SEC’s Law Enforcement Efforts Yield Significant Results
PUBLISHED: 31 Jul 2024 at 05:53
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has intensified its focus on law enforcement, emphasizing a commitment to fair practices and investor protection. In a notable reduction, daily short-selling trading has decreased by nearly 70% due to enhanced regulations.
Deputy Secretary-General Anek Yooyuen announced that the SEC imposed around 440 million baht in fines for various offenses in the first seven months of 2024. This is a dramatic increase compared to the 105 million baht assessed throughout 2023.
Anek attributed this success to the SEC’s expedited investigation process, with more cases of wrongdoing expected to be disclosed by year-end. The SEC has forwarded 10 cases to the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) that include six indictments covering two stock manipulation and four corruption cases.
In total, 10 civil penalties were issued, encompassing eight stock manipulation and two insider trading cases, amounting to the aforementioned 440 million baht in fines. The SEC is also in the process of proposing amendments to the law to enhance law enforcement efficacy.
The amendment draft is currently under review by the Office of the Council of State. In high-profile cases, the SEC will increase collaborations with agencies like the DSI and the Office of the Attorney General for further investigations.
Secretary-General Pornanong Budsaratragoon reported that new market supervision measures, including the uptick rule implemented on July 1, have successfully reduced short-selling trading volume by 68%. Program trading also saw a decline of 27.3% as a result of these stricter regulations.
The daily trading value, which was 45.2 billion baht in the first half of the year, dropped to 37.2 billion baht in July. “The market participants have responded positively to the short-selling and uptick rule measures. We believe that as the market stabilizes, investor confidence and stock investments will also grow,” stated Mrs. Pornanong.
In an exciting development, the SEC is set to unveil criteria for the new Thai ESG Fund, recently endorsed by the cabinet. This initiative allows individual investors to deduct up to 300,000 baht from their personal income tax, with a holding period shortened to five years.
This new waiver represents an increase from the previous cap of 100,000 baht allowed under the original ESG Fund. The qualification period has also been reduced from eight years. As of April 2024, the Thai ESG fund counted 95,000 unitholders and nearly 7 billion baht in assets under management.
Furthermore, the establishment of the Thai ESG fund has led to approximately a 40% increase in greenhouse gas data disclosure among listed and non-listed companies, propelling firms to enhance their ESG strategies, including efforts toward greenhouse gas reduction.
The Association of Investment Management Companies predicts a new influx of 30-40 billion baht into the Thai ESG equity fund.
