Minister wants SEC to cast off govt fetters
Finance Minister MR Pridiyathorn Devakula is setting off a big-bang overhaul of the Securities and Exchange Commission to free it from political inference once and for all.
Yesterday the former central-bank governor chaired his first meeting at the SEC, which approved a package he introduced outlining a far-reaching remake of the securities watchdog. Under the reform plan, the secretary-general and all board members, including the chairman, will be nominated by a search committee, rather than appointed by the finance minister with approval by the Cabinet. The SEC will draft a bill to amend the Securities and Exchange Act to reflect this new direction and send it to the Cabinet next month. Then it will be submitted to the National Legislative Assembly for passage during the term of this interim government. Pridiyathorn said he would only attend an SEC board meeting once, which was yesterday, and would assign the permanent secretary of his ministry to chair the meetings from now on. The revamp will set the term of the SEC's board members at three years, renewable up to three times. The term of the SEC's secretary-general may be extended from four years to five years. The SEC's board will be able to sack the secretary-general by a two-thirds vote. "I have kept a watch on the SEC for quite some time. It should be an independent body, so I would like to see an improvement to its structure. The chairman should be a qualified person, without involvement of the finance minister. It should be free from politicians, otherwise it can't function fully," he said. "Once the structure of the SEC is safe from politics, it should do its job properly. What's right is right; what's wrong is wrong. I understand that in the past the SEC had constraints put on it because its chairmen were politicians." At present the SEC board is made up of 11 members, with the finance minister as ex-officio chairman. The Bank of Thailand governor, permanent secretary of finance and permanent secretary of commerce are the key members, while the other directors come from the legal, finance and accounting fields. All of them are appointed by the finance minister. Over the next five years the SEC will liberalise the securities business to its fullest extent so brokers can operate freely without facing licensing restrictions. Brokerage commissions will be subject to a 0.25-per-cent floor for three years before they are gradually relaxed in five years.
Siriporn Chanjindamanee The Nation
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