The Bank of Thailand has agreed in principle to the establishment of the first exchange-traded, physically delivered gold market.
But the central bank cautioned the set-up could take longer than expected, as the plan needed closer examination before approval.
The issue has been under discussion with officials from the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to work out the regulatory system and related mechanisms for supervision, said Pongpen Ruengvirayudh, the Bank of Thailand's deputy governor overseeing monetary stability.
"If we can agree on the regulation framework, then a time line will follow," she said.
The SET introduced the idea of incorporating a spot gold exchange a few years ago.
Such a bourse would require policymakers' approval and legal amendments allowing the market to be priced and settled in major currencies such as US dollars.
A physical gold exchange is seen as crucial for the SET to achieve its goal of becoming the leading exchange in Southeast Asia.
Asean is set to integrate into a single market late this year.
Although the SET's planned spot gold exchange is not aimed at vying with the Shanghai Gold Exchange or spot gold bullion in London and New York, it would help the SET to offer a full array of products and compete with other Asean exchanges.
The gold exchange is also expected to lift trading volume for local gold dealers after a decline caused by the precious metal's price slump. Some local gold investors have fled to the Singapore Exchange.
In another development, the central bank remains in talks with the SEC on permission to use the dollar to trade equities in the domestic stock market, but no timetable has been set.
Earlier, Rinjai Chakornpipat, managing director of the Thailand Futures Exchange (TFEX), said plans to launch a spot gold market had not been scrapped but rather regulators were "studying an appropriate model" for such an exchange. TFEX is a subsidiary of the SET.