Suchada was appointed CEO in October last year when she transferred from Thanachart Bank's marketing department.

She said cross selling was one strategy to boost the company's fund size. Thanachart Bank's 100-odd branches across the nation currently sell the company's products.

Thanachart also hopes to use branches of the Government Savings Bank (GSB), which

owns 25 per cent of the company's shares, to sell its products in the future and the company is currently in talks with the bank.

Suchada rejected rumours that GSB intended to sell its stake.

This year, Thanachart aims to boost its fund size by 5-10 per cent although this growth would decline from last year's rate of 41 per cent.

The growth rate of the mutual fund business for this year will get back to normal, in line

with the domestic interest rate trend, which has become more stable, said the company's managing director, Boonchai Kiattanavith.

Thanachart's net asset value (NAV) stands at Bt40 billion, rising from Bt37 billion at the end of last year. As of May, its NAV was Bt37.28 billion. The company plans to launch three to five mutual funds in the second half of the year, two of which will be launched next month.

The company plans to launch a Bt1-billion flexible fund in mid-July, aiming to invest 70-80 per cent of the fund in stocks. The mutual fund's maturity is set at three years.

"Right now it's a good time for investment in stocks because of low prices.

"The company has forecast that the SET index would stay at around 630-650 points in the second half of the year. There's no way it will pass 700 points this year," he said.

At the end of July Thanachart will launch its first foreign investment fund with a size of around Bt450 million.

Somruedi Banchongduang

The Nation