Today (June 24), The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) officially launched FTSE SET Index Series to benefit both domestic and foreign investors and support development of new financial products.
“The creation of index-linked products has been popular in various capital markets, especially in Asia. In Thailand, fund-managers are increasingly demanding access to tradable and benchmark indices for portfolio management. The FTSE SET Index Series is part of SET’s strategy to furnish the Thai capital market with internationally-recognized benchmark indices as well as to provide innovative investment products and services for local and foreign investors. This is yet another competitiveness-enhancing measure for the Thai capital market,” said SET President Patareeya Benjapolchai.
FTSE SET Index Series is the result of collaboration between the Exchange and FTSE International under the FTSE Group, a world-leader in the creation and management of indices. The product, specifically tailored for the Thai capital market, consists of six separate indices:
(1) FTSE SET Large Cap,
(2) FTSE SET Mid Cap,
(3) FTSE SET Small Cap,
(4) FTSE SET Mid/Small Cap,
(5) FTSE SET All-Share and
(6) FTSE SET Fledgling, SET Senior Vice President Santi Kiranand said.
FTSE SET Large Cap Index, calculated every 15 seconds, is a tradable index which can be used as an underlying asset for financial products. All other FTSE SET indices are calculated every 60 seconds and are benchmark indices for portfolio management, measuring the performance of listed companies in the Thai stock market. FTSE SET Index Series is fundamental in supporting transactions made on the Thai market,” Mr. Santi added.
The product uses February 29, 2008 as its base date, starting at 1,000.00 points. Index constituents will be reviewed in June and December each year by the index advisory committee.
Information on the series has been available at the Exchange’s website, www.set.or.th, and Settrade.com’s www.settrade.com since April 2008.
Friday, August 22, 2008
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
India may raise cap on single investors in bourses
MUMBAI, Aug 20 - India's capital markets regulator is examining a proposal to raise the limit for single investors in stock exchanges to 15 percent from 5 percent, the Economic Times said on Wednesday, citing an unnamed official.
"The decision to revisit the existing norms on investment in stock exchanges has been prompted by the fact that the current cap on equity holdings could act as a deterrent to potential promoters of new exchanges," it cited the official as saying.
The proposal was discussed at the regulator's last board meeting, and it was decided that a final view will be taken "after seeking wider comments", the official was cited as saying.
A spokesman for the Securities & Exchange Board of India said he could not immediately comment on the report.
The new cap would be applicable for local and foreign investors, the paper said, and would enable existing investors to raise their stakes further.
India now caps total foreign investment in stock exchanges at 49 percent. The Economic Times said within that limit, total foreign direct investment in exchanges be up to 26 percent and total foreign institutional investment could be up to 23 percent.
Deutsche Boerse and Singapore Exchange acquired 5 percent each in the Bombay Stock Exchange last year.
Goldman Sachs owns 5 percent in the National Stock Exchange, as does NYSE Euronext , which also has 5 percent in Multi Commodity Exchange, India's largest commodity bourse.
In commodity bourses, too, single holdings of foreign companies, funds and exchanges are capped at 5 percent. Citigroup and Merrill Lynch also have 5 percent each in MCX.
Interest in India's exchanges has been high, and had tracked a recent wave of consolidation attempts among bourses around the world as the volume of trade soared and operators sought global reach and greater economies of scale.
"The decision to revisit the existing norms on investment in stock exchanges has been prompted by the fact that the current cap on equity holdings could act as a deterrent to potential promoters of new exchanges," it cited the official as saying.
The proposal was discussed at the regulator's last board meeting, and it was decided that a final view will be taken "after seeking wider comments", the official was cited as saying.
A spokesman for the Securities & Exchange Board of India said he could not immediately comment on the report.
The new cap would be applicable for local and foreign investors, the paper said, and would enable existing investors to raise their stakes further.
India now caps total foreign investment in stock exchanges at 49 percent. The Economic Times said within that limit, total foreign direct investment in exchanges be up to 26 percent and total foreign institutional investment could be up to 23 percent.
Deutsche Boerse
Goldman Sachs
In commodity bourses, too, single holdings of foreign companies, funds and exchanges are capped at 5 percent. Citigroup
Interest in India's exchanges has been high, and had tracked a recent wave of consolidation attempts among bourses around the world as the volume of trade soared and operators sought global reach and greater economies of scale.
Saturday, August 16, 2008
China regulator says to help stabilise stocks
SHANGHAI, Aug 16 - China's securities regulator said it was concerned about the plunge of Chinese stock prices and would work to stabilise the market.
"We are paying close attention to the fluctuations in the market," a spokesman for the China Securities Regulatory Commission said in a statement carried on the front pages of major business newspapers on Saturday.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index <.SSEC> hit a 19-month closing low on Thursday and is down 60 percent from last October's record peak, dragged down by high inflation, slowing corporate profit growth and heavy supplies of fresh equity.
Regulators have issued periodic statements this year pledging to help stabilise the market. It was not clear if the measures outlined in the latest statement would have an impact.
The commission said it would tighten supervision of sales of shares made tradable by the expiry of lock-up periods related to initial public offers and the reforms of state shareholding structures. Tens of billions of dollars of such shares will become tradable this year and next, pressuring the market.
Restrictions on large-lot sales of the shares will be enforced with a new monitoring system, and the commission will seek to limit the impact of disposals via the use of instruments including exchangeable bonds, it said without elaborating.
The commission said it would pay close attention to supply and demand when approving new issues of shares, and pledged to promote more long-term investment in the market by institutions such as foreign funds and Chinese insurers and pension funds.
Procedures for companies to buy back their own shares would be streamlined, and regulations would be improved to encourage firms to pay dividends. The commission added that it would crack down further on abuses such as insider trading and inaccurate valuation of assets during corporate restructurings.
"We are paying close attention to the fluctuations in the market," a spokesman for the China Securities Regulatory Commission said in a statement carried on the front pages of major business newspapers on Saturday.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index <.SSEC> hit a 19-month closing low on Thursday and is down 60 percent from last October's record peak, dragged down by high inflation, slowing corporate profit growth and heavy supplies of fresh equity.
Regulators have issued periodic statements this year pledging to help stabilise the market. It was not clear if the measures outlined in the latest statement would have an impact.
The commission said it would tighten supervision of sales of shares made tradable by the expiry of lock-up periods related to initial public offers and the reforms of state shareholding structures. Tens of billions of dollars of such shares will become tradable this year and next, pressuring the market.
Restrictions on large-lot sales of the shares will be enforced with a new monitoring system, and the commission will seek to limit the impact of disposals via the use of instruments including exchangeable bonds, it said without elaborating.
The commission said it would pay close attention to supply and demand when approving new issues of shares, and pledged to promote more long-term investment in the market by institutions such as foreign funds and Chinese insurers and pension funds.
Procedures for companies to buy back their own shares would be streamlined, and regulations would be improved to encourage firms to pay dividends. The commission added that it would crack down further on abuses such as insider trading and inaccurate valuation of assets during corporate restructurings.
Sunday, August 10, 2008
ASX to include foreign exempt firms in stock indices
SYDNEY, Aug 11 - Foreign exempt companies listed on the Australia Securities Exchange will be eligible for index inclusion from Sept. 1, the ASX and indices provider Standard & Poor's said in a joint statement on Monday.
Companies that are foreign exempt are not required to comply with ASX rules provided they comply with the listing rules of their home exchanges.
Eligible companies will need to have a primary listing on a major exchange within a developed market, the statement said.
"This change removes a key impediment to large international listings on the ASX," said Richard Murphy, ASX General Manager Equity Markets.
Murphy said there was a strong interest from Australian fund managers, investment banks and brokers in expanding the international side of ASX-listed equities to keep pace with the growth in funds held by Australian pension plans.
Companies that may be eligible for future index inclusions include Alcoa Inc <AAI.AX>, Anglogold Ashanti Ltd <AGG.AX>, Constellation Brands Inc <CBR.AX>, Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company S.A. <CHB.AX> and Newmont Mining Corp <NEM.AX>.
These companies have primary listings on major exchanges whose disclosure requirements are broadly comparable with those of the ASX.
In May, 2007, the ASX and Standard & Poor's decided to allow foreign-domiciled companies with Australian listings to be part of the Australian market's indices.
That decision paved the way for U.S. domiciled media group News Corp <NWS.AX> to be reinstated in the top 50 companies index. News Corp had been removed from the ASX indices after changing its domicile to the U.S. from Australia in 2004.
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