Legal changes to cultivate startups

The Finance Ministry is considering legal amendments to support the growth of new startups in financial technology, blockchain and sandbox, says finance permanent secretary Somchai Sujjapongse.

The changes are meant to help support growth in tech startups, Mr Somchai said.

“Digital technology has been changing pretty fast, driven by people’s demand and their changing lifestyles, but Thai law has not changed for decades and outdated laws can even become an obstacle,” he said.

The Finance Ministry will call a meeting with government agencies to discuss which laws should be updated.

Based on the talks, finance officials will seek cabinet approval for amendments by July, after which time they will proceed to the National Legislative Assembly.

“We want to move fast to ensure that we have a revised version put in place by next year, since these laws are a major part of the ecosystem in developing startups,” Mr Somchai said.

Another goal is to set up an over-the-counter marketplace for startups at the Stock Exchange of Thailand to be operational by July, he said.

The marketplace idea came in response to instructions from Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak, who said the SET should consider a facility for startup fund-raising.

In a related development, the Finance Ministry today will talk to government agencies about further relief measures for low-income earners, aiming to ease their cost-ofliving burden as the domestic economy slowly recovers.

“This is the Finance Ministry’s major mission now,” Mr Somchai said.”We have tried hard to solve the problem, and we have a lot of measures such as debt restructuring, debt moratorium and nano and picofinance, but we never succeed.”

He said the ministry will study how farmers in the US and Japan generate high income.