Thailand Securities & Exchange Commission consults on amendments giving securities companies and derivatives brokers more options to safeguard and return unclaimed client assets

The Thailand Securities & Exchange Commission has launched a public hearing on proposed amendments to rules for handling unclaimed assets of inactive clients, aimed at strengthening secure custody and improving clients’ ability to trace and reclaim assets while increasing operational flexibility for securities companies and derivatives brokers. Key proposals include expanding circumstances in which client assets may be transferred to another operator without client consent, including where an operator intends to relinquish all business licences but has not yet ceased operations. Where operators have made all reasonable efforts but cannot contact clients or transfer assets, the amendments would allow submission of a list of asset owners to the Central Securities Depository (CSD) so the securities registrar can issue securities certificates and hold them on the operator’s behalf. Operators requesting certificate issuance would have to disclose actions taken on the assets, including publishing notices on their websites or other searchable channels for at least six months, and would be required to report all actions on unclaimed assets to the SEC. The CSD would also be required to maintain records of owners who cannot be contacted and whose assets cannot be transferred, and to make that information available to the relevant owners under CSD procedures. The public hearing closes on 12 February 2026.