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Published on September 14, 2007

Foreign investors are expressing confidence that domestic consumption will rebound next year after the upcoming general election and become another engine driving economic growth, Stock Exchange of Thailand president Patareeya Benjapholchai said yesterday.

She was speaking at the close of a three-day investment forum in Bangkok called Thailand Focus 2007: Platforms for Growth, organised by the stock exchange, Phatra Securities and global investment firm Merrill Lynch.

In July, the Private Consumption Index dropped one per cent month on month but rose 0.1 per cent year on year. The Bank of Thailand expects the figure to rise 3.5-4.5 per cent this year.

Since last year, weak consumption triggered by political uncertainty has left strong exports as the single engine driving Thailand's economy.

Patareeya said the event had been successful.

In its first two days, there were more than 600 one-on-one meetings between Thai listed companies and investors, and the number of would reach about 1,000 before the event finished.

More than 270 investors - 91 of them foreign - attended the event, while 63 market-cap listed companies provided them with information.

"Institutional investors have paid strong interest in the banking, real estate, communications, health and medical-service sectors.

"They want to meet leaders in these sectors, to learn of their business prospects and performance amid the global economic slowdown," Patareeya said.

The most frequently asked questions from investors involved business strategies, capital management, growth trends, dividend policies and corporate governance, she said.

Anders Wihlborn, head of Pacific Rim, the client-manager group of Merrill Lynch (Asia Pacific), said the general election would create a clearer political picture, build confidence and boost consumption.

Foreign investors may invest in communications and infrastructure shares after the election, while some have expressed interest in stocks that could benefit from the election, including property developers, he said.

Phatra Securities managing director Supavud Saicheua said a panel discussion involving Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva and People Power Party's secretary-general Surapong Suebwonglee would have helped restore investors' confidence about Thailand's direction after the election.

Both parties, which are expected to lead the formation of the next government, have paid attention to economic policy, including compulsory savings and building up Thailand's competitiveness by going ahead with development of the Kingdom's logistics system, Supavud said.

Siriporn Chanjindamanee

 The Nation