Former premier Thaksin Shinawatra has outlined measures to revitalise the Thai stock market, suggesting the relevant agencies urgently restore investor confidence and emphasising that any crimes must be punished immediately.
Thaksin highlighted three words to revitalise the Stock Exchange of Thailand: trust, confidence and sentiment.
“We have to admit all three are absent at the moment, partly caused by the global outlook. We must urgently bring them back,” he said at a wide-ranging dinner talk hosted by the Thai business newspaper Khaohoon on Monday.
Regulations must be updated to address unfavourable events promptly and strengthen the regulatory power of authorities to resolve issues effectively.
Thaksin said the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Stock Exchange of Thailand should play a more proactive role in rebuilding confidence dented in recent years by a series of corporate scandals.
The benchmark SET Index fell 14 points in Tuesday to close at 1,340.25. Since the start of the new year it has declined by 4.3%.
He also said it was time for the bourse to review the high-frequency trading that brings few benefits beyond generating trading volume.
In addition, the SET must ensure companies do not misuse capital. Proper accounting records must be maintained, and auditing systems must be accurate. Management practices must adhere to proper standards, ensuring these issues do not create problems that could impact the overall stock market, he said.
“From now on, there must be continuous monitoring and health checks of listed companies. These are vital to build market credibility,” he said.
Thaksin said the Ministry of Finance is preparing to strengthen the authority of the SEC to handle problems immediately, without waiting for a prosecutor or the Department of Special Investigation to take charge.
Casinos and crypto
Speaking just hours after the cabinet approved a draft law to legalise casinos, Thaksin also said the government was coming up with ways to control access to, and tax revenue from, online gambling.
“Online gambling has two to four million Thai users with savings of 300 billion baht and gains and losses of about 500 billion per year,” he said.
“If we can tax 20% … we would get more than 100 billion per year.”
In addition, he said, the government and relevant agencies would promote new investment products, such as casino-based entertainment complexes, digital assets and the carbon credit market, to provide investors with more options.
Economic fundamentals must also be buttressed to make Thailand more appealing, as sustainable economic growth will naturally attract investment, said Thaksin. He projects GDP growth of more than 3% this year, 4% in 2026 and 5% in 2027.
Accelerated GDP growth should be evident by the second half of 2025, he said.
New measures are being explored to make equities more attractive than bonds, such as revisiting the long-term fund (LTF) scheme, which ended in 2019. The five-year holding period for the last units offered under the LTFs is now expiring, and some analysts believe redemptions have contributed to poor SET performance.
Offering more LTFs could boost the market, contributing to positive sentiment for the SET, said Thaksin.
Studying tax reforms, such as lowering corporate and personal income taxes while raising value-added tax (VAT) to offset revenue, are also government priorities, Thaksin said.
Ways to formalise the underground economy, ease regulations for new investments, and establish Thailand as a financial hub are being outlined, he said.
Thaksin, a long-time advocate of cryptocurrencies, said Thailand should consider issuing stablecoins backed by government bonds to retail and institutional investors while exploring other avenues for digital currencies.
He said the SEC needs to embrace a more digital approach, like “allowing trade of stablecoins, or coins that are backed by assets”.
“I think token trade will help government and private sector participants that own passive assets such as houses, condos and rental rooms to tokenise them. The market has to consider how to trade because these things have been under discussion for years and we will definitely see them coming soon.”
While Thaksin holds no formal government role, he is acknowledged to be the real leader of the Pheu Thai party that is nominally led by his daughter Paetongtarn, who is also the prime minister.
In his travels around the country in recent weeks, it has been noted that whenever Thaksin floats an idea, it quickly finds its way onto the agenda of Ms Paetongtarn’s cabinet.
Rakpong Chaisuparakul, senior vice-president of KGI Securities (Thailand), said the brokerage is “neutral” on Thaksin’s speech and sees a limited market impact in terms of lifting the stock market.
“There were no clear signs of a Thai corporate tax cut from the speech, as the Finance Ministry is studying a corporate tax rate cut and a VAT hike,” said Mr Rakpong.
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