Sales of power-plant shares over govt proposal pull SET down

However, foreign investors has continued to record net bought Bt1.59 billion.
Most investors were concerned about the latest report from Thailand’s State Audit Office suggesting that electrical power plants must be held at least 51 per cent by the government within 10 years from now. The department has forwarded the proposal to the Energy Ministry to consider.
This report impacts directly on the confidence of investor in the energy and electricity power plant firms. The share price of this sector has dropped and there is also an impact on the stock market, a broker said.
The top five listed firms showing high trade value are Gulf Energy Development Plc or GULF with Thursday’s closing price at Bt125.5 per share, a Bt3 drop from Wednesday with a trade value of Bt4.82 billion; followed by Global Power Synergy Plc or GPSC with a close at Bt69.25 per share on Thursday, a drop of Bt2.5 per share with trade valued at Bt4.19 billion; CP All Plc or CPALL with a close at Bt85.5 per share on Thursday, a Bt1 drop Bt1 from Wednesday with trade valued at Bt3.21 billion; BCPG Plc or BCPG closing at Bt19.2 per share on Thursday, a drop of Bt1.8 from Wednesday with trade valued at Bt3.06 billion; and PTT Plc or PTT which closed at Bt48.25 per share on Thursday with its price unchanged from Wednesday and a trade value of Bt2.39 billion.
Terdsak Taweethiratham, the vice president of Asia Plus Securities, said the down market is considered a normal correction, because the driving factor is depleted after the market had previously risen when investors accepted the good news, such as the new Thai government’s final Cabinet list, the G20 meeting, the accompanying US delay in increased import taxes for products from China, and the re-opening of trade negotiations between the two countries.