Goldman Sachs has apparently managed to get itself out of a spot of hot water in Thailand after issuing a research report which dragged the finance minister into a row with a leading newspaper.
A parliamentary committee on fiscal, banking and financial institutions called for it to be "punished" for its research report issued earlier in the year in which it quoted finance minister Tarrin Nimmanahaeminda as urging the country's banks, including the largest Bangkok Bank, to take advantage of the government's bank recapitalization support programme.
The ensuing fuss resulted in a volatile spate of trading in Bangkok Bank shares, and a local Thai-language newspaper then picked-up on the research report and accused the minister of selling the country short - an accusation over which Tarrin threatened to sue.
Goldman Sachs officials in Bangkok and Hong Kong were unavailable for comment on the matter, and committee chairman Amnuay Yotsuk declined to elaborate on the censure of Goldman when contacted by Euromoney. Bangkok analysts meanwhile accused Goldman of being "a bit naive" in its writings, and it has since retracted its report and apologized, says one local broker.
The incident appears to have been settled, but not before the committee apparently suggested that Goldman's advisory role to the government be reconsidered.