The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) has issued an official warning to Karmarts Public Company Limited (SET: KAMART) for failing to follow proper procedures in notifying the market about its recent share buyback program, as announced by Rongrak Phanapavudhikul, Senior Executive Vice President and Head of Legal Affairs & Corporate Social Responsibility Division at the SET.
Rongrak stated that this incident marks the first violation by KAMART since its listing on the SET on January 17, 1995. Consequently, the SET has sent an official warning letter demanding the company rectify the disclosure in accordance with market regulations. He also stressed that there will not be any further action beyond the warning.
He stressed that the routine of sending a warning letter has been completed. The next step for the SET is to investigate whether there was any irregular trading or suspected ‘insider trading’ using undisclosed information during the period in which KAMART failed to comply with the buyback disclosure process.
Should such activities be detected, the SET will refer the case to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for further action.
On June 20, KAMART disclosed that its Board of Directors, at Meeting No. 3/2568 held on June 19, resolved to implement a share repurchase program of up to 30 million shares with a par value of THB 0.60 per share, representing no more than 2.34% of total issued shares, for a maximum total value not exceeding THB 210 million.
The buyback will take place over a period not exceeding six months, from June 23 to December 22, 2025, via the SET’s automatic order-matching system.
The company’s rationale for this buyback came from various factors, especially from Thailand’s political situation, which caused significant declines, both in the SET index and in KAMART’s share price. The Board believes share repurchases will help restore price alignment with the company’s fundamentals and stabilize the market in a more rational manner.
KAMART confirmed that funds for the buyback will come from its operational cash flow, with management being authorized to execute repurchases as they see fit in terms of timing and amount.
The company also acknowledged its error in failing to specify the correct timeline for the buyback and for disclosing the information through unofficial channels, which violated the rules that require share buyback programs for financial management purposes to be announced at least three days before the first purchase date.
