The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) is urging the government to push forward with TISA (Thailand International Trade Agency) to restructure the Thai capital market, promoting a dual-class, trust, and BOI-to-IPO model to attract high-potential companies to the market.

The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) is urging the government to push forward the TISA (Thailand International Trade Agreement) and revise capital market regulations to pave the way for Dual-Class, Trust, and BOI-to-IPO models. This will provide more options for businesses and attract high-potential companies to the listing, enhancing the competitiveness of Thailand's capital market in the region.

September 9, 2026 – Professor Kitipong Urapipattanapong, Chairman of the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET), revealed at the CMDF Capital Market Research Symposium 2569 that the rapid changes in the global economy and capital markets over the past several years, driven by technological and digital advancements, demographic shifts towards an aging society, and economic and geopolitical volatility, have made ensuring financial security for citizens and enhancing the competitiveness of the Thai capital market increasingly important.

One of the key challenges is creating financial inclusion, which should not only consider whether people have access to financial services, but also encompass access to quality, appropriate, and equitable financial information, knowledge, and tools so that people can manage their finances effectively.

At the same time, access to financial products alone may not be enough if people lack the knowledge to evaluate options and manage risks. Therefore, financial literacy is a crucial foundation that helps people plan their savings, investments, and risk management in line with their financial goals at each stage of life.

Currently, financial literacy is not seriously included in educational curricula from the basic level. Therefore, it is important to build upon research findings to increase financial knowledge among the public, especially as Thailand enters an aging society and its population tends to live longer.

Increased life expectancy means people need to prepare financially for a longer period after retirement. This includes accumulating savings during working years, investing to generate returns, and managing finances adequately for retirement. Therefore, both the knowledge and tools to support long-term saving and investment are essential.

Regarding policy proposals related to promoting long-term savings, one key issue is the Thailand Individual Savings Account (TISA), which is designed for personal savings and investment. The Stock Exchange of Thailand has already proposed this concept and is currently awaiting clarification from the government regarding the timeframe for implementation, as well as details on the deposit amount and tax benefits.

The Ministry of Finance is currently considering the impact on government tax revenue and the appropriate budget, making it possible that the measure may be postponed to 2570. However, Kitipong believes it is crucial to expedite the process of clarifying TISA so that it can be implemented by 2569, as there are only a few months left before the end of the year. Announcing the measure late in the year, especially in December, may leave the public with limited time to prepare and make investment decisions.

While these measures may impact government tax revenue, consideration should be given to the long-term benefits of promoting saving and investment discipline among the public, as well as building financial security for retirement.

The TISA report also reflects the importance of using research in policy-making, as research data can help reveal the saving and investment behavior of Thais, as well as the limitations of different population groups, leading to the design of more appropriate financial tools and measures to promote saving.

In addition to promoting public savings, the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) is also pushing for reforms to capital market laws and regulations to increase flexibility for businesses and enhance the competitiveness of the Thai capital market. One key issue is allowing companies to issue multiple types of shares with different voting rights, or Dual-Class Shares.

Currently, Thai law does not allow public companies to have ordinary shares with different voting rights in a dual-class structure. Therefore, amendments to related laws are necessary. The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) has studied this issue and believes it would provide more options for private companies and foreign companies wishing to list in Thailand.

A dual-class structure can allow founders or original shareholders to retain control of the business even when a portion of their shares are offered to the public. This helps alleviate limitations for companies concerned about losing control or the risk of takeover.

This approach can also be applied to state-owned enterprises if the government wishes to issue shares to increase private and public participation while still maintaining control over the business.

From a capital market perspective, increasing flexibility in voting rights structures could help increase the amount of shares that can be offered to the market and enhance liquidity. This is because business owners who previously had restrictions on distributing shares could now offer more shares to investors while maintaining control of the business.

However, allowing for a more diversified shareholding structure will provide more options for both domestic and international companies, and will also enhance the competitiveness of the Thai capital market against international markets.

In addition to Dual-Class legislation, the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) is also pushing for amendments to several areas of capital market law, some of which aim to be considered within this year. These amendments cover both the voting rights structure of shares and regulations related to mergers and acquisitions (M&A).

Another issue that the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) prioritizes is amending the Trust Act to increase flexibility in asset management and support the goal of elevating Thailand to a financial hub.

This approach will provide both Thai and foreign individuals with easier and more appropriate opportunities to establish trusts in Thailand, under a clear legal and regulatory framework. This could potentially help bring assets and investments currently held abroad back to be managed in Thailand.

In particular, for Thais who have established trusts or manage assets through structures abroad, if Thailand has appropriate laws and systems to support them, it will increase the opportunities to bring those assets back for management within the country.

Furthermore, trusts can be used as a tool for asset management for people in aging societies, especially those who live long lives and may not be able to manage their own assets in the future due to health problems or conditions that affect their ability to make decisions.

The idea of ​​amending the trust law has been discussed before, but it was not completed. Now, the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) wants to push for it to be included as a key agenda item for capital market development again. If the government prioritizes and seriously promotes it, progress is expected within 1-2 years.

To increase the number of high-quality companies entering the capital market, the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) is currently discussing with the Board of Investment (BOI) to provide opportunities for companies that have received investment promotion and have high growth potential to enter the capital market more quickly.

The BOI's IPO guidelines will consider companies in promising industries and businesses, even if some are in their early stages and currently have low revenue. The evaluation will take into account the business's potential, operational plans, and future growth opportunities.

In addition, discussions were held regarding incentive measures to support such companies, such as tax benefits or extensions of related benefits. Details will need to be clarified by the relevant authorities.

If implemented, this would provide companies promoted by the BOI with faster access to raise capital through the capital market. At the same time, the Thai capital market would have the opportunity to increase the number of companies in new business sectors and industries with future growth potential.

In the securities business sector, Thailand has a relatively large number of securities firms relative to the size of the market, resulting in high competition, especially in terms of fees. This puts pressure on smaller securities firms and affects their profitability.

In the long term, there is a tendency to see industrial restructuring, including mergers and acquisitions (M&A), to increase business scale, strengthen financial positions, and enhance the competitiveness of entrepreneurs.

Governments and regulatory bodies have relaxed some restrictions to facilitate more restructuring and mergers and acquisitions, while the next steps depend on the consideration of shareholders and owners of each business.

Furthermore, reforms to capital market laws and regulations in various areas share the common goal of enhancing the competitiveness of the Thai capital market. This includes increasing corporate structure options, attracting foreign companies and promising businesses to the capital market, promoting long-term savings and investment, and strengthening businesses operating in the capital market.

Increasing options through dual-class trusts, developing trust legislation, promoting BOI to IPOs, and restructuring the securities industry will make the capital market system more resilient. Meanwhile, promoting TISA will expand the investor base and support long-term savings for the public.

In the long term, the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) aims for these structural and regulatory improvements to increase the number of high-quality companies, expand the investor base, create long-term savings, enhance liquidity, and improve the efficiency of the Thai capital market. This will enable the market to compete with international capital markets and develop into a major fundraising hub in the region.

The CMDF Capital Market Research Symposium 2026 was organized to promote education, research, and development of knowledge beneficial to the Thai capital market, while connecting academics, policymakers, the business sector, and practitioners so that research can be practically applied at both the policy and operational levels.

The event featured presentations on integrating financial literacy in universities, as well as developing sustainable savings and investment strategies for Thais from working age to retirement. This was based on research supported by the Capital Market Development Fund (CMDF), covering topics such as promoting participation in the capital market, savings tools and channels, and policy recommendations.

In addition, awards are given for capital market research to support academics and researchers in developing work that addresses the needs of the development of the Thai capital market. The aim is for knowledge from research to be further developed into practical applications at the policy, organizational, and public levels.

Ultimately, the development of Thailand's capital market needs to proceed concurrently in three dimensions: creating opportunities for the public to access financial services and tools, enhancing financial literacy, establishing systems to support long-term savings and investment, and improving laws and regulations to increase the competitiveness of the business sector.

The key goal is to create a capital market ecosystem that is universally accessible to the public, providing them with the appropriate knowledge and tools to effectively plan their savings and investments. At the same time, it aims to provide businesses with diverse and flexible fundraising channels, thereby collectively building financial security for the public and enhancing the Thai capital market's sustainable competitiveness at the regional level.

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