“On the first day, the PSE Chairperson and executives participated in the first trading day ceremony of Single Point Parts (Thailand) Pcl. They also attended a presentation on the SET’s investor education, investor base expansion, market surveillance programs as well as visiting the S-E-T Call Center, the SET’s trading investigation unit, the Prof. Sangvian Auditorium, the press room, Family Know-How Co., Ltd.(FKH)’s studio, the Maruey Knowledge and Resource Center (MKRC), and the Settrade.com coffee shop and book store. The PSE executives were very enthusiastic about our activities,” Mr. Kittiratt said.
PSE Chairperson, Ms. Alicia Rita Arroyo, said that it is very impressive that, despite the economic crisis in 1997, the Thai stock market and the Thai economy have been able to take advantage of the situation and have turned into one of the most attractive markets in the region.
She went on, the Thai market is strong in education. Typically, education will be conducted through colleges. But the Thai market does more than that. It applies different approaches for different target audiences. Also impressive is the idea of the SET President to set aside the MKRC and the full utilization of building space for all parties and educational programs and not just to serve the business of the SET itself.
On mutual cooperation between the SET and PSE, there has already been a staff exchange program for a one-month period. The exchanged staff members have learned from each other’s exchange, have shared information, and the PSE staff members are impressed and excited to learn from the Thai market in a number of various areas of mutual interest.
Ms. Marita Limlingan, Investor Education Committee Chair, noted that the staff exchange program has been very useful. The PSE staffs returned and shared what they gained, and this is the main reason why we are here to see it ourselves together with several brokers.
Atty. Ramon Garcia, Former PSE President and Director, who also joined the trip said that he gained more information from this visit, and it may be possible that there will be more participation by the Philippine brokers in the Thai market in the near future.
Mr. Rodolfo Cruz, PSE Treasurer/HK Securities, Inc., said that this visit actually signaled the possibility of future cooperation. It is a good start for more cooperation in this region. The relationship will be more cooperative, and less competitive. It might also be possible that the Philippine brokers have Thai partners.
Currently the PSE has 137 operating brokers. Visiting the SET provides an opportunity for the brokers to learn more about other markets.
The PSE executives have spent the afternoon session of Feb.17 to discuss with the FKH’s executives. The FKH is a SET subsidiary responsible for producing various educational materials. Tomorrow (Feb.18) the PSE Executives will be attending a presentation on listing, information disclosure and the trading system plus visit 2 Thai brokerage firms.
Currently the market capitalization of the PSE is approximately 5 trillion peso, or 92,278 million dollars. It has a total of 235 listed companies.
