Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has approved its first initial coin offering (ICO) “portal”, which assists in vetting ICOs. The portal is operated by a foreign company whose name SEC has not made public so far.

As part of its ICO vetting process, according to major Thai daily Bangkok Post, an “ICO portal” conducts due diligence, proves smart contract source codes, and verifies Know Your Customer (KYC) processes. SEC is understood to have held pre-consultations with “seven to eight companies” on running ICO portals before deciding its approval.

Archari Suppiroj, SEC’s fintech director, was reported by Bangkok Post as saying that the ICO portal is currently being finalized for official approval with relevant government agencies such as the Commerce Ministry.

“The first ICO deal will be available for a public offering in the near future under the digital asset royal decree,” she added.

SEC originally intended to approve its first ICO portal last November, with plans to begin approving ICOs possibly in December. Around the same time, SEC was also considering relaxing on rules that might be prohibitive to ICOs.

Archari also said that SEC will issue application criteria for security token offerings (STOs) “in the future” to “help bridge the digital asset royal decree and securities law”.

Last month, The Crypto Sight reported that Thailand’s National Legislative Assembly had passed a key amendment to the country’s Securities and Exchange Act (SEA), setting the stage for the legal introduction and liberalization of tokenized securities and issuing scripless securities.  

Once the amendment is in effect, businesses will be able to offer blockchain-based STOs under the SEA.