Thailand, Taiwan see alliance in futures markets
Officials from the Taiwanese and Thai futures exchanges yesterday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to work more closely together to develop their markets.
Kesara Manchusree, managing director of the Thai exchange, said Taiwanese options experts would train their Thai counterparts as well as local brokers ahead of the launch of the exchange's second product - Options Index futures - in the second half of the year. Kesara said the exchange did not expect higher volume from the increased cooperation, as foreign investors could already trade its Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) 50 Index futures product in London. She noted that the Taiwan Futures Exchange was one the world's most successful derivative markets. By trading volume, it ranks 18th in the world, with 114.6 million contracts traded last year. In terms of options trading, it ranks fourth globally, with 97 million contracts traded last year. Rong-I Wu, its chairman, described the move as a long-term strategy. "Many Taiwanese companies operate in Thailand. We expect to form an alliance and expect long-term benefits," Wu said. Vijit Supinit, chairman of the Thailand Futures Exchange, saw yesterday's agreement as a beginning. "The global capital market is becoming bigger and bigger, so cooperation, especially within the region, is important," he said. Vijit added that the future could bring cross-shareholding. This might take place after the SET demutualises. Thanawat Patchimkul, executive vice president and head of research at KGI Securities, said cooperation would benefit securities firms overall but that KGI might have an advantage, as its parent company was Taiwanese. "We'll have to see what kind of cooperation comes out. If the marketing plan on options and the structure of options are similar to what Taiwan has done, we may benefit, because our parent company is Taiwanese," Thanawat said. SET president Patareeya Benjapholchai said the bourse would sign an MoU with Taiwan Stock Exchange Corp (TSEC) in October. "The cooperation will expand. Initially, the TSEC expressed interest in our Exchange Traded Fund (ETF). It wants to list our ETF on its bourse, and in the meantime we'll list three of its ETFs on our exchange. However, the details will be discussed later," Patareeya said.
Piyarat Setthasiriphaiboon The Nation
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