Last quarter, the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) achieved the highest market capitalisation in its history, with its main index registering its highest level in 16 years.
The bourse’s market value in Q1 was US$360 billion, up 17% from the previous quarter and the SET Index reached 1,196.77 points, up 16.72% over the same period. SET's SME subsidiary Market for Alternative Investment also did well, reaching a market value of US$3 billion – an increase of 20.38%.
Equities trading on the exchange’s two markets rose 33.28% from the previous quarter to reach US$1.01 billion average daily volume and up slightly from a year earlier, while average daily volume of derivatives traded climbed 29% from a year ago to reach 35,101 contracts.
SET plans to launch currency futures tracking the Thai baht/US dollar exchange rate in the second quarter of this year, as well as a new trading platform and a connection to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Link, a regional integration project that aims to enhance trading opportunities and economic collaboration between member states.
“To boost speed and efficiency of our trading, we are testing our new trading system with securities firms and plan to commence using it operationally in early July,” said Charamporn Jotikasthira, SET president. “This will lead to our readiness to join ASEAN Link from August onwards.”
Meanwhile, neighbouring Cambodia has established its first ever stock exchange, the Cambodia Securities Exchange (CSX), a public enterprise established by the Royal Government of Cambodia. The new venue began trading on 17 April, following the initial public offering of Phnom Penh Water Supply Authority, Cambodia's first IPO.
Several new exchanges have opened recently or are due to open in the near future in the region. Neighbour Laos opened its own exchange in October 2010, with the help of SET, with which it has a memorandum of understanding, while Myanmar revealed it would be launching a securities market with the help of Japan’s Tokyo Stock Exchange.