To support the government’s policy of driving Thailand towards becoming a globally recognized financial hub and to prevent provision of services liable to be an undertaking of securities or derivatives businesses without license, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has released a statement to clarify to foreign business operators the channels and scope of eligible business activities in case of providing investment services to Thai investors as well as guidelines for facilitating Ease of Doing Business for a better understanding of all parties involved.
Increasingly, Thai investors tend to gain more interest in investing in foreign products to diversify their investments and seek more opportunities to generate returns. As a result, securities companies and derivatives business operators (“business operators”) including those from foreign countries show growing interest in providing such foreign products to Thai investors as well.
The SEC has published a statement to enhance the understanding of foreign business operators interested in providing services to Thai investors about the channels and the scope of services they can offer legally as well as measures to facilitate Ease of Doing Business for foreign businesses. The statement covers four main topics as follows:
(1) Application for a license to operate securities / derivatives business;
(2) Provision of services exempted from application for a license to operate securities / derivatives business;
(3) Activities without requirement for a license / registration for operating securities / derivatives business; and
(4) Precautions on provision of services to Thai investors without obtaining a securities / derivatives license.
