Thailand's House of Representatives unanimously accepted in principle on 10 June a government-sponsored bill to amend the Securities and Exchange Act, opening the way for issuance and trading of securities in electronic form while strengthening regulatory oversight of electronic securities transactions.
The vote was 455 in favour, and the House set up a 25-member special committee to scrutinise the bill before its second and third readings. The cabinet-sponsored bill would allow securities to be issued, held, transferred and used as collateral through electronic systems, and sets penalties for violations of the electronic securities rules.
HOW IT WILL WORK
The Securities and Exchange Commission will specify which types of securities can be issued in electronic form, with debt instruments identified as initial candidates, and will consider stakeholder readiness before issuing secondary rules.
The SEC's secretary-general said the bill does not create new assets, and the government said it applies technology to existing securities such as shares and bonds.
During the debate, MPs raised concerns that illicit capital and stock-market fraud cases were undermining confidence in the capital market.
Sources: Bangkok Post, Spacebar, The Standard