The SEC has amended the regulations for the offering for sale of Baht Bonds in Thailand by foreign issuers and the offering for sale of foreign currency bonds (FX Bonds) in Thailand for foreign entities whereby additional criteria other than the oversight of general debt securities have been established. The is to implement more stringent procedures for screening the quality of debt securities and foreign issuers and to increase measures for protecting investors.

 
The SEC is therefore conducting this public hearing on the proposed amendments to the regulations for securitized bonds with foreign risks; the assets* to be transferred to a special purpose vehicle is the right to claim occurring overseas, and the originators are foreign businesses. This is to align with the regulations for other debt securities with foreign risks. The proposed amendments contain the following key points:  

(1) To require an issue credit rating on the bonds by an international CRA** and the credit received must not be lower than investment grade;  

(2) To appoint a bondholders’ representative;   

(3) Bonds must be registered with the Thai Bond Market Association.

In addition, SEC also amends the scope of credit rating assessment of international CRAs to cover the securitized bonds to be offered with foreign risks.   

The consultation paper is available at: https://www.sec.or.th/TH/Pages/PB_Detail.aspx?SECID=1013. Stakeholders and Interested parties are welcome to submit comments and suggestions via the SEC website or email: debt@sec.or.th. The public hearing ends on 16 September 2024.     

Remark:

* Claims for payment of debt in cash that generate revenue streams, or claims that will arise in the future for payment of debt in cash that generate revenue streams.

** The instruments must be rated for the issuance and offering for sale to institutional investors (II), ultra-high net worth investors (UHNW) and high net worth investors (HNW), unless the offering is in the form of private placement to 10 investors (PP10).