Buying A Basket Of Thai Shares

[BuffaloRescue]

I am interested in buying some shares in the top Thai companies.

In Australia I can open a comm bank account and buy a basket of shares in the top Australian companies.

Can I do this easily via a Thai bank, share buying account? How does it work for foreigners, and with regards to tax I will have to pay tax in Australia regardless of living in Thailand. Do I have to pay Thai income tax also?

Thanks

[ThailandInvestmentGuide]

Yes, you can establish a trading account with a brokerage arm of a Thai bank if you wish. How "easily" this occurs will depend on the staff you are dealing with - just as with the banks themselves, some branches are more familiar in dealing with foreigners than others. In terms of who to chose, do a Thaivisa forum search to locate and read the many earlier threads on this topic.

If you are unfamiliar with share trading then you may want to consider options such as exchange traded funds (ETF) or mutual funds. Again there are many earlier discussion threads concerning both of these options. No tax on capital gains but with dividends you will probably pay tax, usually in the form of withholding tax (depending on your individual circumstances)

Edited December 29, 2012 by ThailandInvestmentGuide

[AyG]

I'm unclear whether the OP wants to spend a lot of time researching the individual companies and then deciding which to buy or whether he/she just wants broad exposure to the SET.

If the former, then this will be very time consuming - and particularly challenging if one doesn't read Thai fluently. And even then there will be surprises. I can think of at least a couple of large share price movements in the last 12 months which can't be explained by publicly available information. Indeed, I am inclined to liken the stock exchange here to a casino rigged for the benefit of a group of insiders.

Personally, I think for most investors gaining market exposure via an ETF is probably the better approach. iShares has an ETF (iShares MSCI Thailand Investable Market Index Fund) which would provide such exposure and could be readily purchased through an offshore broker.

[BuffaloRescue]

I'm unclear whether the OP wants to spend a lot of time researching the individual companies and then deciding which to buy or whether he/she just wants broad exposure to the SET.

If the former, then this will be very time consuming - and particularly challenging if one doesn't read Thai fluently. And even then there will be surprises. I can think of at least a couple of large share price movements in the last 12 months which can't be explained by publicly available information. Indeed, I am inclined to liken the stock exchange here to a casino rigged for the benefit of a group of insiders.

Personally, I think for most investors gaining market exposure via an ETF is probably the better approach. iShares has an ETF (iShares MSCI Thailand Investable Market Index Fund) which would provide such exposure and could be readily purchased through an offshore broker.

Hi, Yes im interested in long term investing. Does Kasikorn Bank have ETFs I can buy with broad exposure to SET?

[ThailandInvestmentGuide]

Some details about Thai ETF's can be found here: http://www.set.or.th/en/products/etf/etf_p1.html

[Phronesis]

1. Open a trading account with Bualuang Securities (takes two weeks)

2. Deposit money into SCB to fund your trading account

3. Log on to your Bualuang online trading platform

4. Click on Quote button: Type in TDEX

5. Select amount of stock you want to purchase and your maximum price

6. Enter your trading pin number to and click on submit to place your order

[AyG]

2. Deposit money into SCB to fund your trading account

Wouldn't it make more sense to deposit money with Bangkok Bank, given that Bualung is part of the Bangkok Bank group?

[SantiSuk]

Brits, or anyone else who wants to invest through the UK, can use the Aberdeen New Thai Investment Trust plc, a closed-end mutual fund from the well respected fund management group, Aberdeen Asset Management. They have a particularly good repuation for their range and performance in Asian trusts (managed by a large team in Asia headed by Hugh Young. The value fo the New Thai Trust is up 56% year to date (177% over 5 years).

It is possible that this trust is also offered in Singapore or elsewhere (but not Thailand I think) - i.e. a seperate legal entity registered in another country but using the same management team and presumably generating similar results but with differing currency effects. One would need to contact the management company or web-search to find out.

http://www.trustnet.com/Factsheets/Factsheet.aspx?fundCode=ITANW&univ=T

.

[jingjoe8]

buffalo rescue,if you are a non resident for tax purposes in australia(as i am) you pay no tax on foreign shares,however you still have to pay tax on dividends earned in thailand(i think 15%) but there is no capital gains tax here.

I am starting to move money out of oz because as a non resident i pay 32.5% tax now on all money earned on the first $80000,except bank interest which is 10%fully franked divs are not taxed again,but you don't get the franking credits back either.

[fletchsmile]

Brits, or anyone else who wants to invest through the UK, can use the Aberdeen New Thai Investment Trust plc, a closed-end mutual fund from the well respected fund management group, Aberdeen Asset Management. They have a particularly good repuation for their range and performance in Asian trusts (managed by a large team in Asia headed by Hugh Young. The value fo the New Thai Trust is up 56% year to date (177% over 5 years).

It is possible that this trust is also offered in Singapore or elsewhere (but not Thailand I think) - i.e. a seperate legal entity registered in another country but using the same management team and presumably generating similar results but with differing currency effects. One would need to contact the management company or web-search to find out.

http://www.trustnet....de=ITANW&univ=T

.

For someone with links to the Uk or based there and not wanting to bring money into Thailand, it's worthwhile considering as an investment. On the other hand if you live here Aberdeen Growth may be easier and simpler. The investment strategy is along similar lines to Aberdeen Growth Fund marketed in Thailand. If you compare the holdings:

http://www.trustnet.com/Tools/PDFViewer.aspx?url=http%3a%2f%2fdocuments.financialexpress.net%2fLiterature%2f7206039.pdf%3ffundCode%3dITANW%26univ%3dT

http://www.aberdeen-asset.co.th/doc.nsf/Lit/FactsheetThailandOpenABG

i.e there are a lot of similarities. The structures obviously differ, one being a closed investment trust and the other an open ended unit trust. The returns are somewhat similar though over time, once you adjust for the GBP/THB currency factor as the investment trust measures GBP/sterling returns as well as adjusting the SET to sterling terms. They'll both be leveraging off Aberdeen research and analysts. Quality fund managers and solid history in Thailand.

[jaysg]

Brits, or anyone else who wants to invest through the UK, can use the Aberdeen New Thai Investment Trust plc, a closed-end mutual fund from the well respected fund management group, Aberdeen Asset Management. They have a particularly good repuation for their range and performance in Asian trusts (managed by a large team in Asia headed by Hugh Young. The value fo the New Thai Trust is up 56% year to date (177% over 5 years).

It is possible that this trust is also offered in Singapore or elsewhere (but not Thailand I think) - i.e. a seperate legal entity registered in another country but using the same management team and presumably generating similar results but with differing currency effects. One would need to contact the management company or web-search to find out.

http://www.trustnet....de=ITANW&univ=T

.

Oh yes. I personally invested in funds managed by Aberdeen. These guys at Aberdeen invest on a long term value approach.

These fund managers have a reputation of being activist shareholders occassionally.

[BuffaloRescue]

thanks everyone