A regulatory blind spot has caught the attention in Thailand, following a bizarre shareholding controversy involving telecom giant True Corporation (SET: TRUE) that exposes operational vulnerabilities in the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) disclosure gateway.
The issue centers on Form 246-2, the mandatory regulatory filing triggered when an investor’s position crosses major 5% thresholds. On July 2, 2026, an individual retail investor named Supaporn Pimphong submitted a filing claiming an accumulated 7.0992% block in TRUE, executed partly via global brokerages. The accounting value of such a position exceeds 30 billion baht ($800 million), instantly positioning her as the firm’s sixth-largest shareholder.
The transaction immediately raised red flags. TRUE swiftly notified the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) that the filing contained glaring inaccuracies: the report claimed the acquisition of preferred shares, yet TRUE has zero preferred shares outstanding and has never offered them to the public.
A Systemic Latency Problem
This is not a case of regulatory failure, but rather a structural vulnerability in how automated disclosure systems process incoming data. Under current protocols, the Thai SEC operates an immediate-release portal to ensure market transparency. However, because the regulator cannot independently verify private transactions or block trades prior to the filing, the system essentially publishes major, market-moving data before performing basic checks.
Further investigations reveal that this is part of a broader, highly abnormal trend. The same individual filed retroactive Form 246-2 reports for five blue-chip equities—including Kasikornbank (KBANK), Bangkok Bank (BBL), and Asia Aviation (AAV)—spanning late June to early July.
The lag times between the alleged acquisitions and the public notifications are unprecedented, stretching over several years in some instances. Under Thai law, threshold changes must be reported within three business days (T+3).
| Company | Claimed Acquisition Date | SEC Filing Date | Reported Global Intermediary |
| MAJOR | Sep 14, 2021 | July 2, 2026 | Morgan Stanley & Co. International |
| GJS | Feb 2022/ Feb 2023 | June 30, 2026 | — |
| BBL | Apr 11, 2023 | July 2, 2026 | — |
| AAV | Nov 6, 2023 | June 30, 2026 | — |
| KBANK | Aug 13, 2025 | July 2, 2026 | Merrill Lynch International (Australia) |
| TRUE | June 15, 2026 | July 2, 2026 | UBS Group AG |
Market experts point to two prevailing theories. The first suggests the filings are entirely fabricated. The second, more complex theory points to an “Blank Share Transfer” practice, where buyers physically hold share certificates without updating the company’s official registrar—willingly sacrificing dividends and voting rights for years to mask ultimate beneficial ownership or circumvent mandatory tender offer triggers.
While the SEC acted swiftly to mark the TRUE filing with a “preliminary warning” tag on July 3, the lag has sparked a broader debate among international compliance desks as foreign funds rely heavily on immediate regulatory feeds for algorithmic trading and risk management.
For institutional allocators, the loophole is not about law enforcement, but procedural design. To maintain international confidence, market participants are now urging the SEC to introduce stricter procedures for high-impact filings before they hit the public wire.
