The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of Thailand is advancing its efforts to digitize the country’s capital markets by developing a blockchain-powered platform for securities firms, aiming to facilitate bond trading through digital representations, according to a report by the Bangkok Post.
Jomkwan Kongsakul, Deputy Secretary-General of Thailand’s SEC, stated that the successful implementation of the platform is expected to enhance efficiency in the domestic capital market by eliminating existing barriers. Currently, purchasing bonds from the primary market takes up to 14 days before they can be traded on the secondary market, leading to inefficiencies. Additionally, bond issuers must manually process vast amounts of data, causing delays.
“In the future, new regulations will be introduced to facilitate the issuance of electronic securities and online bond transactions,” Kongsakul noted.
A Fully Digital Bond Trading System
Thailand’s SEC aims to fully digitize the local bond trading ecosystem, including settlement, trading, investor registration, and yield payments for both primary and secondary markets, Bangkok Post reported. Under this initiative, digital securities in Thailand will be issued in two forms: traditional financial products digitized for trading on the new platform and electronic securities natively created within the blockchain-based system.
The SEC has already approved four digital asset projects and is currently reviewing two more, while five additional entities are in preliminary discussions with the commission.
Private Networks and Blockchain Integration
In parallel, the SEC is considering allowing private sector firms to develop independent blockchain networks, provided they adhere to a standardized framework set by the commission.
“In the future, multiple trading chains may emerge, with transactions interconnected through distributed ledger technology (DLT) across all systems using a shared record, which is expected to be completed soon,” Kongsakul stated.
Thailand’s Push for Digital Asset Adoption
Last month, the SEC reportedly explored the approval of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) on local exchanges to align with global trends. This follows the commission’s launch of a regulatory sandbox for digital asset firms in August last year, signaling Thailand’s growing commitment to integrating blockchain technology into its financial ecosystem.
