SET, mutuals to start new matching fund

SET president Patareeya Benjapolchai said the main fund would be divided into 11 or 12 funds with a long-term stock investment period of one year. The SET will contribute Bt2 billion to the funds.

Of total fund value, Bt5 billion will be the main fund, which local and foreign institutions can join. The SET will contribute Bt1 billion to the fund, while the other Bt4 billion will be from institutional investors.

The Bt5-billion fund can be divided into two funds, each worth Bt2.5 billion, depending on the market situation, she added.

The SET also wants the institutional investors in the Bt5-billion-fund to tempt Middle Eastern investors to join their investment in the stock market.

The SET will divide the remaining 10 funds into two groups, consisting of five funds each. The first five funds will be worth Bt400 million each and focus on investing in the FTSE stocks. The SET will contribute Bt100 million to each of them, while small investors will put Bt300 million in each.

The remaining five funds will be worth Bt250 million each, to which the SET will contribute Bt100 million each and small investors Bt150 million each. The funds will invest in small-capital companies that have high growth potential.

The SET president said the move did not aim to shore up stock-market prices but to cash in on an investment opportunity. She expects that the investments to yield high returns.

All the matching funds are expected to begin their investment in the stock market in October, and mutual funds interested in joining the funds must submit their applications by September 12.