Big Investor Conference Postponed

[george]

Big investor conference postponed

Scheduling problems for Thailand Focus

BANGKOK: -- The Stock Exchange of Thailand has indefinitely delayed the second Thailand Focus investors' conference scheduled for later this month, explaining the planned date conflicted with the schedules of busy executives of listed companies and foreign institutional investors.

Sopawadee Lertmanaschai, the chairwoman of the SET Capital Market Opportunity Center, said there was insufficient time to prepare for the conference and contact foreign investors.

Many brokerage firms already had plans for overseas roadshows in late April and early May, complicating efforts to host the event, she said.

''So far, we haven't set a new date for hosting the 2005 Thailand Focus. We have had to postpone the event due to the limited time available for setup. Co-ordinating with foreign investors, particularly international fund managers, requires a great deal of time,'' Mrs Sopawadee said.

The first Thailand Focus, held last September in Bangkok, attracted about 150 institutional investors who were briefed on government policies and watched presentations by leading listed companies.

The SET and the Finance Ministry planned the second conference for later this month, to update investors on policies under the new government, development plans for the capital market and the outlook for major infrastructure investments.

But soaring energy prices, southern unrest and prospects of a slowdown in global and domestic economic growth have clouded the outlook for the Thai market in recent months.

The SET index has dropped 8% in the past month but is still up 2.34% from the start of the year. Foreign institutional investors, who were heavy buyers of Thai stocks in the fourth quarter and for the first two months of the year, were net sellers of 10 billion baht worth of Thai stocks in March.

The SET index rose 0.85% yesterday on late local institutional buying in the energy and banking sectors, analysts said. The index rose 5.79 points to close at 683.76. The market is expected to move narrowly sideways next week with only two trading days before the Songkran holiday.

On Thursday, the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce reported that consumer confidence continued to decline in March, the ninth consecutive monthly decline, due to high energy prices, tensions in the South and the impact of the drought.

Mrs Sopawadee said the SET would definitely host the conference later this year, probably under the theme of new infrastructure megaprojects.

The government has announced plans to invest up to 1.5 trillion baht in new infrastructure projects over the next five to seven years. Likely megaprojects include power plants, transport infrastructure, water and telecommunications facilities.

Many analysts and investors have raised questions about the financing and structure of the new investment plan. Authorities say the anticipated projects will be financed through bank loans, state enterprise investment budget, asset securitisation, joint ventures with the private sector and state budget allocations.

Mrs Sopawadee said recent volatility notwithstanding, the SET remained confident about overall market trends this year.

''I truly think that [negative factors] will have insignificant impact on the number of companies seeking to list on the SET this year,'' she said.

Mrs Sopawadee noted that 2005 would be the last year that newly listed companies could qualify for special deductions in corporate income tax.

The SET currently expects up to 100 new companies to list on the market this year, compared with 34 in 2004.

''The market is being driven by negative momentum following lots of negative news, and since we will have a long holiday next week, this might possibly affect investor activity,'' Mrs Sopawadee said.

''But I think after the Songkran holidays, the situation will improve, particularly with the listing of Glow Energy. This will attract a considerable number of investors, both local and foreign, to the market.''

--The Post 2005-04-09