The amendments to the Securities and Exchange Act B.E. 2535 (as amended) which came into effect on 12 December 2016 are aimed at regulating increasingly complex market misconducts as well as improving the efficiency of legal enforcement.

1. The scope of unfair trading practices has been expanded across four main categories of offences, namely (i) disclosure of false or misleading information; (ii) insider dealing; (iii) market manipulation; and (iv) others, e.g. sending of orders which create disruption or delay to trading system or use of nominee accounts to commit market misconduct.
2. Severity of criminal punishment for unfair trading offences has been raised.
3. Interestingly, the amendment has also introduced civil sanction for certain offences, including, amongst others, unfair trading practices and breach of fiduciary duty by directors or executives. Accordingly, a civil penalty committee will be established to consider and determine certain matters and to impose an appropriate level of civil penalty, e.g. fine, monetary compensations of illicit benefits, ban from securities trading or from being directors or executives, and etc.
4. Whilst all charges against offenders will cease upon settlement of all fines and fees imposed by the civil penalty committee, failure to settle them will now direct the relevant matters to the civil court directly. 

This document is solely intended to provide an update on recent development in Thailand legislation and is not purported to provide a legal opinion, nor a legal advice to any person.