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Sustainability-themed ICOs: Regulations Amended by the SEC
The summary is intended for all token issuers in Thailand looking to offer investors opportunities to invest in digital assets linked to sustainability projects.
The amended regulations aim to support Thailand’s Environmental Social and Governance fund or ESG fund in investing in sustainability-related products and contributing to the national sustainability strategy, while also fostering the growth of the country’s digital economy. There are four notifications amending regulations on sustainability-themed tokens, detailed as follows:
Notification of the Securities and Exchange Commission No. Kor Jor. 9/2567 Re: Initial Public Offering of Digital Tokens (No. 11):
- Adds a requirement for an independent external reviewer to:
- Provide opinions or certify that the framework for public offerings of digital tokens meets standards equivalent to issuing debt instruments.
- Provide opinions or certify impact reports of projects associated with the digital token.
- The independent external reviewer must possess experience, expertise, or mechanisms for evaluating or certifying related to environment, society, sustainability, or the success of sustainability indicators and goals. This includes experience with sustainability-themed debt instruments or sustainability-related digital tokens.
- Exempts application and filing fees for the following digital tokens:
- Green tokens
- Social tokens
- Sustainability tokens
- Sustainability-linked tokens
- This fee exemption is effective until May 31st, 2025.
- The requirements in this notification are identical to those under Notification of the Securities and Exchange Commission No. Kor Jor. 9/2567, with the main distinction being that Notification of the Securities and Exchange Commission No. Kor Jor. 11/2567 pertains to token issuers intending to offer digital tokens through initial coin offering (ICO) portals.
- Sets out requirements for ICO portals, specifically:
- Requiring token issuers to disclose sustainability-related information as specified by the SEC.
- Facilitating token issuers in these disclosures.
- ICO portals are responsible for ensuring that token issuers comply with their disclosure obligations.
- ICO portals that commenced operations before this notification came into effect have a grace period to comply.