Thai Public Companies Advised to Disclose Digital Assets Exposure

Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has issued a warning to publicly listed companies over proposed investments in invest digital assets, advising them to consider disclosing information related to digital asset investment to the market. 

Noting the “relatively high risk from price volatility”, it suggested listed companies that invest or plan to invest in digital assets to exercise care and caution before making investment decisions. It suggested they take action and consider various factors relevant to digital asset investment. For example, risk assessment and potential impacts, measures and mechanism for risk management, readiness of work systems and personnel, analysis and selection of digital assets to invest, and investment tracking tools among other measures. 

Companies should consider disclosing digital assets information on their websites, their annual registration statement and their Form 56-1 One Report annual report. It reiterated that digital asset transactions should be executed through licensed digital asset business operators that are supervised by regulators. Digital asset business operators in Thailand are currently required to obtain a license under the Emergency Decree on Digital Asset Businesses B.E. 2561 in 2018 and to be regulated by the SEC as part of efforts to provide consumer protection. 

Full details of the Decree on Digital Asset Businesses from 2018 is here.

At the same time the SEC has cracked down on digital asset providers, extending a temporary suspension of the digital asset exchange license for Huobi (Thailand) Co., Ltd. (Huobi), also named DSDAQ (Thailand) Co., Ltd, over its failure to satisfy governing regulations.