Thailand’s IPO funding Outlook in 2023

Thailand’s IPOs raised the highest level of funds in the Southeast Asia region, with a total of US$3.6 billion raised by 42 listing companies. Thailand's IPO market has shown great promise in recent years. The second, third, and fourth largest fund raising in the regional IPO market are from Thailand which account for 29% and 61% of fund raising in Southeast Asia and in Thailand respectively.

The IPO market in 2023 is expected to outperform 2022, as the market has continued to recover after the pandemic. In addition, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) have amended rules and regulations, requiring companies applying for the IPO filing in 2024 to submit their annual financial statements for the last 3-years and the last quarterly financial statements. Therefore, the financial statements have to be prepared in accordance with the financial reporting standards and audited or reviewed (in the case of quarterly financial statements) by a certified public accountant approved by the SEC. With the new rule, it may take longer for IPO preparation and cause many companies to expedite their registration process to be completed within 2024.

From SEC’s Monthly Capital Market Summary Report as of February 28, 2023, there were 75 cases in the process of pre-consultation with SEC (only cases submitted in 2021) and SET’s Upcoming IPOs Report for the first quarter of 2023, reported 20 cases that were under review for filing or already approved. There have also already been 12 IPOs, which is higher than the number of IPOs in the same period of 2022**. This implies that many companies are showing greater interest in listing in the Stock Exchange to issue shares for public offering. The benefits of listing for organisations have become increasingly clearer, including access to long-term financing, creating a credible image for the company, professional financial management, long-term resilience of the company, as well as increasing business opportunities in the future.

2023 is set to be another key year to keep an eye on IPO funding in an environment of intense competition. It is vital for companies preparing for IPO funding to properly consider the company’s readiness and pay close attention to rules and regulations set by regulators, in order to be prepared for any changes and quickly adapt to any circumstance.

The article is written by Lasita Magut, Partner, Audit and Assurance and contributed by Suwimon Pongkeatchai, Manager, Audit and Assurance, Deloitte Thailand

Source

*SEC notification no. 53/2018, “Filing and authorization of newly issued shares offering (No.5), September 28, 2018”
**“Monthly Capital Market Summary Report” www.sec.org.th and “Upcoming IPOs” www.set.org.th