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Published on August 22, 2007

Managing director Songpol Boonnark yesterday said his firm changed its name from Prudent

Siam Securities after management and the Vilailuck and Chulangkul families took it over for Bt500 million.

The Vilailuck family is a major shareholder of Samart Corp, while the Chulangkul family, which counts former industry minister Suriya Jungrungreangkit as a relative, is a big-time stock investor.

The new management team took office last November and started operations last month.

The Vilailuck family owns 9.45 per cent of Aira, while the Chulangkul family owns 4 per cent.

Songpol said his company was negotiating with a new partner to help support its business. A Swiss bank has been an ally in providing research and reports. Two hedge funds have expressed interest, although Aira limits foreign shareholding to 20 per cent.

The brokerage has 2,000 customers now and expects 10,000 in two years.

"In the beginning, the company still recorded a loss. We improved operating efficiency, human resources and risk management and took about eight months to turn a profit. We started showing a profit two months ago. We expect a net profit of about Bt30 million this year," Songpol said.

Deputy managing director Nakorn Kolsrichai said that out of 99 employees, 60 are marketing officers, of whom 22 came from KGI Securities.

Siriporn Chanjindamanee

The Nation