Demutualisation plan for bourse scrapped

The board, chaired by Finance Minister Kittiratt Na-Ranong, met for the first time under a new structure of directors, consisting of representatives from state agencies and the private sector involving capital, regulators and the Bank of Thailand.
Kittiratt said after the meeting that the board had approved doing away with the demutualisation plan for the SET, following the government’s policy.
Demutualisation is a form of privatisation.
“The SET has never been dominated by brokerage houses with large capital. But the government can accept that the exchange will be exempted from annual corporate income tax. So the |SET can use this income for further development under the regulation of the SEC,” |he said.
“The board agreed on the government’s policy to keep the country as a shareholder of the SET.”
Kittiratt said the board also considered tax measures related to all aspects of the capital market, as a working committee has completed a study on this matter. There is expected to be a final decision in May before seeking approval from the Cabinet in June. Meanwhile, SEC secretary-general Dr Vorapol Socatiyanurak said liberalisation of brokerage commission fees was proceeding according to a five-year plan, commencing on January 1. The board has agreed on continuing this.

STEP BY STEP
The SEC has followed the plan one step at a time to prepare the brokerages for rising competition. Vorapol said this would be good for investors and companies that use the capital market as a fund-raising resource.
“It is not reasonable that we have to guarantee a minimum commission fee any longer. Securities businesses should not receive special treatment superior to other businesses,” he said.