In response to the Thai stock index’s decline and market volatility, Thailand’s Department of Business Development is proposing an amendment to the country’s treasury stock rules to ease the requirements for both the implementation and the disposal of shares, as they see this as a timely opportunity to optimize the use of treasury stock as a tool to support share prices and prevent them from falling below their fundamental value. The rules governing treasury stock for public companies are set out in the Public Limited Companies Act B.E. 2535 (1992) (PLCA), its accompanying ministerial regulation, and the relevant rules issued by the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET). The law permits share repurchases in two circumstances: (1) to buy back shares from dissenting shareholders following an amendment to the articles of association affecting voting or dividend rights, and (2) for financial management purposes when the company has retained earnings and excess liquidity—this second scenario is more common in the market. To satisfy the excess liquidity requirement, the company must primarily demonstrate the ability to meet its debt obligations within six months, have sufficient retained earnings, and ensure that the treasury stock implementation does not breach the SET’s free-float requirement. The SET rules prescribe that the repurchase price must not exceed 115% of the five-day average closing price at the time of repurchase, and the disposal price must not be lower than 85% of this average closing price at the time of disposal. As for the timing, treasury shares must be held for at least three months and sold within three years; otherwise, the company must proceed with a capital reduction. There is also a six-month waiting period following the finishing or canceling of a previous share buyback before a company can start a new one. The proposed amendment will ease

On April 12, 2025, Thailand published an amendment to the Emergency Decree on Measures for the Prevention and Suppression of Technological Crimes in the Government Gazette, with the regulation taking effect the following day. Drafts of the amendment had been shared in recent months, and the final amendment of the decree contains some additional key revisions, such as narrowing the business operators subject to the decree’s requirements, reducing operators’ obligations, and establishing collaboration between relevant stakeholders to tackle technology crime. These key revisions to the amendment are detailed below. Business operators subject to the decree: The business operators covered under the decree now include only payment service providers under the Payment System Act and digital asset operators under the Royal Decree on Digital Asset Businesses. Digital platform services under the Royal Decree on Digital Platform Service Businesses That Are Subject to Prior Notification are no longer within the scope of the decree. Definition of technology crime: The final version of the amendment removed the expanded definition of technology crime that had been included in a previous draft, leaving the decree’s existing definition unchanged. Telecommunications provider obligations: Mobile and telecommunications service providers now have an obligation to monitor and screen for content that may be related to technology crime and suspend SIM cards when instructed to do so by the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC). Transaction and account suspension: The amendment removes the decree’s complex transaction suspension procedures and leaves room for business-specific regulators (e.g., Bank of Thailand, Securities and Exchange Commission, NBTC) to impose various technology crime suspension requirements on business operators under their supervision. The newly established Center for Prevention and Suppression of Technology Crimes can also notify financial institutions and business operators of names or digital asset wallet addresses that may be related to technology crime,

On March 31, 2025, Cambodia’s Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training (MLVT) issued Notification 009/25, which grants an extension for the renewal of foreign workers’ work permits and employment books in 2025. This extension is to ensure that those who have not yet applied for the renewal of their work permits are provided with sufficient time to complete the application process, as there have been delays in the submission of work permit extension requests. The new deadline for the submission of renewal applications for work permits and employment books is April 30, 2025. Applications and renewals must be processed via the MLVT’s online Foreign Workforce Centralized Management System before the specified deadline. Failure to extend the validity of work permits and employment books for foreign workers before the deadline may result in significant monetary penalties for both employers and foreign nationals. All foreign workers should renew their work permits and employment books within the extended deadline to ensure continued validity for working in Cambodia.

On April 12, 2025, Thailand issued an amended digital asset regulation that covers offshore digital asset businesses providing services on a cross-border basis to Thai users. These businesses will now be subject to the licensing requirements of the Royal Decree on Digital Asset Business Operations B.E. 2561 (2018), which is supervised by Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). A digital asset business will be deemed as providing services in Thailand—and therefore subject to requirements under the Royal Decree on Digital Asset Business Operations—if the business does any of the following: Displays content in Thai, either fully or partially; Is registered under a “.th,” or “.ไทย” domain, contains any name relating to Thailand, or uses a domain written in Thai characters; Allows or requires payments in Thai baht (THB) or receives payments through Thai bank accounts or e-wallets; Chooses Thai law to govern transactions or Thai courts to litigate any dispute; Pays online search engines to attract users in Thailand to its services; Has an office, establishment, or personnel in Thailand to support or assist users within the country; or Meets any other criteria specified by the SEC. To operate legally in Thailand, offshore operators meeting any of the above criteria will be required to incorporate a local company in Thailand in order to apply for a digital asset business license with the SEC.