Bangkok--24 Jan--SET The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) Board of Governors approved in principle the adjustment of its listing criteria to facilitate and attract more companies to raise funds on the capital market, as well as to upgrade the local market’s potential to compete with other Asian markets. Mr. Suthichai Chitvanich, SET Executive Vice President and secretary to SET Board of Governors, revealed that today the Board approved adjustment of SET’s listing criteria after reviewing the report of a special working committee tasked with listing criteria amendment. The committee also consulted financial advisors, newly-listed companies and the SET New Listing Committee before coming up with new standards that are more flexible and friendly for both regulators and companies that plan to list. The new criteria are also easier to understand, in line with current circumstances and comparable with rules enforced on overseas stock markets. “The working committee on listing criteria adjustment compared SET rules with criteria used by foreign stock markets, and found that local requirements were similar to those applied overseas. However, in order to make the SET criteria best match current circumstances and allow the local bourse to compete efficiently with its rivals, the committee made four recommendations related to financial status and operation, free float, silent period, and relaxing listing requirements. The working committee also suggested that a sub-committee look into these proposals before presenting them back to the SET Board for further action that could be performed on a case-by-case basis but with public disclosure”, said Mr. Suthichai. The adjustments, which have been approved in principle, are: 1. Financial status and operation The required market capitalization of companies to be listed on Market for Alternative Investment (mai) has been decreased, to THB1.0 billion from THB1.5 billion. Consideration of potential listed companies’ profit will cover the net profit from normal operation. 2. Free Float The minimum required proportion of minority shareholders in firms with more than THB3 billion paid-up capital has been lowered to 20 per cent of paid-up capital, from 25 per cent. Moreover, the definition of “ minority shareholders ” or “non-strategic shareholder” has been changed. Strategic shareholder is now being defined as the company’s management or those who hold more than 5.00 per cent of the company’s shares. 3. Silent Period The “silent period” will now apply only to strategic shareholders, as defined the above decision on “Free Float”. The proportion of shares affected by the silent period has been lowered to 55.00 percent, from 65 per cent, and the silent period has been shortened to 1 year from 1 ? years. 4. SET Relaxation of Listing Criteria SET will consider some relaxation in its listing criteria when such action is believed to benefit the Thai capital market. Criteria that could be subject to relaxation include the company’s size, registered capital, operational status, and/or free float. Any decision to relax the rules must go through a transparent process involves the setting up of a subcommittee comprised of five independent members -- from Thai Listed Companies Association, Thai Investors Association, Securities Analysts Association, and Association of Investment Management Companies -- as well as the SET President. The subcommittee would deliberate relaxations before presenting them for review from the SET Board of Governors, and release all information to the public. SET will now present all the above decisions to the Securities and Exchange Commission for review and approval.