Thailand Finance Minister Reassures Everyone That There’ll Be More Stock Surveillance Measures

The Finance Minister revealed, after a meeting with relevant organizations in the capital market, that he has demanded that the SET increase its measures on trading surveillance for some specific groups of stocks, such as those having undergone the debt restructuring process and those with rumors.

“When there’s a rumor, it’ll spread very quickly. Therefore we have to find ways to put an end to it as fast as possible. We also have to take steps to discourage the rumor maker. In order to make the market more stable and less volatile, there must be a system put in place especially for suspicious stocks,” the Minister said.

Mr. Thirachai Phuvanartnaranubala, the Secretary-General of The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said that: “The SEC will regulate websites by requesting that website owners ask for our permission before posting related information on their website. If information posted is not permitted or false, the website owner must be held responsible by law. Moreover, the SEC has asked the SET to launch a website aimed at being a central site for the widest distribution of information. In addition, we will also coordinate with the SET to distribute any clarifications of information via TV, radio and printed media. This will include the 24-hour TV channel the SET’s planning to create. Both the SEC and SET will jointly work to examine the rumors as rapidly as possible, using both existing and new media channels.”

In addition to the above measures, specific groups of stocks will be closely watched. There’ll be a joint meeting between the SEC and SET everyday, with designated persons participating.

The SET President, Mr. Kittiratt Na-Ranong, noted the close cooperation between the SET’s market surveillance team and the SEC’s examination group.

“Concerning the 24-hour TV channel, the project has been brought up for consultation with the SET’s Board. A conclusion should be reached in about 1-month. In any event, we confirm that this channel will not be competing with any existing TV programs, since our programs will be presented to a limited audience. The content will be mostly educational on topics, for example, like derivatives.

“On a related topic, our website is a useful channel, as it is very efficient and works to complement our 24-hour TV channel. The programs will be presented and re-run so that people who missed them can still view the programs in other time periods,” Mr. Kittiratt concluded.