Bangkok--25 Dec--SET Thailand Securities Depository Co., Ltd. (TSD) continues its service enhancement, now having a fully operational post-trade integration (PTI) system and providing foreign investors with the opportunity of receiving dividends in one of six overseas currencies (or in Thai baht). The new service is part of TSD’s global competitiveness strategy. The PTI system was launched in October 2007 and dividend payment in foreign currencies will be available from January 15, 2008 for those firms who have completed their book-closing, TSD CEO Ms. Sopawadee Lertmanaschai said. “The system will reduce red-tape, fees, time and the risks associated with foreign exchange rates and missing cheques. Currently foreign investors receive dividends in Thai baht-denominated cheques, which may not be accepted by banks in their home countries. In these cases, cheques must be returned to TSD to be converted to bank drafts. The new system will eliminate this cumbersome procedure,” Ms. Sopawadee added. The system is similar to TSD’s e-Dividend service, with the addition that securities and custodian firms will be able to record whether investors wish to receive dividends in euros, Hong Kong dollars, pounds sterling, Singapore dollars, US dollars or yen. Payment in the designated currency will apply to all securities, including non-voting depository receipts (NVDRs), for which TSD has been the registrar for dividend payment from January 15, 2008 until participants authorize a subsequent change of currency. After book-closing, the depository will produce a report giving details of each shareholder’s currency preference and purchase bank drafts in that currency. “Service developments, such as this, ensure that TSD competes effectively in a world of increasingly interconnected global markets and international customers,” Ms. Sopawadee concluded.