Today, some Thai investors may be more familiar with shares like Nvidia, Apple, or Tesla than certain Thai stocks, and many may hardly hold any Thai stocks in their portfolios. While Thai investment funds are flowing into global markets, the Thai stock market is witnessing a significant move by a “global player.”
On 31 August, Webull Securities (Thailand) Co., Ltd., or Webull Thailand, a subsidiary of Webull Corporation (NASDAQ: BULL), signed a share purchase agreement to acquire Pi Securities Co., Ltd. from Country Group Holdings Public Company Limited (CGH) at an enterprise valuation exceeding 3.2 billion baht.
At first glance, this appears to be merely a brokerage acquisition deal in the Thai capital market. However, the underlying reasons differ, as this deal is not just about obtaining an additional securities business license.
It is about “buying time” to expand the business by building upon what Pi Securities has accumulated over several decades — including Assets Under Management (AUM), client relationships, investment advisory teams, as well as expertise in Thai financial products and capital markets.
The synergy between Webull’s global platform and technology with Pi Securities’ business base and understanding of the Thai capital market is particularly noteworthy. This occurs as the investment world moves toward a “Global Single Market,” where stock markets worldwide are increasingly interconnected, reshaping investor mindsets and competitive dynamics among investment service providers.
Thairath Money spoke with Chonladej Khemaratna, CEO of Webull Thailand, about his market outlook, the rationale and background behind the company group’s decision to acquire instead of build, covering perspectives on Thai investor behavior, the new synergy, and Webull’s goals and future strategy in Thailand.
Chonladej Khemaratna, CEO of Webull Thailand, reflected that Thai investor behavior has clearly changed, especially among the younger generation who have become highly "Global Investors." They are more familiar with US technology stocks or global brands than domestic stocks, focus on growth stocks, and rarely hold Thai shares. Conversely, there remains a segment of investors who concentrate on the Thai stock market, seeking returns from dividends of large-cap stocks. These two groups are now distinctly polarized.
However, one constant over time is the "investment temperament" favoring speculation and short-term trading, a common trait among Asian investors, even though many maintain primarily long-term portfolios.
This presents a crucial challenge that Webull aims to solve by addressing pain points for Thai investors to increase investment opportunities, targeting both retail investors and high-net-worth (HNW and ultra-HNW) clients.
For retail investors, Webull plans to enhance trading tools by integrating its AI expertise to assist with analysis, enabling faster and more convenient stock trading decisions.
For wealthy clients, Webull sees traditional brokerage services as potentially insufficiently flexible to meet individual client needs. Therefore, it leverages strengths in customization to tailor services for different client segments. It also enables investors meeting the Thai SEC’s asset thresholds to access global investment products like Bitcoin ETFs and Single-Stock Leveraged ETFs through the platform.
Alongside this, Webull emphasizes "Human Touch" — direct consultation with experts and analysts — which remains a key trust factor for wealthy investors, a market segment believed to have significant growth potential.
Additionally, many Thai investors lack risk management tools during volatile markets. Webull offers derivative investment strategies on US stocks through short options such as Covered Calls and Cash-Secured Puts, being the first and only broker in Thailand to provide these services, thus broadening investors’ strategic and portfolio management options.
Hence, addressing investor needs across all segments by combining world-class technology with expert personnel to deliver superior services has become the vital link leading to this major strategic deal in the Thai capital market.
Chonladej explained that the deal originated after Webull Thailand launched services in Thailand in May 2024 and received unexpectedly strong responses, with over 1 million registered users and more than 460,000 successfully opened accounts to date.
Given this rapid growth, Webull Group’s founders and senior executives strategized to seek merger and acquisition opportunities in Thailand to accelerate growth and business expansion.
Accordingly, the acquisition of Pi Securities was carefully planned. Chonladej described the strict criteria used to select the target securities company in Thailand, focusing on four key aspects:
Filtering these criteria and excluding brokers affiliated with banks or foreign brokers left only one candidate in the Thai capital market: Pi Securities Public Company Limited.
Currently, Pi Securities has an AUM of about 100 billion baht and is notable for its derivatives product services in both Thailand (TFEX) and overseas (CME), as well as Depositary Receipts (DRs), previously ranking second in the market.
Moreover, it is one of the longest-established Thai brokers with over 50 years in the capital market, having witnessed industry changes. It restructured from a traditional broker into a digital investment platform since 2022, evolving from Country Group Securities to the “Pi” brand, developing a platform integrating trading and investment across various asset classes.
Its services include mutual funds, fixed income, and structured notes with embedded derivatives, supported by over 300 investment consultants (IC) and relationship managers (RM), plus a renowned securities analysis team led by Kavee Chookitkasem, Chief Investment Officer.
Although the acquisition price of 3.2 billion baht exceeds book value, from Chonladej’s perspective, acquiring high-quality assets, over 300 RM and IC staff, and infrastructure for research and DR business is a worthwhile investment, saving the 3–5 years it would take to build and expand organically.
The share purchase agreement was signed on 29 June 2026 after due diligence on legal, financial, and tax matters, approved by the Thai SEC, with payment and share transfer completed on 31 August 2026.
Regarding post-deal operational strategy, Chonladej outlined a three-phase roadmap: “Acquire -> Transform -> Migrate.” The Acquire phase, the acquisition, has been completed with payment settled.
Next is the Transform phase, expected to take about one year, focusing on upgrading IC staff skills to become RMs knowledgeable in diverse global financial products, alongside integrating AI technology to enhance back-office efficiency. During this phase, the Pi brand will be retained initially to avoid customer confusion.
The final Migrate phase will consolidate operations and brands fully under the Webull brand.
Chonladej confirmed that all RM and IC personnel will remain, with no plans for layoffs, maintaining existing compensation and revenue-sharing structures. He emphasized that the company’s most valuable asset is its people and welcomed future recruitment.
Product and service development between Webull and Pi will proceed stepwise to meet new investor behaviors, with near-future initiatives including:
Additionally, internal systems are being prepared to support the Thailand Individual Savings Account (TISA) initiative, a new personal savings and investment account promoted by the Ministry of Finance and Thai SEC to encourage long-term savings and tax deductions, expected to launch in 2027.
All these efforts aim for Webull to surpass 1 million opened accounts while driving Assets Under Management (AUM) to 200 billion baht.
Chonladej concluded that in the next 2-3 years, the defining trend for capital markets will be the emergence of a “Global Single Market,” where investors are no longer confined to investing within a single country but will move capital according to returns and interest rates across regions.
Simultaneously, correlations among different asset classes will increase, making cross-regional asset allocation and risk diversification critically important in modern investing.
Therefore, Webull Thailand’s future vision is not just a stock trading app but a full-fledged financial and wealth management ecosystem covering Thai and foreign stocks, risk management tools in derivative markets such as TFEX and CME, Depositary Receipts, mutual funds, and tax-advantaged products like TISA, powered by technology to enhance investment efficiency. It connects Thai investors with a network spanning over 18 countries within the Webull group, opening endless new investment opportunities.
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