ABSTRACT
Two hundred years ago, somewhat crushingly, Dr. Johnson observed that, “The King of Siam sent ambassadors to Louis XIV, but Louis XIV sent none to the King of Siam.” No country ignores the modern Siam or its King, for Thailand is a kingdom and the Monarchy continues as a highly respected institution with considerable social and political influence. Thailand does have a definition, based on forms of organisation, provided by the Budgetary Procedure Act of 1959; but the National Economic Development Board Act, also of 1959, provides a slightly different definition and neither definition appears to include the Post Office. There is ambiguity, too, about the treatment of subsidiaries of public enterprises. To the student of public enterprise, it is reassuring to find that the organisation of the undertakings in Thailand conforms to the academically recognised pattern – that is to say, the pattern of departmental and non-departmental enterprises, with the later subdivided between public corporations and companies.
