March 26, 2008
BANGKOK - The chairman of the Stock Exchange of Thailand said Tuesday the stock market could privatise as it tries to overhaul its organisation to improve its performance.
"A small exchange such as the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) has but only one choice -- that is to transform itself in order to survive the coming competition," Pakorn Malakul Na Ayudhya told a hearing on reforming the bourse.
"Within the next two to three months, we will find the best choice out of the three options: demutualisation, privatisation or transformation SET into a public company," he said.
The seminar included investors and brokers who met to discuss the future of the bourse, which aims to attract more foreign capital while offering more investment options for Thais, according to AFP.
Pakorn said that the SET would grew by 8.5 percent over the last five years while markets in China and India grew by an average of 35 percent.
Thailand's stock market has been battered over the last two years by low investor confidence due to political turmoil.
