The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET), jointly with Thanachart Securities pcl and Daiwa Securities Group, disclosed that 51 fund managers in Canada and the United States expressed interests on Thai listed companies and investment opportunities during a roadshow trip from June 23-27, amid a political change, covering over 150 meetings held in both countries.
SET Executive Vice President Chanitr Charnchainarong said the Thai bourse has gained success in attracting foreign investors during the roadshow as they showed interest to invest in the Thai stocks. This resulted from better understanding of the current economic and political situation in Thailand after getting first-hand information from the roadshow team, enabling investors to assess the outlook of the Thai economy and investment potential. It was also advantageous and an honor that His Excellency Ambassador Pisan Manawapat, Thailand ambassador to Canada and His Excellency Ambassador Vijavat Isarabhakdi, Thailand ambassador to the United States, jointly presented useful information for investment decisions.
“Investors focused on strong fundamentals of the listed companies, particular in their growth potentials, long-term competitiveness, adaptability to situations and strategic growth outlooks after political tensions eased. The roadshow was successful in making the fund participants satisfied with information from Thai companies showing their capabilities and continual improvement,” added Chanitr.
Thanchart Securities’ Head of Research Pimpaka Nichgaroon said that clients’ feedback was generally good despite Thailand being in a political transition period. It was quite obvious to the investors that, like the theme used for the event “Branching out on its own footing,” Thai companies were very strong by themselves, less and less dependent on the government for the past decade of political instability. The strong balance sheet, enlarging cash flow stream and improving mentality for growth, were making many Thai firms to extend their growth beyond the country.
Kulachet Dharachandra, Corporate Planning Director, Siam Cement pcl, said investors were enthusiastic in the company’s unique strategic business plan adaptable to political uncertainties in the short term, while ready to enhance competitiveness in the long run, as well as successfully expanding into the high-growth ASEAN region. In addition, they were interested in Thailand’s infrastructure development policy, with possibilities to move forward the government’s mega projects after the political reform. Evidently, Canada investors’ interest in emerging markets has increasingly put spotlights on Thailand, compared to the previous roadshows over the last five years.
The roadshow in Northern America, in line with SET’s investor base expansion plan, aims to attract new groups of investors, especially in Canada which was held for the second time. This event was supported not only by the Royal Thai embassy in each country, but also the Board of Investment. The roadshow was participated by eight companies namely Amata Corporation pcl (AMATA), Central Pattana pcl (CPN), Siam Global House pcl (GLOBAL), Mc Group pcl (MC), PTT Exploration and Production pcl (PTTEP), Ratchaburi Electricity Generating Holding pcl (RATCH), Siam Cement pcl (SCC), and Thaicom pcl (THCOM). The combined market capitalization represents 12 percent of the total.
