The Capital Market Development Fund (CMDF) is preparing to launch a 1-billion-baht private equity (PE) trust to support Thailand's "new economy" businesses and help build a pipeline for future listed companies, says fund manager Chakchai Boonyawat.
The project is awaiting board approval, which is expected this year. Following approval, the CMDF plans to appoint an external trust manager within 3-4 months before the fund begins operations. He said the PE trust will focus on growth-stage companies with established business models but limited access to capital for expansion. Target sectors include medical and healthcare, food and food technology, biotechnology, and tourism technology.
"The goal is to help these businesses scale up and eventually access larger funding channels, including initial public offerings [IPOs], venture capital, and corporate venture capital networks," said Mr Chakchai.
The CMDF will act as the anchor investor while inviting participation from public and private sector partners, with total fundraising targeted at around 1 billion baht, he said.
The fund is expected to be managed by an independent third-party trust manager specialising in PE and new economy investments. Selection criteria includes expertise in scaling businesses and delivering successful exits through IPOs or strategic acquisitions, said Mr Chakchai.
The PE trust is expected to operate with an investment horizon of 8-10 years, in line with standard PE structures. The initiative also provides mentorship, knowledge-sharing programmes, and support for environmental, social and governance readiness and investor communications.
The CMDF is also developing a national startup directory covering 500-600 firms to improve visibility and investor access for emerging businesses, he said.
The fund has roughly 6 billion baht in remaining capital, sufficient to support Thailand's capital market development over the long term, said Mr Chakchai.
Over the past seven years, the fund approved 172 projects worth more than 3.5 billion baht, with various initiatives to strengthen the capital market. A flagship project is Jump+, the Stock Exchange of Thailand's (SET) three-year programme to improve the valuation and competitiveness of listed Thai companies.
The CMDF also completed research on the Thai Individual Saving Account, a tax incentive scheme aimed at encouraging long-term personal savings. The study was submitted to the SET and the Securities and Exchange Commission for discussions with the Finance Ministry. The fund also supports joint research with private institutions and universities on high-frequency trading and IPO quality to improve market fairness and investor protection.
The CMDF manages its reserves using a global passive strategy linked to global indices such as the MSCI All Country World Index.
