Thaksin Shinawatra, former Thai Prime Minister, emphasized the importance of trust, confidence, and sentiment in the Thai stock market as well as boosting the Thai economy at a strategic seminar titled “Dinner Talk Chat with Tony: Bull Rally of Thai Capital Market” hosted by ‘Kaohoon Turakij’.
Meanwhile, recognizing issues raised by the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the former Prime Minister stressed the need for timely market adjustments and regulatory enhancements to boost confidence among investors.
Key areas requiring improvement include enhancing stock market transparency, monitoring company behaviors to prevent misuse of funds, ensuring proper accounting practices, and implementing robust management systems.
Additionally, addressing concerns around the use of automated trading software, Thaksin underscored the importance of effective oversight to prevent exploitation and promote market stability. He also emphasized the need for prompt responses from companies to restore investor confidence and prevent market uncertainties.
Furthermore, efforts are underway to attract foreign investments and promote large-scale projects, such as the Entertainment Complex initiative, to boost market expansion. Moreover, the government is exploring the creation of a Sandbox for cryptocurrencies, with initial trial implementations in Phuket under government oversight to safeguard Bitcoin transactions.
The former PM encouraged companies to align share prices with book values and explored opportunities in the digital sector, including stablecoin trading using government bonds. Thaksin urged proactive measures to enhance economic growth and facilitate carbon credit trading.
Plans for advancing as a financial hub and revitalizing economic flows, including considerations for renewing Long-Term Equity Funds (LTFs), were also discussed as many in the public sectors believe the suspended LTF is better than the current ThaiESG fund.
As for the current concerns in the Thai stock market of high debenture default rate, the former PM noted that there are too many bond issuances in the market, leading to some companies unable to pay interests or redeem their debentures. He urged regulators to monitor this issue closely with stringent ground rules as it reflects confidence in the Thai stock market.
Additionally, Thaksin noted that multinational corporations will be required to pay a Global Minimum Tax (GMT) of 15% either in Thailand or their origin, so why not let them invest and pay tax here in the kingdom with attractive incentives. This is what the Board of Investment needs to come up with; a way to attract multinational corporations to invest in Thailand.
