SET celebrates successful year despite headwinds

SET president Kesara Manchusri said yesterday that the exchange found success amid the tough operating environment thanks to the country’s sound fundamentals extending from the government’s policies and listed companies’ flexibility to cope with the situation.
The Thai bourse stands ready to go for 2017 with its vision “To Make the Capital Market Work for Everyone” for sustainable growth in direct and indirect ways, she said. 
A SET Index for small firms will be launched on January 4.
This year, the SET managed to capture the champion title in market liquidity for the fifth straight year with average daily turnover of Bt52.21 billion up to last Thursday, when the main SET Index climbed 17.98 per cent to close at 1,519.65 points.
Its market capitalisation is expected to bulge by Bt155.60 billion through this year’s initial public offerings.
Individuals account for 53 per cent of all investors in the exchange, with institutions constituting the remaining 47 per cent. 
Foreign investors, as of December 15, were net buyers of Thai stocks worth Bt78.26 billion this year. 
Regarding quality, the Dow Jones Sustainability Index has seen 14 Thai listed firms included, the highest in Asean, and 30 Thai listed firms, among 78 listed companies in the region, have been selected by the FTSE4Good Asean 5 Index, also the highest in Asean. 
The number of Thai listed companies in the Morgan Stanley Capital International index edged up by five to 34.
The Thailand Sustainability Investment has seen a rise in sustainability stocks from 51 in the first year to 55, while the Asean Corporate Governance Scorecard consistently rose from 84 to 87. 
The SET also upgraded its work efficiency with international standards ISO/IEC 27001:2013 and ISO/IEC 20000-1:2011 for its information security management systems and IT service management. 
Its risk management for securities complied with the international standard – the Principles for Financial Market Infrastructures.
About 50 operators in the mutual-fund industry will use the exchange’s FundConnext – a channel for accessing mutual funds – which will be ready for service in March. 
About 22 of them are securities firmsand constitutes more than 90 per cent of total securities companies.
On the international stage, the SET will next year host the WFE General Assembly and Annual Meeting to discuss major corporations and key developments of the global capital markets from September 6-8. 
The Thai bourse has also been selected as a director of the World Federation of Exchanges for the first time, acting as an intermediary between Asean’s stock markets and other exchange members across the world for exchange of information on development.