The Finance Ministry plans to acquire the entire 55% stake in Krungthai Bank (KTB) held by the Financial Institutions Development Fund (FIDF) in a deal worth 100 billion baht.
The acquisition would pave the way for transferring the 12 corporatised state enterprises as planned to a holding company due to be set up soon.
The State Enterprises Policy Commission or superboard has backed the plan, and the deal will be concluded after the holding firm is established, said Banyong Pongpanich, a superboard member and the chairman of Phatra Securities Plc.
"The share transfer will not be funded by money from taxes -- it will not even use any money," he said without elaborating.
The move is a possible way for the Finance Ministry to transfer the debt.
The FIDF issues bonds to finance debt incurred from bailing out troubled financial institutions during the 1997 financial crisis.
Mr Banyong said a draft bill on the formation of the holding company would seek cabinet approval next month, and the company was expected to take shape in mid-2016.
The draft bill is part of a bid by the superboard to prevent political interference, ensure management transparency and enhance efficiency of state enterprises.
The holding firm, a wholly owned unit of the Finance Ministry, will own and supervise the 12 state enterprises, while the State Enterprise Policy Office will supervise the remaining 45 state enterprises.
Among the 12 targeted state enterprises, only KTB's shares are not owned by the ministry. Other corporatised state enterprises include PTT, TOT, CAT Telecom, MCOT, Thai Airways International (THAI), Airports of Thailand and the State Railway of Thailand.
The 12 state enterprises have combined assets of 6 trillion baht.
"This planned purchase will reduce the FIDF's debt by about 100 billion baht," Mr Banyong said.
In August, the FIDF saw its debt drop to 998 billion baht from more than 1 trillion. It estimated it would pay off the debt in less than 15 years, earlier than the 24 years previously scheduled.
The central bank's net profits, the FIDF's assets, dividend payments from banks in which the FIDF holds stakes and commercial banks' contribution of 0.46% of the deposit base are being used to pay off the debt.
Mr Banyong said it would take another year for national carrier THAI to recover.
THAI posted a nine-month net loss of 18.1 billion baht compared with a loss of 9.2 billion in the same period last year, increasing the likelihood that the airline's full-year loss could equal or exceed its all-time high of 21.3 billion in 2008.
KTB shares closed yesterday on the Stock Exchange of Thailand at 17.20 baht, unchanged, in trade worth 323 million baht.
THAI shares closed at 9.85 baht, down 10 satang, in trade worth 18.1 million baht.