Thailand’s securities regulator, the Thai Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), is reportedly planning to establish a blockchain-powered trading platform specifically for securities firms. The aim is to facilitate the trading of debentures via digital tokens, according to a recent report by the Bangkok Post.
Jomkwan Kongsakul, the Deputy Secretary-General of the Thai SEC, highlighted that the successful execution of this platform could potentially enhance the efficiency of the domestic capital market by eliminating current obstacles.
As per the SEC official, acquiring bonds from the primary market can take up to two weeks before they become tradable in the secondary market, leading to significant inefficiencies. Moreover, bond issuers are obligated to handle large volumes of manual data, resulting in further delays.
“Future regulations will be introduced to ease the issuance of electronic securities and online purchases of debentures,” stated Kongsakul.
The Thai SEC’s goal is to completely digitize the local bond trading system, encompassing settlement, trading, investor registration, and return payments for both primary and secondary markets.
The plan is to issue digital securities in Thailand in two forms — traditional products that are digitalized for the trading platform, and electronic securities created on the upcoming platform. The SEC has already greenlit four digital token projects and is currently evaluating two more. Additionally, preliminary discussions have been initiated with five other parties.
The SEC official also revealed the regulator’s plan to permit private sector firms to create their own independent chains, provided they comply with a unified standard set by the SEC.
“Multiple chains for trade may exist in the future. Trading across all systems via Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) is connected by a shared ledger, expected to be finalized soon,” added Kongsakul.
Last month, the Thai SEC was reportedly considering the approval of Bitcoin exchange-traded funds on local exchanges to align with global trends. This followed the regulator’s launch of a regulatory sandbox for cryptocurrency businesses in August of the previous year.
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