He reported, “On market surveillance and the following-up on information disclosures, we’ll consider each case on the significance of the information disseminated as well as its impact on trading. There’ll be close coordination among related organizations, including the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Bank of Thailand (BOT), the Ministry of Finance (MOF), listed companies, and the securities companies.”
As Mr. Suthichai went on, “The listed companies’ information that influences investment conditions is of special concern to us. It is definitely inappropriate for a listed firm to reap gains through selective information release. The SET, therefore, has established guidelines for companies specifically on information disclosure and the types of information that may affect securities trading. Some of the types of information that most affect security trading include disclosures of profit figures, mergers & acquisitions and dividend figures.
“We’ve also produced a handbook on information disclosure practices and tried to educate firms about the types of information that need to be immediately disclosed. The objective of each disclosure should be to provide all investors with equal information. Therefore it’s necessary that the listed companies fully understand the objectives of this measure and henceforth comply with rules”, he went on.
“As for trading surveillance, whenever there is news that appears to be significant and will clearly affect trading but the company hasn’t yet notified the SET about the matter, the SET will follow-up on this news seeking additional clarification. The SET will also post an H (“Halt”) sign on the offending company’s securities to temporarily halt trading”, he reported.
“However, if the information in question has been determined to be not significant enough to halt trading, the SET will instead post an NP (“Notice Pending”) sign to notify investors that they should take a closer look at the company before making investment decisions. The NP sign will also notify investors that the SET is following up on the situation with the company to obtain additional information that will adequately clarified the matter. This clarified information will then be passed along to investors.
“Our market surveillance focuses on following-up with listed companies on information that should have been disclosed to all investors in a more timely and comprehensive manner. This is being done to assure fairness for all and improve the level of trust investors have in the SET and the listed companies,” Mr. Suthichai concluded.
