The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) has posted the highest trading value in Asean since 2012, though it needs a long-term plan to manage the opportunities and challenges as capital markets evolve, according to the bourse.
The market capitalisation of the SET and the Market for Alternative Investment was 20.9 trillion baht at the end of 2022, with a compound annual growth rate of 19.2%.
In its 48-year existence, the Thai exchange has grown by 121% of the country's GDP.
The Thai capital market has played an increasingly important role in the economy, especially after the economic crisis in 1997, according to the SET research team.
"The SET has evolved and grown in many dimensions such as overall market size, trading liquidity, funding volume and investor base, as well as its recognition of cryptocurrencies and sustainability," said the research paper.
The average stock trading value in 2022 was 76.8 billion baht per day, growing 23.3% from a year earlier. Since 2012, the SET return was 12.1% per year.
The number of securities trading accounts at the end of 2022 totalled 5,848,429, up 12% from a year earlier.
The average internet trading value of individual investors for the year was 78.1% of the total trading value of retail investors, reflecting greater digitalisation in the capital market, which helped increase trading liquidity significantly, according to the researchers.
To expand investment products, the SET launched Fractional Depository Receipts (DRx) to support investors diversifying their investments abroad.
DRx requires a small investment to buy part of global companies like Apple and Tesla.
The SET also developed the Thai Digital Assets Exchange, a platform for fundraising and trading of digital tokens such as investment tokens and utility tokens.
Thailand is becoming an ageing society and these shifts take into account the needs of various groups of investors for both online and on-site formats, offering different plans and projects, said the bourse.
Over the past five years, fundraising via the SET totalled 1.58 trillion baht.
In 2022, the initial public offering value was 128 billion baht, the highest amount in Asean and fourth in Asia.
The number of registered companies on the SET has increased to 810.
The market also launched LiVE Exchange to support small and medium-sized enterprises and startups in accessing funding sources. In 2022, three companies went public, raising a total of 196 million baht.
"In the past, the Thai capital market often adjusted to accommodate changes and recover from various crisis situations quite well. During and after the pandemic, for example, the stock market recovered and connected with the local and global economy, which has begun to signal a shift in direction in many key areas," the SET team pointed out.
Many challenges have emerged including an economic slowdown, high inflation, rising interest rates, climate change, domestic and international politics and technological advancement. The SET requires a long-term plan to address these challenges, said the research team.
