Chief

LIAO SHUMIN

(Yicai Global) Jan. 8 — Yingluck Shinawatra, former Thai prime minister who has lived in exile since August 2017, has become a chairwoman and legal representative to Shantou International Container Terminals, a southern Chinese port operator.

SICT’s legal representative Lin Daqi was replaced by Shinawatra on Dec. 12, according to Qixinbao platform which reports companies’ registration data.

Hutchison Port Holdings, a former majority shareholder of the Guangdong province-based port company, sold its 70 percent stake to a Singaporean investor and also brought in other investors afterward, state-backed The Paper reported today, citing the Hong Kong-based former parent. However, China Merchants Port Holdings, partly owned by Shantou’s municipal government, still seems to have its 30 percent stake, according to Qixinbao.

SICT is located in Zhuchi port in Shantou Special Economic Zone, 187 sea miles northeast of Hong Kong and 214 sea miles west of Taiwan. In 1994, Hongkong International Terminals, a unit of Hutchison Port Holdings owned by Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing, and Shantou Port Affairs Bureau jointly founded SICT.

The Constitutional Court of Thailand removed Shinawatra from office in May 2014 due to allegations on mishandling a large rice purchasing program. Shinawatra, a sister to former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, has obtained a 10-year UK visa, BBC Thai reported last May.

Editor: Emmi Laine