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The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) has revealed its achievements in 2016, underlining SET’s strategic plan to develop an ideal capital market for all stakeholders, while strengthening the foundation for the Thai capital market, economy, society, and the country in line with the government’s economic development policies.
SET's remarkable success showcased in 2016 covering four aspects:
1) Business: SET proved upbeat businesses at domestic and regional levels:
- Liquidity reaching number one in ASEAN for five consecutive years with the average daily trading value at THB 53.21 billion (As of December 15, 2016) (approx. USD 1.52 billion)
- Market capitalization from initial public offerings (IPOs) at THB 155.61 billion (approx. USD 4.45 billion)
- In terms of trading value, the ratio of retail investors to institutional investors is 53 percent to 47 percent, the number has been growing through SET’s joint marketing activities with securities firms, asset management firms and alliances to expand investor base, such as promoting online investment channels and educational campaigns.
2) Quality: The quality of Thai listed firms was reflected by:
- 14 companies selected for the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI), the largest figure in ASEAN
- 30 listed companies were included in the FTSE4Good ASEAN 5 Index, out of total of 78 companies, considered the highest number in ASEAN 5.
- Thailand's ASEAN CG Scorecard has increased continuously to 87 in 2016 from 84 a year ago.
- Their average Corporate Governance Rating (CGR) scored at 78 percent.
- The MSCI Index added five Thai companies, bringing the total to 34.
- Thai listed firms have recently won 14 investor relations awards from the international IR magazine, out of 24 awards from ASEAN.
3) Infrastructure: SET has continued to provide and develop state-of-the-art infrastructure and capability in accordance with international practices:
- Receiving ISO/IEC 27001:2013 certification for information security management system standard and ISO/IEC 20000-1:2011 certification for information technology services management system standard
- Upgrading the risk management measures for the clearing and settlement system, in accordance with the regulatory standards of the Principle for Financial Market Infrastructure (PFMI)
- Developing FundConnext, a mutual fund trading platform which will be launched in March 2017, with 50 firms in mutual fund industry confirmed to utilize the platform. Out of this more than 90 percent of asset management companies or 22 firms have confirmed to adopt the platform.
4) Raising international profile: Hosted the General Assembly of the Asian and Oceanian Stock Exchanges Federation (AOSEF), the Association of National Numbering Agencies (ANNA) General Meeting 2016, the IR magazine Award ceremony, in Bangkok, while SET President Kesara Manchusree has been elected as a member of the Board of Directors of the World Federation of Exchanges (WFE).
SET President Kesara Manchusree stated that in 2016 despite the impact of both internal and external factors, SET could achieve robust growth and top positioning compared with regional markets underpinned by the country's strong fundamentals, government economic stimulus and listed companies’ adaptability to changing economic conditions. Therefore, SET will gear up towards 2017 growth to develop the capital market for all stakeholders, driven by the vision “To Make the Capital Market ‘Work’ for Everyone”.
Businesswise, SET has continuously showcased its leading position in the region with the SET Index rising to 1,519.65 points with 17.98 percent growth (As of December, 15 2016) and liquidity reaching number one in ASEAN for five consecutive years with the average daily trading value at THB 53.21 billion (as of December 15, 2016). The market capitalization was at THB 155.61 billion from IPOs (estimated as of end-2016), and via secondary market at THB 279.34 billion. For new products, a new “sSET Index” will officially be launched on January 4, 2017, following the 2016 line-up of new product launches including rubber futures and TFEX Gold-D electronic gold futures. This provides the Thai capital market with diverse product range for investment and risk management, thereby increasingly meeting the needs of all investor groups. In addition, further development of the startup platform, where startups can meet the fundraising source, will accelerate next year. In terms of quality, throughout 2016 the number of Thai listed companies which are part of the calculations for global indices has consistently increased. The MSCI Index added five Thai companies (bringing the total to 34). Seven Thai listed firms recently won 14 investor relations awards from the international IR magazine (out of 24 awards for ASEAN region).
In raising listed companies’ quality towards international standards, 14 Thai companies were able to meet key performance indicators and were selected to be constituents of DJSI, the highest in ASEAN. Out of the total of 78 companies, 30 Thai listed firms were included in the FTSE4Good ASEAN 5 Index, considered highest in the region. In addition, 55 listed firms met the benchmark for Thailand Sustainability Investment list, up from 51 firms last year, showing that Thai listed firms have focused on operating business with ESG concerns. For corporate governance aspect, Thailand's ASEAN CG Scorecard has increased continuously from a score of 84 in 2015 to 87 in 2016, while the Corporate Governance Report of Thai Listed Companies 2016 included 601 listed companies with higher scores across all categories averaging 78 percent, which was higher than the 2015's average score of 75 percent.
Stable and balanced investor base: In terms of trading value, the ratio of retail investors to institutional investors is 53 percent to 47 percent. Foreign investors have become net buyers in Thai stocks as they bought net of THB 78.26 billion worth of shares during January-December 15, 2016. The number of retail investors (January-October) have been growing with 79,723 new investors from equity traders, while 10,785 coming from derivative traders. This was partly due to SET’s collaboration on financial educational activities with securities firms, asset management firms and alliances including online channels and social media, as well as initiating the enterprise learning center to provide exclusive training to startups and SMEs. In addition, SET has encouraged mutual funds and provident funds (PVD) investment by providing training to 187,190 PVD members and attracting 741 employers to provide employee's choice schemes for provident funds. (January-October, 2016)
Infrastructure has constantly been improved for greater efficiency in operations with international standards. SET has achieved ISO/IEC 27001:2013 certification for information security management system standard and ISO/IEC 20000-1:2011 certification for information technology services management system standard. Thailand Clearing House Co., Ltd. (TCH), a SET subsidiary, has upgraded the risk management measures for the clearing and settlement system in accordance with the international standards of PFMI. SET has developed FundConnext, a mutual fund trading platform which will be launched in March 2017, with 50 mutual fund firms confirmed to utilize the platform. Out of this, more than 90 percent of asset management companies or 22 asset management companies confirmed to connect with the platform. Furthermore, SET has adjusted internal processes, such as in procurement and facilities management, in line with the principles of the Green Policy, among others.
In 2016, SET played significant international role by hosting the Asian and Oceanian Stock Exchange Federation (AOSEF) Conference as well as the Association of National Numbering Agencies (ANNA) General Meeting 2016, and the IR magazine Award ceremony. As for the upcoming international events in 2017, SET will host an event for the World Federation of Exchanges called “WFE General Assembly and Annual Meeting 2017” during September 6-8, 2017. Significantly, the recent international recognition was when the SET President was elected as a member of the Board of Directors of the World Federation of Exchanges (WFE). In this capacity, SET will act as intermediary between ASEAN stock exchanges and the stock markets of WFE members around the world in the sharing of information on the development of stock markets in emerging countries, which in particular can benefit the development of stock exchanges in the CLMV nations. The WFE's mission to strengthen sustainability in member exchanges will also be supported.
