Thai ESG and SRI Funds Surge as SEC Cracks Down on Investment Fraud
Thailand's ESG and SRI funds surged nearly 90% and 75% respectively in the first half of 2025, driven by expanded tax incentives, while the SEC intensified fraud enforcement with a 150% rise in scam reports and swift removal of fraudulent i
On August 14, 2025, the Securities and Exchange Commission released important statistics for the second quarter and first half of 2025, revealing continued growth in Thailand's capital market, particularly in sustainable investment products that attract ongoing interest from both the private sector and investors.
The SEC emphasized its commitment to investor protection and strict enforcement against capital market and digital asset offenses. In the first six months of 2025, sustainable debt securities issued by the private sector under SEC supervision reached a total value of 25.5 billion baht, an increase of 1.2 billion baht or 4.94% from 24.3 billion baht in the same period of 2024, reflecting the private sector's continued focus on raising capital to support sustainable business operations.
Thai ESG funds held net asset value of 69.6 billion baht as of June 30, 2025, rising 32.784 billion baht or 89.05% from 36.816 billion baht on June 30, 2024, and up 13.55% from year-end 2024, with four additional funds added. A key driver was the adjusted tax benefit measures from 2024–2025, which increased the tax deduction ceiling from 100,000 baht to 300,000 baht and reduced the minimum investment period from 8 years to 5 years, boosting public interest in tax-advantaged sustainable investing.
SRI funds reached net asset value of 143.577 trillion baht on June 30, 2025, up 61.333 billion baht or 74.58% from 82.244 billion baht a year earlier and 16.23% from year-end 2024, with 18 additional funds established. Growth was partly driven by additional tax incentives for the Thai ESGX fund during May–June 2024, and asset managers increasingly upgraded nine ESG-non-SRI funds to SRI classification by improving sustainability disclosures.
The overall mutual fund industry held net asset value of 6.16 trillion baht on June 30, 2025, up 873 billion baht or 16.51% from 5.29 trillion baht a year earlier. Provident funds reached 1.70 trillion baht, rising 185 billion baht or 12.19% year-on-year.
On investor protection, the SEC's fraud hotline received 4,530 tip reports and inquiries from January to May 2025, including 4,156 public consultations—a rise of over 150% compared to the same period in 2024. The SEC coordinated 374 fraud channel closures, with social media platform operators removing content 100% of the time within 7 minutes to 48 hours, reflecting efforts to combat investment scams.
