Thailand pushes for market reform to entice more investments

Thailand’s government plans to revise stock market investment rules to boost capital market activity, Finance Minister Pichai Chunhavajira said Monday. Addressing an investment seminar, he noted that current SEC-imposed restrictions prevent major funds and life insurers from significantly participating in equities. Proposed reforms include easing rules on treasury stocks and granting the SEC authority to file major market offence cases directly with prosecutors. Amendments also target naked short selling and program trading to ensure market fairness. On digital finance, Pichai promoted G-Tokens—retail-friendly, fractional government bond tokens—as tools to widen access and global awareness. He added that while Thailand doesn’t yet allow crypto payments, future linkages between crypto and services may be explored under strict regulation.