The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) plan to jointly launch a one-stop service centre by September to reduce redundancy linked with fundraising and stock listing.
The organisations will also collaborate on joint macroeconomic research to develop long-term capital market development policies. The SEC and the SET held a joint meeting on Friday to discuss the capital market policy framework.
“We plan to work together to develop the Thai capital market’s competitiveness to support the country’s 20-year national strategy by building connectivity and accessibility,” said SEC secretary-general Ruenvadee Suwanmongkol, who was appointed to the post last month.
At present, listed firms must hold discussions with both the SET and the SEC. In each IPO deal, the SEC takes responsibility for approving the company's allocation of IPO shares to investors, while the SET's task is to give the green light for the company to list on the bourse.
The three core projects on which the two regulators plan to collaborate are the one-stop service centre, one report and one ESG (environmental, social and governance) project. The one-stop service centre is an initiative to provide end-to-end answers for companies about funding and listing rules.
The centre's first phase of development is expected by Sept 24. Expansion into services associated with the Commerce Ministry could materialise in the next phase.
Questions from SET-listed firms and companies with listing potential together with responses from the SEC and the SET will be recorded in the customer relationship management (CRM) system, allowing both regulators to observe identical information and respond with the same details.
"The one-stop service centre and records [of questions and answers] can promote the ease of doing business in the capital market," said SET president Pakorn Peetathawatchai.
The second-phase services linked with the Commerce Ministry will depend on the relevant laws and information gaps between the regulators and the ministry.
For one report, this initiative aims to help listed companies by reducing an overlap of reports where listed firms are required to report to the bourse annually.
The new combined form will be in a machine-readable format and will become effective in 2021. Listed companies can begin submitting this type of report in 2020 on a voluntary basis.