Top business leaders in Thailand said on January, 29 that the government’s proposed changes to foreign investment rules were politically motivated and left foreign firms mired in uncertainty. The government earlier this month proposed closing a loophole that many international companies have used to support their operations here, prompting widespread concern among foreign investors about the direction of Thai policy.

Under the changes to the Foreign Business Act, foreign investors would be limited to holding not more than 50 percent of the shares and the voting rights in companies.

The changes to the law could force Temasek to restructure the deal, or possibly to sell off some of their shares. A Temasek-led group of investors now holds some 97 percent of Shin Corp. But foreign investors said the proposed changes to the law remain unclear, undermining confidence in Thailand after the coup.

The government has insisted that many companies will be exempt from the new rules, including exporters and manufacturers, but that has done little to reassure investors who also worry about future abrupt changes to policy. In mid-December, the Bank of Thailand imposed draconian capital controls, sparking a one-day stock market crash and forcing policymakers to backtrack on some of the rules.