Citic Resources Holdings decided to abandon talks with Thai partners on forming a joint-venture alternative to Bangkok's restructuring plan for Thailand's largest petrochemical firm on the day Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra began his recent visit to China.
The coincidence in the timing sparked speculation that the Thai government had asked Beijing not to pursue the Citic Resources-led rival bid for insolvent Thai Petrochemical Industry (TPI), an analyst said.
Citic Resources, the listed natural resource unit of state-owned China International Trust and Investment Corp (Citic), said it withdrew from negotiations to set up the joint venture on June 30 and notified its partners on July 1.
Mr Thaksin kicked off a three-day visit in China on June 30 to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Sino-Thai diplomatic ties, during which he met with Premier Wen Jiabao.
The prime minister said he hoped Chinese companies would join forces with Thai partners in exploring oil and gas resources.
Citic Resources and TPI founder Prachai Leophairatana proposed to buy a 75 per cent stake in TPI to help the latter repay US$2.7 billion owed to 140 creditors since the onset of the Asian financial crisis.
