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Lyxor Asset Management Co. Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Société Générale, listed its Thailand-based exchange traded fund on NYSE Euronext Paris on July 18, 2011. This marks the first listing of the SET50-based ETF in Europe and outside Asia.
Lyxor ETF Thailand (SET50 Net TR) (ticker: THA FP) is designed to track performance of the SET50 net total return index, a widely recognized Thai stock index calculated by the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET).
Mr. Veerathai Santiprabhob, Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer of SET, said: “Thailand has been an attractive destination for European investors for decades. European portfolio investors account for 49 percent of the total foreign holding in Thai listed equities by market value. The ETF launched by Lyxor will provide European retail and institutional investors with an efficient and cost effective channel to benefit from Thailand’s growing economy. Despite the recent global economic slowdown and domestic political uncertainties, the SET index increased by 41 percent in USD terms during the past 12 months, making Thailand one of the three best performing markets in East Asia.”
Mr. Nizam Hamid, Head of ETF Strategy of Lyxor, said: “The new SET50 ETF is an exciting addition in a fast growing ETF market. It adds to Lyxor ETFs market leadership in single-country Emerging Market ETFs and commitment to providing investors with efficient and low cost market access.”
Mr. Pedro Fernandes, Head of European Exchange Traded Products for NYSE Euronext, added: “We are delighted to widen our ETF range with the launch of this new product without precedent in Europe and offering exposure to such a growing economy. This initiative from Lyxor will further expand opportunity for investors to diversify their portfolios through a leading regulated market infrastructure providing superior technology, market model and liquidity.”
Lyxor Asset Management is the second largest ETF provider in Europe and the fourth in the world with the total asset under management worth EUR 37 billion across over 220 exchange traded funds. Lyxor launched its first emerging market ETF in 2006 and its emerging market ETFs now account for EUR 8 billion of its total asset under management, representing 24 percent of the Emerging Markets ETF in Europe by asset size.
