Smart money; highlights tax-deductible products
Financial houses expect people to show interest in long-term equity funds (LTFs) and retirement mutual funds (RMFs) at the Thailand Smart Money 2011 fair because of the tax savings they entail.
However, most of them do not expect to see much spending at the fair, as people are more concerned about repairing their flood-damaged homes than financial investment.
Transactions at the three-day Thailand Smart Money event are expected to reach Bt15 billion, the same figure as last year, said Rathakorn Asadornteerayuth, president of Dok Bia Co, the organiser of the fair. It kicked off yesterday at Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre in Bangkok.
More than 50 financial institutions have joined the event, which promotes savings and investment products. LTFs and RMFs are the highlighted products. Investors can get tax deductions for investments of not more than Bt500,000, if the deduction is not more than 15 per cent of their income.
Kasikornbank expects more than 3,000 savers will visit its booth, and should spend about Bt1.5 billion. KBank’s key products are LTFs, RMFs, other mutual funds and housing loans.
Chatchai Payuhanaveechai, first senior vice president of KBank, said it realised that people are more concerned about recovering from the flood disaster and some investors want to save money for home repairs. Yet the bank believes there is some demand from investors seeking tax deductions, so most financial houses are highlighting such product at the event.
KBank is also promoting its home loans at the fair by offering zero interest for six months. Siam Commercial Bank (SCB) and Krung Thai Bank are offering similar campaigns.
Bangkok Bank senior vice president Pochanee Kongkalai said the bank was offering three main products at the event: mutual funds including LTF/RMF, insurance, |and loans with special interest rates for small and medium-sized enterprises and individuals affected by the floods.
She said the bank had not set a target for spending at its booth, as it was not yet clear how many people would be able to attend the event and how much of a factor flood-repair budgets would be.
She said people who do visit the fair were expected to buy LTFs or RMFs as a top priority because they want to benefit from the tax deduction.
SCB is providing financial advisers to ensure customers select investments suitable to their needs. The highlight of its booth is mutual funds, LTF/RMF and insurance.
The event ends tomorrow.
