Under a proposed scheme called the Thailand Individual Savings Account (TISA), investors would be allowed to allocate up to 600,000 baht (US$17,822) annually across a range of financial instruments, including equities, fixed-income securities, and investment funds, according to the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Modeled after Japan’s Nippon Individual Savings Account, the program is designed to encourage households to shift toward goal-based, long-term investing from savings that are largely held in bank deposits earning 2% or less in interest.
The proposal was first introduced nearly a year ago, when Thailand’s stock market was among the world’s worst performers amid prolonged political uncertainty that triggered an outflow of foreign investors.
Pedestrians and a stray dog wait to cross a road in Bangkok on December 15, 2022. Photo by AFP |
“We are looking for ways to encourage households to convert savings into investments through tax incentives,” Pornanong Budsaratragoon, secretary-general of the Securities and Exchange Commission, said in an interview with Bloomberg.
“It’s also a way to help address the growing retirement and pension gap, which is becoming more urgent as societies age more rapidly.”
The initiative comes as Thailand, home to one of Asia’s fastest-aging populations, faces mounting elderly care costs and pension obligations.
The country last year reached a demographic milestone, with its elderly population officially exceeding its youth population, according to the Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency.
The agency’s 2025 population analysis found that the number of Thais aged 60 and above has risen to 13.6 million, while the population of children under the age of 15 has declined to 9.5 million, as reported by The Nation.
Officials believe that encouraging greater participation in long-term investing can strengthen retirement security while directing more domestic savings into the nation’s capital markets.
Thailand already provides tax incentives for individuals investing in government-approved retirement mutual funds and long-term savings funds. According to the Association of Investment Management Companies, such funds hold an estimated 725 billion baht in assets.
TISA would be the first program to offer tax benefits for direct investments in stocks and bonds. The scheme will replace existing tax-saving funds, which were introduced as temporary measures and have been subject to frequent changes, Pornanong said.
The government is also considering introducing accounts for children that would be exempt from taxes on interest, capital gains, and dividend income, Pornanong said. Parents would be able to invest up to 200,000 baht annually for each child until age 20, encouraging long-term savings from an early age, she added.
Comments are closed.