Bangkok--12 May--SET
The Thai exchange has adjusted its strategic plans to handle the current situation, both domestic and foreign, including the global financial crisis. It will speed up the introduction of products, increase its channels of reaching investors, and quickly strengthen SET together with other capital market organizations, The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET)’s Board of Governors resolved today (May 11, 2009). SET will also continue to closely monitor the local and overseas situation and promptly react to changes, SET Executive Vice President and Board Secretary Suthichai Chitvanich reported.
“SET will adjust the strategic plans for both the Exchange Function and Capital Market Development Fund (CMDF) for the balance of 2009, by focusing on what can be accomplished in the deteriorated external environment. Moreover, SET will emphasize strengthening its infrastructure and development of securities professionals so that they will be ready for the changing situation. SET will adjust strategic plans in four aspects: investors, products, listed companies, and management and organization development,” said Mr. Suthichai.
The key to expanding the investor base will be to closely work with commercial banks and securities companies to raise the number of counters providing securities services in branches of commercial banks, giving bank customers easy capital market access.
In addition, SET will focus on expanding the number of clients in the High Net Worth Individual (HNWI) segment, many of whom are still unable to conveniently access new types of investment and offer risk management tools that are suitable for different risk profiles within this group.
Moreover, there will be programs allowing participants to invest steadily but gradually, e.g., Wealth Builder, to increase the individual investor base. In the same time, SET will support institutional investors, particularly the mutual funds.
For product development, SET will roll out products with principal protection, which will increase the confidence bank savers have in capital market investments. This is a good time for such products, since the Deposit Protection Agency Act will gradually reduce insurance on bank deposits to a million Thai baht from August 11, 2012, onwards.
Moreover, SET will study possibilities to launch interest rate futures within H2/2009, instead of in 2010 as originally planned. Meanwhile, SET will soon launch derivatives and other risk management tools for the money market, especially derivative warrants and equity futures, and providing investors’ knowledge on these tools.
As for listed firms, SET has lowered its target for new listings 46 to 37, will emphasize investing in companies with good fundamentals, and will relax its rules in order to support firms seeking to enhance competitiveness by restructuring, e.g., mergers and acquisitions, or reorganizing to become a holding company. Meanwhile, SET will support enterprises to benefit from venture capital, especially, those with high potential to listed.
In addition, SET will continue to increase its own effectiveness via improving its cost-efficiency, employee development and process enhancement.
“The adjustment to SET strategic plans is to handle the changing situation, SET will go on working closely with other capital market organizations to strengthen the market as a whole, closely monitoring the local and overseas situation and dealing with changes effectively,” concluded Mr. Suthichai.
please contact Public Relations Unit, the Corporate Communications Dept.:Ladawan Kantawong Tel: 0-2229-2036 / Kanokwan Khemmalai Tel: 0-2229-2048 / Panitee Chatpolarak Tel: 0-2229-2792