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Published on November 21, 2007

Executive vice president Nongram Wongwanich yesterday said part of the SET's business plan for next year would be to create a network among Asean countries amid rising competition from stock markets globally. The SET wants to play an active role in Asean.

Invitations to join the task force will go to the finance minister, Bank of Thailand governor, secretary-general of the Securities and Exchange Commission, SET representatives and other parties.

"We intend to be the coordinator among all parties to help push the market. This could be done after the [December 23] general election," she said.

On December 3, the SET will invite six political parties running in the election to explain their policies on the capital market to the capital market's community.

Along with bourses from Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Vietnam and Indonesia, the SET is studying setting up an Asean Board as a market for blue-chip stocks from each country, to attract international investors.

SET president Patareeya Benjapholchai also said the exchange planned to get 37 companies to list next year, of which 12 would trade on the Market for Alternative Investment.

She still sees no need to introduce any more incentives for companies to list, while some have suggested making the current tax breaks permanent.

SET executive vice president Vichate Tantiwanich said the bourse's capitalisation would increase to about Bt7 trillion next year from the current Bt6.6 trillion, while average daily trading should rise to around Bt22 billion from this year's Bt17.5 billion.

The market's price-to-earnings ratio will climb to about 20 next year, from about 16 now.

The SET expects more than 100,000 new investors next year to boost total investors to between 1.96 million and two million.

Listed companies have reported profits for this year's first nine months of Bt319.01 billion on total revenue of Bt4.22 trillion. About 79 per cent of the firms were in the black.

The top three most profitable industry groups were resources, property and construction, and industrials.

The top five most profitable firms were PTT, Siam Cement, PTT Exploration and Production, Bangkok Bank and Thai Oil.

Most SET firms - 465 out of 491, including property funds and companies in the non-compliance and non-performing groups - have submitted their financial statements for the first nine months this year, showing net profits dropped 15 per cent from the same period last year.

Siriporn Chanjidnamanee, The Nation