Capital Markets
From The Report: Thailand 2018
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Bolstered by improved political stability, positive growth and consumption outlooks, and rising investor confidence, market capitalisation in Thailand rose to pre-1997-98 Asian financial crisis levels for the first time in early 2018 as the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) Index hit an all-time high in January. Capital markets authorities have moved to position Thailand as the de facto regional trading centre in ASEAN, enacting reforms to SET’s settlement cycle and encouraging listed companies to register on domestic and international sustainability indices to improve investor confidence. This chapter contains an interview with Rapee Sucharitakul, Secretary-General, Securities and Exchange Commission.

Articles from this Chapter

Overview

Trading up: Positive growth and consumption outlooks contribute to record stock and bond performance
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Bolstered by improved political stability, positive growth and consumption outlooks, and rising investor confidence, market capitalisation in Thailand rose to pre-1997-98 Asian financial crisis levels for the first time in early 2018 as the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) Index hit an all-time high in January. Capital markets authorities have moved to position Thailand as the de facto regional trading centre in ASEAN, enacting reforms to SET’s settlement cycle and encouraging listed companies…

Interview

A fundamental approach: Rapee Sucharitakul, Secretary-General, Securities and Exchange Commission, on adapting regulations for fundraising methods
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Interview :Rapee Sucharitakul How do you view new fundraising methods, such as initial coin offerings (ICOs) and crypto-assets, in comparison to traditional ones? RAPEE SUCHARITAKUL: ICOs will either become the next big thing or exist only as a temporary trend. Nevertheless, we have drafted regulations to control ICOs and the trading of crypto-currencies. Regarding these new fundraising methods, there is a clear distinction between traditional and modern viewpoints. From the more traditional…

Analysis

Weighted grades: Recovery of private spending should bolster consumption amid uncertainty surrounding US-China trade war
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The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) Index continued to rally in 2017 with positive returns of 13.7% after reaching 19.8% in 2016. This largely came from broad-based global economic recovery, which boosted petrochemicals, transport, tourism and energy. Meanwhile, the pickup in domestic demand supported the automotive, property and commerce industries. Foreign investment increased in the domestic market in late August 2017 due to easing political concerns after former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra left the country. However, the rapid surge of the index caused some profit taking, and foreign investment in the equity market closed 2017 with…

Analysis

Block to the futures: Notable expansion in futures trading using block trades and acceptance of non-cash collateral
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The Thailand Futures Exchange (TFEX) has been operating since 2006 with a range of products including futures for the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) 50 Index, stock, gold, interest rates, currency and agriculture. The two most popular of these in terms of daily trading volume are SET50 Index and stock futures. The trading volume of stock futures has increased substantially from around 969,000 contracts in 2010 to 47.5m in 2017, indicating greater investor awareness of these products. Contract investors can benefit from both bullish and bearish markets when it comes to futures, but a lack of liquidity in particular products, such as single-stock…

Analysis

Focus on fintech: Blockchain and crowdfunding are contributing to a quickly evolving and increasingly online brokerage market
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Since the emergence of financial technology ( fintech) in the early 2010s, various terms – such as Bitcoin, initial coin offering, blockchain and crowd-funding – have entered the vernacular. The trends and technologies these words represent have influenced nearly every aspect of the economy. Market Shift Most people in financial services realise change is happening more quickly than ever before. In retail brokerage, investor behaviour has shifted from placing trading orders by phone to sending orders via smartphones. The trading volume of retail investors represented 40% of total market turnover in March 2018, and approximately 89% of investors…

Interview

The road ahead: Chaipatr Srivisarvacha, CEO, KT ZMICO Securities Company; and Governor, Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET), on the need to accommodate emerging investment vehicles
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Interview :Chaipatr Srivisarvacha What are the benefits of implementing the trade date plus two days (T+2) settlement period? CHAIPATR SRIVISARVACHA: In the first quarter of 2018 the SET implemented the T+2 settlement cycle. With the shorter settlement period, investors are now able to quickly turnover their capital and realise faster returns. This increases flexibility in securities trading as well as subsequent transactions. In addition, improving the settlement date will, by default,…