Unlocking digitalisation: Shaping the next era of capital markets
Abstract
This paper examines the digitalisation of the Thai capital market and outlines the strategy of the Securities and Exchange Commission Thailand to support this transition. It identifies persistent inefficiencies, including fragmented data, manual processes, high costs and inconsistent standards, which limit efficiency and transparency. The paper presents the digital securities ecosystem, designed to enable end-to-end digital processes across issuance, trading, settlement and custody. It discusses the application of distributed ledger technology, block chain and smart contracts to improve data sharing, automation and real-time settlement.1 Supporting measures include legal reform to enable digital securities, regulatory sandboxes for innovation testing,2 and enhanced supervision using data-driven tools. The paper emphasises investor readiness, governance and standardisation as crucial to adoption and trust. It argues that digitalisation can enhance liquidity, reduce costs, increase transparency and support financial inclusion. Overall, it provides a policy and implementation perspective on enabling digital transformation while maintaining market integrity and investor protection, and offers practical insights into aligning innovation with regulatory objectives effectively. It also notes the importance of interoperability, data standards and cross-sector collaboration in delivering scalable outcomes, as well as highlights initiatives and pilot projects that demonstrate practical use cases in the Thai capital markets. This article is also included in The Business & Management Collection which can be accessed at https://hstalks.com/business/.
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Author's Biography
Jomkwan Kongsakul is deputy secretary-general of the Securities and Exchange Commission Thailand (the SEC Thailand), an independent public agency in Thailand with a vision of embracing changes and developing a sustainable capital market and economy for the benefit of all stakeholders. In her current role, she supervises the digital asset innovation, financial technology and digital technology functions of the SEC Thailand. Kongsakul has significantly contributed to and enriched the Thai financial industry with her robust educational background and extensive industry experience. Under her leadership, the capital market has expanded with regulatory support, especially in financial innovation. Kongsakul has supported innovative technology and enabled the development of the Thai capital market towards digitalisation.
