Thailand plans new digital token trading platform for securities firms: report

Thailand’s securities regulator is looking to develop a blockchain-based platform for securities firms to trade debentures via digital tokens, the Bangkok Post reported Monday.

Jomkwan Kongsakul, deputy secretary-general of the Thai Securities and Exchange Commission, said that a successful implementation of the platform is expected to raise efficiency in the local capital market by removing existing hurdles, according to the report.

The SEC official said that purchasing bonds from the primary market takes up to 14 days before they can be traded in the secondary market, causing inefficiencies. Bond issuers, on the other hand, are required to process large amounts of manual data which causes delays.

“In the future, new regulations will be launched to facilitate the issuance of electronic securities and online purchases of debentures,” Kongsakul said.

The Thai SEC intends to fully digitalize the local bond trading system, covering settlement, trading, investor registration and return payments for both primary and secondary markets, according to the Bangkok Post.

Digital securities in Thailand are planned to be issued in two types — traditional products that are digitalized for the trading platform and electronic securities created on the newly planned platform.

The agency has already approved four digital token projects and is currently reviewing two more, while five other parties have engaged in preliminary discussions with the SEC, the report said.

Meanwhile, the SEC official reportedly said that the regulator plans to allow firms in the private sector to develop their own independent chains, given that they adhere to a unified standard provided by the SEC.

"In the future, there may be multiple chains for trade. Trading through DLT on all systems is connected by a shared ledger, which is expected to be completed soon," Kongkasul said in the report.

The Block reached out to the Thai SEC for further comment.

Last month, the Thai SEC was reportedly considering the approval of bitcoin exchange-traded funds on local exchanges to keep pace with the global trend. This follows the agency’s launch of a regulatory sandbox for cryptocurrency businesses in August last year.