Seven more IPOs ready for launch

Three companies will enter the SET Index, one will list on the Market for Alternative Investment (MAI), two will be real estate investment trusts (REITs), and one will be an infrastructure fund.
Five of the IPOs are slated to take place this quarter. The exchange said the IPOs and expected improvements in the economy in the second half would boost daily trade volume and market capitalisation this year.
The SET’s average daily trade volume is between Bt47 and Bt48 billion while the MAI average is Bt4 billion. The combined daily target this year is Bt52 billion.
The IPO market capitalisation was around Bt160 billion at the end of June, which was on course to meet the Bt250-billion target at the end of the year.
“There were many IPOs entering the markets at the end of last year, which contributed to the slowdown at the beginning of the year. The IPOs in the second half [of this year] will increase the trade volume for the year,” said Prapan Charoenprawatt, SET senior vice president and MAI president.
He said around 16 companies would enter the MAI in the second half, while four had begun trading this year, a total figure similar to 2014.
Paveena Sriphothong, SET senior vice president, said the exchange expected between 40 and 45 IPOs this year, a similar figure to 2014, and 15 IPOs had taken place since the beginning of the year.
Santi Kiranand, SET executive vice president, said the number of new investors since the start of the year had hit about 37,000, while there were about 70,000 new investment accounts. The combined annual target was 95,000.
The increase had been fuelled by young investors and the opening of Internet accounts, Santi said.