BANGKOK (Reuters) -Thailand’s government will introduce measures including tax incentives as it tries to support a stock market that hit a five-year low on Tuesday, with an official saying the steps will cost state coffers about $1.5 billion in revenue.
Finance Minister Pichai Chunhavajira said the measures would include tax incentives on investments in mutual funds focused on sustainability.
The incentives come as investors who took part in a previous government move to support the stock market are now able to sell stocks worth up to 180 billion baht ($5.3 billion) as the time period they were required to hold them has expired.
“Today, sales volumes are lower,” said Pichai, noting that investors may be deciding against selling due to low share prices.
“If this is added … it will help a lot”
The announcement comes as the Stock Exchange of Thailand index fell to its lowest level since April 2020, in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, during Tuesday’s morning session.
Foreign investors have sold 26 billion baht worth of stocks so far this year, and the market is down more than 15%.
The Finance Ministry will lose about 50 billion baht of tax revenue from the policy, said senior official Pornchai Thiraveja.
Pichai also said investor confidence could be boosted by a planned law to increase the investigative powers of the Securities and Exchange Commission and allow it to freeze suspect assets more quickly, which he said would be proposed to the Cabinet in two weeks.
($1 = 33.87 baht)
(Reporting by Thanadech Staporncharnchai, Kitiphong Thaichareon, Panarat Thepgumpanat and Chayut Setboonsarng; Editing by John Mair, Martin Petty)
