Thai Union Chairman Kraisorn Chansiri resigns following insider trading fine

Thai Union Founder and Chairman Kraisorn Chansiri has resigned after receiving civil sanctions from Thailand’s Security and Exchange Commission for alleged insider trading.

In an 18 April, 2022, letter to the Stock Exchange of Thailand, where the company’s stock is traded, Thai Union said Chansiri and Thai Union Executive Director Chuan Tangchansiri will resign “in order to show their sincerity and prevent any negative impacts on the company.”

Chansiri founded Bangkok, Thailand-based Thai Union in 1977, and the company has since grown to become one of the world’s largest seafood companies, with USD 4.2 billion (EUR 3.8 billion) in sales and USD 200 million (EUR 181.2 million) in net profit in 2020.

Thai Union Executive Director Chuan Tangchansiri, the executive director of numerous Thai Union subsidiaries, including Songkla Canning, Thai Union Manufacturing, Thai Sea Food Co., Asian-Pacific Can Co., and Asian Pacific Thai Tuna, has also resigned from his company directorship, according to the company.

An investigation by Thailand’s Security and Exchange Commission alleged nine Thai Union shareholders engaged in insider trading between October and November 2017, in advance of the public release of Thai Union’s Q3 2017 performance, which indicated a significant increase in profit. According to the SEC, Kraisorn Chansiri and Tangchansiri obtained advance notice of the profit-increase and bought shares of Thai Union with the expectation the positive performance would boost the company’s stock price. Additionally, they passed the inside information on to family members and others, who also bought Thai Union shares.

Kraisorn Chansiri was fined THB 3.4 million (USD 101,600, EUR 92,000) and was barred from serving as a director or executive of any publicly-traded company in Thailand for 14 months. Tangchansiri was fined THB 1.7 million (USD 50,800, EUR 46,000) and was prohibited from serving as a director executive of any Thai public company for 14 months, 

In the company’s 18 April letter, signed by Kraisorn Chansiri’s son and current Thai Union President and CEO Thiraphong Chansiri, Thai Union said it had “seriously conducted fact-finding investigation and found no evidence indicating any insider trading activities.”

“The company has adhered to the good corporate governance of the listed company and always continued to maintain our corporate governance standard including uplift[ing] and updat[ing] our corporate governance system to be aligned with international standards,” he wrote.

Of the nine Thai Union shareholders “who are named on the news,” only Kraisorn Chansiri amd Chuan Tangchansiri were acting as company directors and executives, Thiraphong Chansiri wrote. Both have resigned effective 18 April, he said.

Photo courtesy of Thai Union