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Thailand’s stock exchange is working with government agencies on a legal change that would allow listed companies to issue shares carrying different voting rights, aiming to make public listings more attractive to family-owned businesses while increasing the shares available to investors. Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) chairman Kitipong Urapeepatanapong said the amendment is expected to pass Parliament in 2026, with the new structure targeted for introduction by 2027.
The proposal comes as Thai IPO fundraising has fallen sharply. Companies have raised about 700 million baht so far in 2026, down 95% from 2025 and, if the pace continues, the lowest annual total since the SET began compiling data in 2003, according to Kitipong. The exchange hopes the reform can address founders’ concerns about losing control and the limited free float that international investors cite as a constraint on trading.
Proposed law would separate voting power from ownership
Under a dual-class structure, companies can issue different share classes with unequal voting rights. Founders or controlling shareholders could retain more votes than their share of the company’s economic ownership would otherwise provide, while selling a larger portion of equity to public investors.
The proposal requires changes to Thailand’s public company law, rather than being a rule the SET can introduce on its own. The exchange is working on the amendment with the Finance Ministry, the Securities and Exchange Commission and other agencies. The publicly reported timetable calls for parliamentary passage during 2026 and implementation in 2027; details such as voting limits, eligibility and investor safeguards have not been specified in the available reports.
Family companies dominate the listed market
Family-owned businesses represented 705 of the 843 companies listed on the Thai exchange as of July, according to figures cited by the SET chairman. Their combined market capitalization was 10.93 trillion baht, approximately 54% of the total value of Thai-listed companies.
Kitipong said discussions with family businesses indicated that some owners avoid listing, or sell only a small stake, because they fear losing control or becoming vulnerable to a takeover. A dual-class option is intended to offer those companies a way to raise public capital without giving up the same degree of voting influence as under a single-vote-per-share arrangement.
That rationale has been discussed by the SET before. In a 2023 research note, the exchange described dual-class shares as a potential tool for preserving founders’ influence and broadening companies’ financing choices, while also warning that unequal voting rights can raise concerns about transparency and unequal shareholder treatment. The note identified possible safeguards—including limits on enhanced voting rights and provisions that cause them to expire over time—but the current proposal’s final protections have not been announced.
Liquidity is a parallel goal
The exchange is also presenting the reform as a possible response to low free float in some large Thai companies. Kitipong said foreign investors have complained that certain leading stocks do not have enough shares available to buy and trade. If controlling shareholders can retain voting power while offering more equity to the public, the exchange argues, listings could bring both additional companies and more tradable shares to the market.
The proposal would bring Thailand closer to regional financial centres where dual-class structures are permitted, including Hong Kong, Singapore and Indonesia, according to the reporting. But permission to use a share structure does not itself ensure that companies will list or that public investors will receive a larger tradable float; those outcomes depend on company decisions and the rules ultimately adopted.
IPO recovery depends on more than legislation
SET president Asadej Kongsiri has attributed delayed IPOs to concerns about the economic outlook, including conflict in the Middle East and high fuel costs. He said the exchange had a strong IPO pipeline and expected 2027 to be busy if the war ended later in 2026. That outlook is conditional, not a confirmed schedule of offerings.
The dual-class amendment is one part of the exchange’s effort to revive listings, but the next concrete steps are legislative. Parliament must consider the law change, and authorities still need to settle its operating rules. Until those steps are completed, the proposal remains a plan rather than an available option for Thai issuers.
