Vorapol named SEC chief
Vorapol Socatiyanurak, 56, is today appointed as the new secretary-general of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). His appointment is effective today. The Cabinet endorsed his nomination after he resigned as a director of Jasmine International
The Cabinet approved him as proposed by the Finance Ministry, and he took his position with immediate effect from yesterday.
A government source said Vorapol’s resignation from Jasmine took effect on September 27.
He is an expert from the National Institute of Development Administration (Nida) and enrolled in the Capital Market Academy.
Vorapol graduated with a bachelor’s degree from the faculty of science, Chulalongkorn University, and holds master’s degrees in business administration from Nida and Syracuse University in New York. He also earned master’s and doctoral degrees in finance from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.
Vorapol, 56, has extensive experience in the financial market. He served as a vice chairman of the National Economic and Social Advisory Board, chairman of the committee tasked to present proposals on the Thai-US Free Trade Agreement to the Cabinet, an honorary member of the Finance Ministry’s government bond issuance committee, and a member of extraordinary House committees set up to review the Bank of Thailand Act and the Securities and Exchange Act.
Vorapol was the only nominee of the Finance Ministry, though the SEC’s board of directors also nominated the watchdog’s deputy secretary-general Chalee Chantanayingyong as another contender.
Reportedly there were four applications for the post: Chalee, Vorapol, Repee Sucharitakul, former SEC senior assistant secretary-general and former president of Kasikorn Asset Management, and Chaipat Sahasakul, director of the SEC and former president of the Agricultural Futures Exchange of Thailand.
Last week, the Cabinet refused to approve Vorapol’s nomination because he remained a director of a listed company. The watchdog’s chief is barred from holding any position in listed companies or organisations, which could pose conflicts of interest.
Previously when each candidate was weighed for the top job at the SEC, a source said: “Vorapol has broad knowledge of the workings of the capital markets, but less experience than Chalee.
“The finance minister is going to have a hard time making a final decision, because both men are capable and likeable,” the source said. “Chalee is the more acceptable candidate to the investment community because he has been involved in the capital markets for a long time and has gained highly specialised knowledge. Plus, his vision is widely known.”
