Some Shinawatra companies made large losses in 1997 and 1998 because of the general economic downturn (table 2.2). But the group was much more lightly affected than its rivals, and indeed than most other major Thai corporations. Most business groups were obliged to sell off some assets to survive, and some were reduced to a fraction of their former worth and size. But Shinawatra disposed of only a few minor projects. It reduced its share in the directories business, delayed the fourth Thaicom satellite, and sold off its overseas ventures in India and the Philippines. Its major adjustment was to sell a stake of around 20 percent in AIS to Singapore Telecom, but this amounted to a strategic partnership as much as a cash generating maneuver.