The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET)’s new president, Kesara Manchusree, gears up to enhance investment products, diversify to new businesses, including commodities and bonds, build long-term quality investor base, with more cooperation among other exchanges in the region, underlining the Thai bourse’s role as a regional leading exchange.
“To boost SET’s competitiveness and retain our position as one of the region’s leading bourses, SET aims to focus on three areas, which are adding new products in terms of quantity and variety, diversifying more into commodities and bonds, and building long-term investor base. In addition, SET will corporate with other regional exchanges to offer offshore and onshore products to meet investor needs,” said Kesara, the SET’s twelfth president.
Boosting financial instruments and listed companies would help attract more global investors, and adding variety of securities and derivatives products would increase utilization of the Thai capital market. On top of that, investors should have more choices to meet their sophisticated investment needs. Also as significant, SET would speed up to support small- and medium-sized enterprises, with large numbers and funding needs for business expansions, in raising funds via the Thai stock market, as they were vital mechanism for Thailand’s sustainable economic development, Kesara added.
In offering comprehensive new types of securities investment tools, especially products related to commodities and bonds, broadly traded in overseas markets, will enhance SET’s profile. In addition, SET also plans to boost post-trade services for foreign markets, particularly in neighboring countries. To increasingly expand investors’ base, the Thai bourse is committed to boosting financial literacy for investors and the general public by focusing new jobbers, keeping them informed and urging them to take benefits from investment, particularly the long-term returns and financial freedom after retirement.
With more emphasis on global status, SET is well-equipped to support more listed companies to stand at international level, or in global rankings such as Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI) or international corporate governance rankings. It is significant that SET will continue to improve accessibility by using online technology adding into services in order to make real-time and easy access for investors.
During the second half of this year, SET will continue to follow the 2014 strategy aiming to build a quality-focused capital market culture by enhancing issuers, investors, intermediaries, products and services to cope with higher uncertainties from domestic and external factors. SET also aims to become a key regional connector and plans to enhance its infrastructure continuously and efficiently.