Trading on Thai bourse normal after new rule on short sales, says SET chief
The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) has confirmed that the volume of short sales was normal after implementing the zero-plus-tick rule, while promising to monitor trading closely.
Previously, the SET used the uptick rule that allowed investors to engage in short-selling only when the share price was higher than the latest trading price, to mitigate market volatility. It announced recently that from October 1 onwards, it would use the old zero-plus-tick rule, which enables investors to engage in short-selling when the share price is higher or equal to the latest trading price.
SET president Pakorn Peetathawatchai said there was no change in investor behaviour, as the volume of short sales in the past eight days was 1-4 per cent from 4-8 per cent when uptick rules were in effect.
However, he said the SET would closely monitor investor behaviour and the volume of short sales to check if there were any abnormalities.
"Also, the SET would monitor the stock market situation closely because of the US presidential election next month, which may impact global stock indices," he said.
He expected the market capitalisation of initial public offering (IPO) shares this year to hit the target although many large companies have postponed their issues.
"We believe that PTT Oil and Retail Business [PTTOR]'s move to postpone its IPO to next year was not due to the stock market situation, because several investors would be interested in buying PTTOR shares and many companies are offering IPO shares in the stock market," he said.
"However, we want more large, medium, and small companies to list on the stock market although the market is not currently on the upside, because there are sufficient positive sentiments to boost investment."
The president of the Market for Alternative Investment (mai), Prapan Charoenprawatt, said some companies had postponed their offerings in the market which may be due to Covid-19's impact on their financial budget.
"Since the beginning of this year, six companies have been listed on the MAI, while expecting that up to five companies were ready to raise funds in the market," he said.
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) assistant secretary-general Jomkwan Kongsakul said approximately 30 companies were waiting to launch IPOs, adding that medium and small companies had postponed their offerings as well.
"The postponement of IPOs may be due to market volatility and companies' intention to set up an IPO share price. However, companies must inform the SEC if they want to update their filing information," she said.
