SET President, Mr. Kittiratt Na-Ranong, has been awarded Money & Banking Magazine’s Financier of the Year Award for 2005. The award was presented by the Finance Minister, Dr. Thanong Bidaya on February 23, 2006. Mr. Kittiratt is the 17th financier to have received this honor. He has been selected as this year’s outstanding financier due to his visionary thinking, professionalism, high-caliber leadership and contributions to the capital market, as well as his dedication to corporate social responsibility (CSR).
Mr. Kittiratt is a key person behind the prosperity of the capital market, where he’s helped make it possible for equity, debt and derivatives products to exist side-by-side. He also plays a vital role in establishing the agricultural futures, bond, and financial futures exchanges here in Thailand.
He has continually demonstrated a high level of professionalism and integrity. He was behind the drafting of the Thai Capital Market Master Plan, which has laid a firm foundation for the market. He’s also an outstanding financier who has led his organization to greater recognition by the public.
It is also noteworthy to mention his contributions to the society as a whole. He has laid out a policy for the SET in the area of CSR. Projects initiated by him include the post-tsunami building of soccer fields in three southern provinces, renovating sports complexes for youth at Chulalongkorn and Mahidol universities, supporting a music library project, hosting a youth musical challenge, supporting Thai traditional sports and sending aid relief to victims of the tsunami and southern unrest.
Mr. Kittiratt said: “The SET is dedicated to CSR. As the judging committee for the Financier of the Year Award has considered the CSR contributions of the award recipient, the importance of CSR will then be better conveyed to other organizations to do the same.
“However, just allocating a large budget to CSR activities is not the answer, as there must be sustainable development. Therefore, I’d like to add that every organization should help society in such a way that the recipients will eventually be self-sustaining.”
On education, Mr. Kittiratt has initiated and helped develop a better investment culture in many ways, for all age groups of Thais. The SET has cooperated with the Ministry of Education in producing teaching materials and textbooks, which have been included in school curricula since 2001. Also, it has hosted an educational stage play and a sit-com. The SET’s investor promotion activities have included the “SET in the City” investment fair, international roadshows and “Thailand Focus”, which brought many foreign fund managers to Thailand. It has developed a lively SET library, which is open daily throughout the year. The SET has also helped develop community libraries in Bangkok, three southern provinces, and in the areas affected by the tsunami.
Other achievements of Mr. Kittiratt include his important role in the establishment of the Federation of Thai Capital Market Organizations and the Capital Market Academy.
He managed to keep the system’s brokerage fees to a minimum, to enable securities companies to better manage their costs whilst providing good quality services and avoiding price competition.
Money & Banking Magazine has been hosting the Financier of the Year Award since 1982. Of the 16 award recipients to date, Mr. Kittiratt is the first awardee to have come from the capital market.
