THAILAND: Thailand's military government has given the country's new king full control over what is reputed to be the world's richest royal fortune, estimated at more than $US30 billion ($38 billion).
King Maha Vajiralongkorn now has authority to manage the Crown Property Bureau, a unique and little-known institution that controls a vast portfolio of properties and investments, as he sees fit.
Thailand's parliament, which is stacked with military appointees after a 2014 coup, last week rubber-stamped with little publicity the first amendments to the Crown Property Act in 69 years. The exact size of the fortune has not been made public in the country, where draconian lese-majeste laws shield the monarchy from scrutiny.
The bureau holds stakes in Siam Commercial Bank and Siam Cement that alone are worth more than $US9 billion.
The bureau owns at least 8400 hectares of land in Bangkok, mainly in the historic part of the city. Across the country the bureau has 40,000 rental properties, about 17,000 in Bangkok, including government offices, slum communities, shops, markets and prime sites occupied by hotels, office blocks and shopping centres. Some analysts estimate the assets could be worth as much as $US60 billion.
The assets belong to the monarchy as an institution which continues from reign to reign, but not to the king in his private capacity, and are “held in trust for the nation”.
King Vajiralongkorn, 64, has become increasingly assertive since ascending to the throne in December following the death in October of his father, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, a revered figure who ruled for seven decades. A royal decree in April transferred five state agencies overseeing royal affairs, including palace security, from the government's to the king's supervision.
Under the decree those working in the agencies are considered to be under the king's custody – not civil servants or state officials. Constitutional amendments early this year included a provision allowing the king to travel overseas without having to appoint a regent and ended the need for all royal decrees to be countersigned by a government official. The king has also replaced some of his father's loyalists with his own appointees.
A palace announcement stated that the bureau's properties, in addition to the king's private properties, will be managed “at His Majesty's discretion”.
It stated the monarch can assign to the bureau any individual or agency to manage the properties and assets.
The new laws give the king sole power to appoint a board of directors to manage crown property and appoint its chairperson, a position previously held by whoever was finance minister. - SYDNEY MORNING HERALD
Add new comment