The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) plans to add 46 new listed companies to the main board and adjust mai listing procedures to attract interested firms. The Exchange will introduce four new products - gold futures, derivative warrants, an ETF and an Islamic fund, while increasing retail, institutional and internet-based investor numbers by 5-10%.
As part of its five-year organizational development plan, SET will itself will be listed by 2011. The Exchange will be a more important fundraising source for leading domestic firms and at minimum cost. To achieve its regional and global ambitions, SET will continue to broaden the range of reasonably-priced products and services available to clients, SET President Patareeya Benjapolchai said.
From 2009, the Exchange and its subsidiaries will be divided into two groups, one focusing on exchange functions and the other on capital market development. Its initiatives are underpinned by nine strategies, which include increasing the number of listing approvals to 46 companies, 10 new property funds and new products, including an Islamic Fund to attract Middle East investment,” Ms. Patareeya added.
The number of retail investors will grow by 5%, or approximately 100,000 people, while local institutional and internet-based investors will rise by 10% from 2008. Futures daily trading volumes will expand by 32.4% from 2008, to 10,910 contracts.
Meanwhile, the capital market development group is about to launch 15 new projects. The group will help lower costs for training industry professionals and enable the Exchange to be Thailand’s only capital market education and examination center and, eventually, the capital market education center for all countries in the Greater Mekong region.
Other strategies include readying personnel for planned ASEAN market integration and enhancing corporate governance in preparation for SET’s becoming a listed public company in 2011, Ms. Patareeya said.
From next year on, Market for Alternative Investment (mai) is to be a disclosure-based market, allowing financial advisors to more closely involved in assessing the quality of listed firms and provide full information on them. SET will collaborate more closely with the private and public sectors to attract businesses from Indochina to list on the Thai market.
SET will increase market access and efficiency, promote AFET (The Agricultural Futures Exchange of Thailand ) merge the bond exchange information center and trade system and expand post-trade services, SET Executive Vice President Sopawadee Lertmanaschai said.
The IT system will be more fully compatible with international markets and support the planned establishment of an ASEAN Board. In 2009, the Exchange will link local stock trade with at least one new international market to accommodate listings within Indochina and support new products and services, SET Executive Vice President Nongram Wongwanich said.
Next year, capital market development emphasis will be on investor education and finding new-generation investors who understand wealth management. Various projects will increase the quality and the quantity of capital-market-related professionals by 30%, SET Senior Vice President Jiraporn Koosuwan stated.
SET will continue to promote corporate governance (CG), corporate social responsibility (CSR) and investor relations (IR) to meet international standards. Within five years, CG scores must match those of other markets in our region, and 75% of targeted listed firms must achieve the required IR standards. To promote CSR, within the same period, at least 50% of listed companies should inform shareholders of their CSR activities in their annual reports. The Exchange will launch projects to attract entrepreneurs to the capital market, using mai Matching Fund and Venture Capital Model, SET Senior Vice President Kengkla Ruckphaopunt said.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
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