Bangkok, March 14, 2016 ? The SEC in cooperation with the Association of Investmeent Management Companies (AIMC) will jointly prepare Thailand: Institutional Investor Code as a guideline for promoting responsible investment of institutional investors.

SEC Secretary-General Rapee Sucharitakul said: ?The Code is another initiative to build confidence in the capital market in line with the objectives of the SEC Strategic Plan 2016-2018, which include the promotion of best practice among institutional investors. The market needs them to be active and committed to social responsibility, as far as their professional roles are concerned, to ensure sustainable returns for their clients. In addition, to earn a recognition for good corporate governance practices, an institutional investor should put in place measures for preventing conflicts of interest and investment policies that aim for the best interest of clients and the investment management industry at large.?  

The Thailand: Institutional Investor Code Working Group, which comprises the representatives from the SEC and the AIMC, is preparing the Code to be used as a framework for laying out policies and guidelines for operating business based on corporate governance principles. This includes management of investment money, performance monitoring of target listed companies, preparation and disclosure of responsible investment policy, strict measures for handling conflicts of interest, and the Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG)-based decision-making factor for choosing target listed companies.

The Code will also cover guidelines for monitoring business operation of invested companies closely and actively enough to be able to detect any potential issue at an early stage. If an issue is found in an invested company, for example, the responsible investment management company may request a written clarification from the invested company or a meeting with its independent director or audit committee. If no action is taken thereafter, the investment management company may consult with fellow AIMC members, or exercise the voting right at the shareholders? meetings and report the voting results and any other relevant action to the clients. This is to ensure transparency and commitment to the protection of clients? best interest.  

The SEC expects the Code to attract cooperation from investment management companies, first of all, in the form of public announcement of the statement of intent to abide by the Code, to encourage other institutional investors to adopt the Code to their responsible investment policy as well.

AIMC President Voravan Tarapoom said: ?Our members all agree that we should adopt the Code. This reaffirms the power and responsibility of institutional investors as a fund manager who must perform their duties responsibly, transparently and with integrity to promote investors? best interest and the indutry?s sustainable growth. Actually, ethical investment and professional standards have always been an integral part of investment management business, but the Code will provide a clearer guideline for setting a responsible investment policy that will maintain a healthy balance between ethics and earning.?