The latest chapter in the ongoing 900-MHz auction saga has seen TrueMove announcing it would not pay the first instalment until the regulator clarifies the re-auction terms, in what can only be described as a bout of buyer’s remorse.
All credit to True’s PR team for successfully taking control of the narrative making it out that it’s Jasmine’s fault that things have gotten this messy. True has demanded that Jas be responsible for all costs associated with the auction re-run as well.
Never mind the tiny detail that True itself bid the most in the December auction, even more than Jas, and is arguably in the same boat as Jas - True still has not secured funding for the mammoth 75-billion baht ($2.1 billion) auction bill yet. True’s banker, Siam Commercial Bank, announced it had approved the loan but it had exceeded Bank of Thailand single-lender rules and hence the matter now rests with the banking regulator as to whether to allow the loan. Jasmine’s banker, Bangkok Bank, however still has not even decided whether to grant the loan or not.