The company expects to increase its share of the securities market from 2 per cent to 2.25 per cent this year.

Speaking yesterday, Wibul Permarayawong, CEO of ACL Securities, added that if the company could increase its institutional customer base after August, its market share could even be in the range of 2.7-3 per cent.

Wibul said the company had set up a special team to seek institutional customers as most of its current clients are individuals.

ACL Securities has 2,000 active trading accounts and employs 100 marketing staff and about 15 stock analysts across six branches. There are no plans to expand the number of branches.

Wibul added that the company was in talks with a strategic partner, although it has yet to sign a contract.

It would like its potential partner to contribute to the derivatives business.

"Our major shareholder [France-based Societe Generale] also has expertise in derivatives and may also help us," Wibul said.

He said the company also provided an advisory service in mergers and acquisitions, as well as in listing new stocks on the local bourse.

Wibul predicts the Stock Exchange of Thailand Index will reach 780-800 points this year, with an average daily turnover of Bt19 billion.

He said political uncertainty, bird flu and the sluggish US economy, combined with high inflation, were still negative factors for the local stock market.

However, the plus side is that Thai stocks are currently cheap.

The company boasts an investment portfolio of about Bt100 million, which is diversified into both long- and short-term investments.

Wibul said his company planned to become a fully fledged business offering all-inclusive services next year.

"We need to be a pool service provider offering as much as an investment banker can," Wibul said.

Meanwhile, Kim Eng Securities (Thailand) CEO Montri Sornpaisarn said his company would maintain its market share at 10 per cent as the No 1 securities firm this year.

Domestic customers represent 76 per cent of its clients, foreign clients the remainder.

Montri predicts the average daily SET turnover for the rest of this year will be in the range of Bt16 million to Bt20 billion, down from the previous average of Bt22 billion.

Kim Eng plans to provide advisory services this year to three to five new listed companies, down from 14 listed firms with total funds of Bt14 billion last year.

He added that he could not

say whether Kim Eng would postpone the planned listing of Bangkok Metro Plc this year. However, once the stock market recovers, the company will be ready to have Bangkok Metro list on the SET.

"In the worst-case scenario, the total value to be raised by new listed companies advised by us would be Bt5 billion, much lower than last year.

"But we would seek income from other parts [of our operation] to offset this [lower] portion," Montri said.

Siriporn Chanjindamanee

The Nation