The tax privileges allow the listed companies to pay only 20 per cent of corporate income as tax, against the national rate of 30 per cent. If extended, the rate could be 20 or 25 per cent, the source said.

If they are subjected to a 20 per cent rate, that would boost the listed companies’ earnings by 14.29 per cent and lower the price to earnings ratio to 10.5 times from the current 12.3, according to Kim-Eng Securities (Thailand) Co Ltd. In 2011, corporate earning is forecast to grow by 21 per cent.

The committee will also discuss the trading of agricultural futures on Thailand Futures Exchange (TFEX) which has so far focused solely on financial futures.

The source said that such would cause some overlapping in products, but TFEX and the Agricultural Futures Exchange of Thailand focus on different client bases, he said.