• 
• 

Published on December 8, 2007

The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) will focus more on persuading brokers and commercial banks to open more mini- and cyber-branches for stock transactions.

The move comes after a survey found that access to such services was crucial to increasing the number of stock investors.

Kengkla Ruckphaopunt, senior vice president of the SET's Capital Market Opportunity Centre, yesterday told reporters only 9 per cent of 1,400 people surveyed had invested in securities or mutual funds.

The respondents were all over 25, drew a monthly salary of about Bt20,000 and lived in Bangkok or the major provinces.

Kengkla said bank deposit accounts were the most popular investment method cited, while stock-related investment was avoided, due to lack of access to trading services.

An inability to analyse the securities market, feelings that it is too risky and lack of time to monitor it are also responsible for the low number of stock investors, he added.

Banks have a total of 5,000 branches nationwide, while brokers have only 400, which is why people choose to buy financial products from banks, he said.

The SET wants to add another 100,000 stock investors.

There are currently 500,000 securities-trading accounts, of which 200,000 are active.

Kengkla said the SET and listed companies were studying the Employee Joint Investment Programme (EJIP), which encourages workers to invest in their own company.

With listed companies employing 750,000 people as of the end of 2005, the EJIP could help the SET increase the number of investors substantially.Siriporn Chanjindamanee

 The Nation