Capital market law 'needs upgrade'
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THAILAND'S capital market law, which has been in force since 1932, lags behind other countries, says a Stock Exchange of Thailand executive, who expressed concern that the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) might not upgrade the law to the international
Pakorn Peetathawatchai, executive vice president and head of the Corporate Strategy and Finance Division at the SET, said one of the exchange’s plans this year was to press for legal amendments regarding capital markets, extending from the dividend-payment tax, mergers and acquisitions, joint investment, and transfer of rights to investor protection.
The current law has become an obstacle to foreign investment, the bourse believes. But Pakorn worries that the military-appointed NLA does not see this as a priority.
“Personally, I think the current law is not comparable to similar laws in other countries like Malaysia and Singapore,” he said.
The Federation of Thai Capital Market Organisations is also pushing for the law to be amended.
On a separate issue, Pakorn said this year might see lower proportions of investment in gold given likely lower returns. Gold would rather serve as a hedge against inflation and other risks.
Kiatipong Ariyapruchya, director of the SET’s Capital Market Research Institute, said foreign investors became net accumulative purchasers of Thai stocks as of February 6, at Bt569 million, after their net sales of Bt5.3 billion at the end January. The switch followed the European Central Bank’s announcement of its quantitative easing programme.
