“At present, there is a high level of investor interest in IPO shares, especially for this year, when The Stock Exchange of Thailand’s (SET) target is to list 60 new companies on the local market. Furthermore, approximately 100 other companies are seeking to list on the SET at present. Currently, getting a subscription to IPO shares causes investors a great deal of inconvenience, in terms of traveling, documentation and a long waiting time for subscription and clearing. In addition, each subscription issue has various conditions which often cause considerable confusion in investors.
“To minimize such problems, the TSD decided to develop e-IPO, which is an online stock subscription service, to allow more people to subscribe to new shares and to stimulate more investment in the Thai capital market”, she continued.
The purposes of the e-IPO is to create a standard subscription system, cut back the time and procedures required for each subscription and clearing, expand the investor base by inducing new investors into the market, and reduce subscription errors, as the new system will verify all information and ensure it meets all subscription conditions. In the meantime, the system will also enable the viewing of real-time information, which means investors can check the numbers of available shares on each IPO.
Mrs. Nongram went on to say, “The newly-developed e-IPO comes in two parts, which are one e-IPO for securities companies and one for investors. At the moment, the TSD is already successfully operating its e-IPO for securities companies via the Internet, as this has reduced the amount of time required and a number of procedures, such as uploading data into the system even when shares have been pre-allotted.”
Concerning the e-IPO for investors, the system is still in the development process and is expected to be ready for use by Q3/2005 via a new online system that will enable investors to subscribe and clear their payments by themselves through the Internet. This online system will eliminate the need to travel and fill out numerous documents as with the old system. Investors will now only have to pre-register to acquire their user names and passwords needed for the e-IPO process and to access the website for each IPO. After pre-registering, they can subscribe to new shares and perform the clearing process through e-Payment at any time.
“In addition, the TSD’s e-IPO also permits the utilization of e-Payment and the Automated Transfer System or ATS (for brokers). In using the e-IPO service, investors do not have to be worry about the safety of their transactions because the TSD uses the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) system to prevent any cyber crime, as well as preparing back-up information in case of any system failure”, said Mrs. Nongram.
The TSD’s e-IPO is a standardized subscription system for the Thai capital market, so that investors will no longer have to study the subscription process every time new shares are offered. This system will also increase the number of investors, as its ease of use will prove attractive. Registered companies will enjoy more subscribers and be able to view the most updated subscription rates.
