(Bloomberg) — Thaksin Shinawatra, the de facto chief of Thailand’s ruling party, called for tighter regulatory oversight, better corporate governance and tax incentives for long-term equity investors to revive confidence in the country’s stock market.
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The two-time former prime minister and father of incumbent leader Paetongtarn Shinawatra, Thaksin said the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Stock Exchange of Thailand should play a more proactive role in rebuilding confidence dented in recent years by a series of corporate scandals. He also said it was time for the bourse to review the high frequency trades that benefited none besides generating trading volume.
“Trust, confidence and sentiments are not great in the Thai market now,” Thaksin said at a dinner-talk organized by Thai-language newspaper Kao Hoon. “We need to bring back trust and confidence.”
Thailand’s $490 billion stock market has underperformed most of its Southeast Asian peers in the past year as foreign investors headed for exit over concerns of a series of corporate scandals, illegal short selling and lackluster performance of listed companies as the economy remains sluggish. Political uncertainties have also accelerated investor exodus. The Stock Exchange of Thailand is down 3.3% so far this year with HSBC lowering the market to underweight last week, saying there are limited positive catalysts.
Thai stock exchange along with the markets regulator have taken a number of measures including mandatory registration for high-frequency traders and tighter disclosure norms to curb the so-called naked short selling of stocks. They have also turned to law enforcement agencies to crackdown on perpetrators of corporate frauds, including at listed companies such as Energy Absolute Pcl, Stark Corp. and More Return Pcl.
But Thaksin said many companies and regulators have been slow to react to frauds, eroding confidence of foreign investors in the Thai market. The SEC and exchange should enforce the rules strictly “to keep the house clean,” he said.
Thaksin, a long-time advocate of cryptocurrencies, said Thailand should consider issuing stablecoins backed by government bonds to retail and institutional investors while exploring other avenues for digital currencies. Authorities are also weighing a sandbox in Phuket for bitcoin transactions in tourism related services, he said.
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Major highlights of Thaksin’s speech:
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Board of Investment should lure foreign companies like integrated resort operators to list in Thailand
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Open a carbon credit trading venue to ensure better prices
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Government should be able to cut electricity tariff to 3.70 baht per unit and low power prices should become an incentive for attracting foreign investments in data center operators and AI infrastructure
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Invite private and foreign companies to invest in a sea reclamation project to prevent Bangkok from further sinking with 99 years of lease contract
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Bank of Thailand should be talking to other stakeholders
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Thaksin sees GDP growth rate of more than 3% this year, 4% in 2026 and 5% in 2027
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Thailand needs to build more infrastructure for the benefit of foreign tourists
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Finance Ministry in the process of setting up an infrastructure fund that will pave the way for introduction of flat commuter fare of 20 baht on Bangkok’s electric trains by October
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Ministry also weighing the pros and cons of proposals to lower personal and corporate income taxes and increasing value-added tax
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