Latest news with #ZhangChuanling
The Independent
22-04-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Thailand arrests Chinese executive linked to Bangkok tower that collapsed during earthquake
Thailand's authorities arrested a Chinese executive linked to the construction company responsible for a high-rise tower that collapsed during the 28 March earthquake in Bangkok, killing at least 47 people. Zhang Chuanling was detained at a hotel in the capital on Saturday and special investigators sought to extend his detention by 12 days, local media reported. He is among four individuals wanted for allegedly using Thai nationals as nominee shareholders to conceal Chinese control of China Railway No 10 (Thailand) Co, a subsidiary of a Chinese state-owned firm. The company was part of a joint venture with Italian-Thai Development Plc to build the ill-fated 30-storey state Audit Office tower in the Chatuchak district of Bangkok. According to justice minister Tawee Sodsong, investigators have found credible evidence that the company used the three Thai nationals as proxies to conceal foreign control. The four men are accused of breaching Thailand's Foreign Business Act, which limits foreign ownership in local companies to 49 per cent, according to Thailand's Department of Special Investigation (DSI). Mr Zhang is listed as holding a 49 per cent stake in China Railway No. 10 (Thailand), according to Thailand's corporate registry. On Tuesday, the Bangkok Post reported that three Thai men accused of acting as nominees for the Chinese state-owned construction company involved in the collapsed State Audit Office building were brought before the court. They denied the allegations and were remanded in custody for 12 days to allow further investigation. None of the men sought bail. Thai prime minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra has been under increasing public pressure following the collapse of the 30-storey government building. She has ordered a full investigation into all Thai projects involving China Railway No. 10 (Thailand). The company is involved in around a dozen other projects across Thailand. The 7.7-magnitude earthquake on 28 March claimed over 3,700 lives in Myanmar. In Thailand, 47 people were killed – most at the site of the building collapse – while another 47 remain missing. While the project was a joint venture with Thai firm Italian-Thai Development, workers say China Railway 10th was effectively in charge of daily operations. Meanwhile, on Monday, Thai officials said that steel rods supplied by Xin Ke Yuan Steel, also partly owned by Chinese nationals, failed safety tests, with two types found at the collapse site not meeting standards. The company has denied these allegations, claiming all their products passed inspections and that they are being treated unfairly, though they declined to address the specific failed rods.
New York Times
21-04-2025
- Business
- New York Times
Thailand Arrests Executive Linked to Bangkok Tower Felled by Earthquake
The authorities in Thailand have arrested an official linked to a Chinese state-owned company that was part of a consortium developing the only building that collapsed in Bangkok during last month's earthquake, which killed dozens of people at the site. The Thai police arrested the man, a Chinese national identified only by his surname, Zhang, in Bangkok on Saturday. He was held after a Thai court issued arrest warrants for four board members of a company called China Railway 10th (Thailand), according to Thailand's Department of Special Investigation. Local news media identified him as Zhang Chuanling, who worked for a subsidiary of China Railway 10th Engineering Group, a state-owned firm. The three others, all Thai nationals, are on the run. The four men are accused of violating the Foreign Business Act, which forbids foreigners from owning more than 49 percent of a business. Investigators have found credible evidence, according to Thailand's justice minister, Tawee Sodsong, that the company had used the three Thai people as stand-ins for other foreigners. Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra of Thailand is facing growing public pressure to account for the shocking collapse of the 30-story building, which was being built to house the nation's State Audit Office. She has called for a full investigation into all projects in Thailand involving China Railway 10th, which was largely in charge of constructing the doomed building and whose contractors tried to remove documents from the site after the disaster. The company has about a dozen other projects in Thailand. The swift toppling of the tower also drew widespread attention because the earthquake's epicenter was more than 600 miles away, in neighboring Myanmar. The death toll in Thailand from the March 28 earthquake stands at 47, with another 47 still missing but almost certainly dead. Nearly all of the fatalities were at the building collapse. The joint venture developing the tower included a Thai firm, Italian-Thai Development. But according to workers, daily operations were run by China Railway 10th. Construction workers in Bangkok told The New York Times that China Railway 10th underpaid contractors, who turned to lower quality materials and used columns narrower than usual. Thai officials who tested twisted metal from the ruins said they found substandard steel bars — made by a Thai factory with Chinese owners that the authorities had shut down in December. An anti-corruption watchdog also said it had flagged construction irregularities. A man called Zhang Chuanling is listed as a 49 percent shareholder in China Railway 10th (Thailand), according to the Thai company database. Mr. Zhang could not be reached for comment and it was unclear who his lawyer is. Muktita Suhartono contributed reporting from Jakarta.
Times of Oman
21-04-2025
- Business
- Times of Oman
Chinese executive of firm constructing collapsed high-rise in Bangkok arrested
Bangkok: Authorities in Thailand have arrested a Chinese executive of the construction company responsible for building an office building in Bangkok that collapsed during the March 28 earthquake, killing dozens of people, according to local media reports. Thailand's Department of Special Investigation (DSI) took into custody Zhang Chuanling, a Chinese national, on Saturday. He is one of four people wanted on arrest warrants for allegedly acting as nominees for the Thai-owned subsidiary of a Chinese construction firm, the Bangkok Post reported. The firm was building the 30-storey State Audit Office headquarters in Chatuchak district of Bangkok, which collapsed after an earthquake of magnitude that struck central Myanmar on March 28. A search is ongoing for the other three suspects, who are all Thai nationals, the report in the Bangkok Post added. On Saturday, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration said there were 103 victims from the collapse. Of them, nine were injured, 47 were confirmed dead, and 47 remain missing. As per a report in the Thai news outlet, The Nation, preliminary findings by of a joint investigation by the DSI and the Royal Thai Police. have revealed that three Thai nationals were used as proxy shareholders on behalf of foreign interests, violating Thailand's Foreign Business Act. "Financial records uncovered transactions exceeding 2 billion baht linked to loans involving Chinese executives. These financial arrangements paved the way for China Railway No.10 (Thailand) to secure a government contract via a joint venture, raising suspicions of illicit bidding practices," as per the report in The Nation. China Railway No.10 was part of a joint venture with an Italian-Thai firm to build the State Audit Office tower before its collapse. As per local media reports, officials are examining whether construction materials--specifically steel and cement--met industrial standards under the Industrial Product Standards Act. Investigators are reviewing design documents, project supervision records, and nine rounds of design modifications, some of which may involve forged signatures from engineers and supervisors.
