Bangkok, 15 January 2018 ? The SEC has announced today the three-year Strategic Plan 2018-2020 with more focus on provision of wealth advice for long-term well-being of investors and promotion of sustainable efficiency in all aspects of market development.
The plan involves several key implementations, including support for entry of wealth advisory service providers, optimum utilization of technologies and innovations to facilitate fast and convenient market access, more efficient cost management of existing and new intermediaries in fulfilling investors? demands, enhancing market supervisory standards, and corporate reform to streamline procedures and reduce compliance cost.
SEC Secretary-General Rapee Sucharitakul said: ?Over the years, the investing public has experienced certain limitations with access to the capital market for financial advice and planning. This is generally because limited service channels and expenses have been affordable mostly by high income earners. The strategic plan aims to address this issue by facilitating intermediaries? creation of innovative service channels and provision of wealth advice, product knowledge and understanding for potential investors to create their own financial well-being beyond retirement.
?Additionally, the SEC will continue to promote alternative fundraising methods for small-sized enterprises and startups that use technologies to manage costs on the existing platforms, for example, crowdfunding.
?In promoting effective supervision, the SEC continues to focus on three areas, namely (1) regulatory discipline, (2) self-discipline of companies and executives, and (3) market force. In so doing, the SEC is cooperating with agencies and organizations, both public and private, to strengthen supervisory standards and common practice guidelines for listed and regulated companies. We expect our collective efforts will help to increase investors? knowledge and understanding of their rights and how to exercise them effectively. We also encourage intermediaries and personnel in the capital market to adopt standard codes of ethics and provide quality services for clients? best interest,? Mr. Rapee concluded.
The Strategic Plan 2018-2020 focuses on development in five key areas as follows: 1. Wealth Advice for All: To support providers of financial advice and financial planning in delivering accessible and good quality services to the public, and to promote the use of financial technology (FinTech), both as a business tool and an assistance for financial planning; 2. Fund Mobilization for Businesses of All Sizes: To create alternative fundraising methods for SMEs and startups that will address issues related to access and costs of the existing fundraising channels, to promote fund mobilization of neighboring countries, and to create opportunities for Thai business operators to grow regionally; 3. Market Competitiveness: To strengthen Thai market competitiveness by building robust infrastructure compatible to digital business models; 4. Risk Foresight and Effective Supervision: To be fully knowledgeable of relevant risks to support effective market supervision, and to enhance supervisory standards in regulating listed companies and commercial banks giving services as selling agents of investment units; and 5. Corporate Reform: To revise regulatory issuance guidelines to ensure that all rules and regulations are issued for necessary reasons and taking into consideration compliance cost, impacts and effectiveness evaluation, and to build database systems and infrastructures that maximize the use of technologies to support future work of the SEC.