DAILY HIGHLIGHTS
- 22 February 2012
- 21 February 2012
SET AIMS TO BE MOST ACTIVE IN ASEAN
The Stock Exchange of Thailand plans to be Asean's most active securities market by year-end, says president Charamporn Jotikasthira.
The SET currently ranks second in the region after
But Mr Charamporn said trading volume in December actually exceeded that of the SGX, and the SET is targeting average daily turnover of 31-32 billion baht this year.
Meanwhile, the Thailand Futures Exchange (TFEX) expects even stronger growth, with daily turnover of 55,000 to 57,000 contracts compared with an average of 42,000 traded per day last year.
Mr Charamporn said the SET expects market capitalisation to rise by 200 billion baht in 2012 _ 125 billion from new listings and the rest from public offerings.
"Mergers and acquisitions will be a key agenda this year and help to drive the market as well as facilitate growth for large companies," he said.
Exchange officials will propose to the government that current obstacles to mergers, particularly tax treatment in M&A transactions, be amended to be competitive with foreign regulations.
The SET also plans to launch several new products this year including depository receipts and currency futures, with the latter expected to begin trading on the TFEX in the second quarter.
Mr Charamporn said the exchange will also look to boost liquidity in trade of SET50 index futures and gold futures through expanded after-hours trading services and support for securities borrowing-and-lending services.
Starting in the third quarter, the SET will begin trading services under the Asean Link programme, a regional initiative to facilitate cross-border securities trading set to be launched this year by the Malaysian, Singaporean and Thai bourses.
Mr Charamporn said to support the market's growth targets, the SET would reach out to local banks to encourage internet banking clients to open online securities trading accounts.
Internet trading now accounts for 40% of trading volume for individual investors and is projected to rise to 50% this year.
"There are 3 million internet banking accounts in
He said while the SET's development plan has no mention of demutualisation, the exchange remains committed to pushing for efficiency gains and lower costs.
Kittiratt Na-Ranong, a former SET president and the newly appointed finance minister, has already indicated his opposition to demutualisation, a plan studied by the SET for several years to transform the organisation into a listed company with its own shares traded on the market.
He said while the SET's cost-to-income ratio remains significantly higher than the competing Bursa Malaysia or the SGX, clear improvements have been shown in recent years.
The SET's cost-to-income ratio last year stood at 63% compared with 93% in 2008. In contrast, Bursa Malaysia had a ratio of 53% and the SGX 44% in 2011.