According to the regulations established by the SEC for Thai mutual funds wishing to invest in foreign mutual funds, there is a specific requirement that such foreign mutual funds must be characterized as a collective investment scheme (CIS)*, whose CIS operator is under the supervision of a foreign securities regulator that is an ordinary member of the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO). This is to ensure that, if necessary, the SEC will be able to exchange information regarding the supervision of those foreign funds with foreign regulators under the IOSCO Multilateral Memorandum of Understanding concerning Consultation and Co-operation and the Exchange of Information (IOSCO MMoU), for the purposes of information exchange and regulatory enforcement co-operation.

Due to the diverse structures and regulatory characteristics of foreign CIS, in March 2025, the Capital Market Supervisory Board passed a resolution approving the inclusion of additional foreign CIS investible by Thai mutual funds. This includes foreign CIS in other forms, such as commodity-based trust.** The qualification requirements for foreign CIS are: (1) the issuance and offering is under the supervision of foreign regulators that supervise securities and exchanges and are ordinary members of IOSCO, and (2) units of foreign CIS traded on foreign exchanges that are members of the World Federation of Exchanges. This aims to increase investment flexibility for Thai mutual funds while allowing the SEC to exchange regulatory information, as necessary. These foreign CIS must also meet other qualifications*** (except for the qualifications of CIS operators above) in accordance with the specified criteria.  
The public consultation is available at the SEC website: https://www.sec.or.th/TH/Pages/PB_Detail.aspx?SECID=1068. Relevant stakeholders and other interested parties are invited to submit their comments via the website or email: tonyada@sec.or.th or pattarav@sec.or.th. The hearing ends on 25 May 2025.  

                                            

Notes:

* A foreign CIS refers to a fund established under foreign law that operates as a collective investment scheme (CIS). This includes funds established in the form of a company, trust or any other forms, excluding property funds, infrastructure funds, and private equity funds established under foreign laws.
** Foreign CIS funds with management structures that differ from general mutual funds—such as a foreign commodity fund focusing on investment in precious metals established in the form of a trust (commodity-based trust)—may be managed by entities other than asset management companies (CIS operators). These entities are, however, supervised by foreign securities regulators that are ordinary members of IOSCO.
*** For example, a foreign CIS fund must be subject to regulatory standards regarding supervision, issuance and offering, and fund management applicable to retail funds in that country. Additionally, the country regulating the offering of such fund must have adequate investor protection measures, as specified on the SEC List of Eligible Countries. Exceptions may apply to foreign ETFs with passive management policy.