Ms. Vachira Arromdee, Assistant Governor for Financial Markets Operations Group, revealed the progress of the “Bond Investor Registration (BIR)” scheme, on which the Bank of Thailand (BOT) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) have closely collaborated since its announcement in November 2020.
Today, the BOT publishes the regulations on BIR Phase 1, applicable to non- resident (NR) investors, and launches the BIR electronic registration system. In essence, the regulations require (1) commercial banks providing custody services to arrange for their NR clients, who invest in debt securities in Thailand, to open Segregated Securities Accounts (SSA) at the Ultimate Beneficial Owner (UBO) level and register for authentication with the BOT by January 4th, 2022 and (2) from then onwards, tradings of debt securities must be settled through the SSA registered with the BOT only.
The BOT has published the “BIR Information Note and FAQs” to facilitate the BIR implementation for commercial banks and NR investors (https://www.bot.or.th/ Thai/FinancialMarkets/Documents/25640412_InfoNote_FAQs) Moreover, an information page for BIR is provided on the BOT website, which includes regulations, frequently asked questions and answers, and other information related to BIR Phase 1. The page can be found under “financial markets” >> “Bond Investor Registration” or at https://www.bot.or.th/English/FinancialMarkets/Pages/BIR-Eng.aspx
The BIR scheme will enhance the data quality in terms of accuracy, coverage and timeliness at the UBO level to support timely and targeted policy measures in order to safeguard exchange rate stability as well as financial stability. This is also part of the initiative to develop the new Thai FX Ecosystem, aiming to enhance FX surveillance and management.
Bank of Thailand
12th April, 2021
For further information: Financial Markets Operations Group
Tel : 0 2283 5310, 0 2283 5412
E-mail : MMFA@bot.or.th
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