Following its policy of reducing paperwork by moving more towards electronic transactions, the Bank of Thailand last month announced a rise in its cheque-issuing fee, from Bt5 to Bt15 per transaction, effective on April 3.

Prasert Bunsumpun, president of the Listed Companies' Association, said the increase would double the cost of dividend payments, and he therefore encouraged listed companies to switch to electronic transfer as their preferred method of paying dividends.

Local banks' current electronic-transfer fee is Bt12 per transaction for dividends of less than Bt100,000. Only dividends of Bt2 million or more will be paid by cheque.

"The e-dividend payment option will lower cheque-transaction costs and thus help listed companies operate with greater flexibility and efficiency," said Prasert.

In 2004, Bt52 trillion in e-payments were made via the Bank of Thailand, a much higher figure than the country's gross domestic product of Bt6 trillion to Bt7 trillion.

Bank of Thailand adviser Saowanee Suvarnacheep earlier estimated that e-payments made through the central bank had nearly doubled last year, to Bt100 trillion, a substantial figure for an environment without supervision or regulation.

The Stock Exchange of Thailand reported early this month that dividends being paid by 216 listed companies for last year's operations rose almost 8 per cent on year, to Bt162 billion.

Half of all listed companies have announced dividends for last year's performance, not counting those trading under the rehabilitation sector.

The resources sector is paying out the most in terms of value, with PTT Plc No 1 at Bt25.88 billion, or Bt9.25 per share.

The property/construction sector emerged as the second-biggest dividend payer in terms of value, at Bt31.24 billion. Next comes the technology, financial and service sectors at Bt28.16 billion, Bt19.19 billion and Bt17.79 billion, respectively.

Siam Cement is paying the biggest dividends in the property/construction sector, Bt15 per share. Advanced Info Service is No 1 in the tech sector at Bt6.30 per share, and Siam Commercial Bank is the highest payer in the financial sector at Bt3 per share.