CGS seeks growth as one-stop brokerage
Country Group Securities has positioned itself as a one-stop brokerage house, aiming to launch new products to suit customers' demand and expand its investor base by 20 per cent.
The company targets a 6-per-cent share of the brokerage market this year after the liberalisation of stock-trading commissions.
Chief executive officer Prasit Srisuwan said CGS continued to focus on product-related services to meet customers’ demand and aimed to be a one-stop service.
The company has to be well prepared for higher competition, particularly with foreign firms.
Currently, CGS serves customers in many transactions, including brokerage, online trading, derivatives, investment banking, fund sales, overseas investment services, and lending and borrowing.
The company is also preparing for Asean linkage services, which are expected to start trading in August, and over-the-counter derivatives and structured notes, for which it is in the process of applying for a licence and expects to start dealing this year.
CGS is also developing research, information-technology and marketing teams to strengthen the organisation and support expansion of the customer base.
This year, the company aims to expand its customer base by 20 per cent from about 55,000 accounts currently. It has 49 branches nationwide. CGS is also concentrating on cost reductions through technology. It aims to control 6 per cent of the market, becoming one of the top-five brokerage houses.
Prasit said CGS assessed its work plans and strategies on a monthly basis. This allows it to cope with situations that may arise quickly.
He said competition was not expected to be as high as in the past because industry executives shared similar views and were ready to join forces to support and develop the industry with sustainability.
CGS has budgeted Bt20 million for promotions this year to attract customers. In 2011, the company’s promotion budget was about Bt10 million.
Over the past month, about 30 per cent of CGS’s customer accounts were active, up from 20 per cent in the previous period, given satisfactory stock-market conditions and its promotions.
