Investment in Thai stocks, bonds, funds

[zhangxifu]

What are the rules on foreigner to invest in Thai stocks, bonds, funds etc? I am asking since I noticed several options available on my SCB easy mobile app but all those require a thai nationality. My question is broader in sense though and general. Am I allowed to invest in such in Thailand? I don't work in Thailand just live here with the family, have foreign source of income and have registered my residence, TB tr13.

[JackGats]

I know a farang who has been on one-year visa extensions for many years. He has an account with a local broker. He says no work permit is required to do such things, hence no problem. No idea if the one implies the other though.

[scorecard]

Just one point - beware of the insider trading, happens frequently with both big and small listed companies. on the Thai exchange.

[thaistocks]

Foreigners can open Thai brokerage accounts and own shares in their own foreign name. This through so called NVDR shares, which you then can received the dividends and any other shareholder benefits, except the right to vote.

The key however is that you must have a Thai bank account, in order to receive the dividends, which then get automatically deposited to your bank account. Called e-dividends.  To get a Thai bank account you should have an address and it helps to have an introduction, which the Thai broker may help you with. Thai bank accounts depend from branch to branch, if one tells you no, go to another bank.  While insider trading can occur, as anywhere, the key is to be careful with the broker's input, as they will likely induce you to day trading, which is not the same as investing.

[johnarth]

2 hours ago, scorecard said:

Just one point - beware of the insider trading, happens frequently with both big and small listed companies. on the Thai exchange.

what is insider trading?

[sandmonster]

2 hours ago, scorecard said:

Just one point - beware of the insider trading, happens frequently with both big and small listed companies. on the Thai exchange.

Same on every exchange in the world. Nothing exceptional about Thailand ????

[GreasyFingers]

1 hour ago, johnarth said:

what is insider trading?

The greater fool.

[MikeN]

3 hours ago, johnarth said:

what is insider trading?

When somebody takes advantage of insider knowledge, ie something "in house" that is not generally known yet. for example, somebody (lets call him Pol. Col. Somchai) has a friend working in a government department who approves Company X  to get a big fat govt contract, said friend tells Somchai who buys shares in Company X. When the info becomes public the share price goes up, Somchai sells for a profit, and rewards his friend.

[rimmae2]

5 hours ago, thaistocks said:

Foreigners can open Thai brokerage accounts and own shares in their own foreign name. This through so called NVDR shares, which you then can received the dividends and any other shareholder benefits, except the right to vote.

The key however is that you must have a Thai bank account, in order to receive the dividends, which then get automatically deposited to your bank account. Called e-dividends.  To get a Thai bank account you should have an address and it helps to have an introduction, which the Thai broker may help you with. Thai bank accounts depend from branch to branch, if one tells you no, go to another bank.  While insider trading can occur, as anywhere, the key is to be careful with the broker's input, as they will likely induce you to day trading, which is not the same as investing.

Dividends are automatically credited to my brokerage account, not bank account.

[emptypockets]

4 hours ago, johnarth said:

what is insider trading?

Honestly John, if you have to ask that question, keep your money OUT of the stock market.

[gamini]

I've done very well on the stock market. There is no restrictions to foreigners, except you need a bank account. I bought bumrungrad at 13, bt and sold at 80 quite some time back. I bought another  lot again at about a hundred baht and sold at 200. 

but you have to do your homework. I was a patient at the hospital for long time and I saw how well it was run and all the time, increasing and expanding. I made money on loxinfo and Ticon.

Don't go to any old broker. They will probably rip you off. Just ask some of your Thai friends if they know a good honest broker. Insider trading happens everywhere. 

[gamini]

7 minutes ago, emptypockets said:

Honestly John, if you have to ask that question, keep your money OUT of the stock market.

why? Investing here is no different to investing in any other country. I've done very well out of the Thai stock market.

Edited March 26, 2019 by gamini
spelling

[khunPer]

On 3/25/2019 at 2:45 AM, zhangxifu said:

I noticed several options available on my SCB easy mobile app but all those require a thai nationality.

Yes, foreigners can invest in Thai stocks, also SET (Stock Exchange of Thailand), but preferably choose "NVDR", which are without voting rights, but pays full dividends.

 

You can use SCB-online, just click "Open New Account" next to the login, and follow the instructions on the screen. After printing the documents you need to visit your SCB branch that will help you, and send the documents to the SCB Securities' office. You need a SCB savings account with ATM-card to open an online trading account.

 

You will need a minimum of 30,000 baht to open online trading – if not changed since I opened mine a couple of years ago – and you can with a mouse-click (or similar in an app, I don't use, and therefore don't know) instantly move funds from your savings account into your trading account. That account gives you an interest of 1% p.a. (at the moment). Any dividends will be transferred to your ATM-savings account, after 10% withholding tax. When selling stocks, the outcome will be places in your trading account within a few days (bank-days). You can transfer money from you trading account to your savings account with a mouse-click, but it will take about three bank days before the money is available.

 

Normally the "NVDR"-option is default marked for foreigners when trading in SCB-online. Only the major companies have a fixed NVDR-option, but you can still buy shares in companies without one. In such a case you'll need to fill an application form (available online in SCB-online) for being registered as NVDR, if not, you cannot receive dividend. The easy way is to stick to NVDR-companies.

 

There are some recent threads in Thaivisa Forum with detailed posts and explanations about trading Thai stocks.

????

[khunPer]

6 hours ago, johnarth said:

what is insider trading?

Insider trading could be that you know a gardener that works in a company founder's house, and is offered coffee by the house wife, who loves to talk about what happens in her husband's fast moving IT-company. For example she one day tells the gardener that her husband, and his partners, are off to USA to negotiate with Microsoft for an eventually take-over. Same evening your friend the gardener tells you what he heard – he has worked there for years, and for years small talked to you about what happens – and next day you buy stocks in that company. A month later the stocks suddenly skyrock, it was a few days before its officially announced that Microsoft has placed a billion-dollar offer for the company you recently bought stocks in, and the offer is trading value three days ago plus 40 percent.

 

If A top-level employee or director in the company did the same as you did – buying stocks a shortly before a takeover – he would be accused for "insider trading", because he would most likely know what was upon to happen. However, you can get away with it, because nobody know that you know the gardener, and the husband of the kind wife serving coffee might not even know what she talks about with the gardener, other than about the plants in the garden.

 

Its by the way, a true story about the gardener and the Microsoft takeover...????

[johnarth]

16 hours ago, MikeN said:

When somebody takes advantage of insider knowledge, ie something "in house" that is not generally known yet. for example, somebody (lets call him Pol. Col. Somchai) has a friend working in a government department who approves Company X  to get a big fat govt contract, said friend tells Somchai who buys shares in Company X. When the info becomes public the share price goes up, Somchai sells for a profit, and rewards his friend.

thank you, very much after all these years I have just got interested in this stuff, yes I have had insider offers already and I not into trading yet and not sure if I will, the offers I have had came from America, not Thai so does that count as well?