Economic Overview:

The main institutions with responsibility for policymaking and supervision of the financial system are the Ministry of Finance and the Bank of Thailand (BOT, the central bank). The BOT also supervises banks, finance firms and housing loan officials, and plays a key role in instituting market reforms.

Stock Market
The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) under the Securities Exchange of Thailand Act, BE 2517 (1974), or the SET Act, enacted on May 20, 1974. In 2003, the Thai stock market index ranged from 350.98 to 772.15. These figures undoubtedly displayed signs of marked improvement from the beginning part of 2003. Market value has continued to increase to 4,789,857.03 Million baht at the end of 2003.

Bond Market
Thai BDC, the applicant must be financial institutions holding debt securities trading license granted by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Currently (as of January 15, 2003) Thai BDC has 46 members which represent nearly 100 % of financial institutions that have debt trading license (Dealers). Trading is conducted on an over-the-counter basis. Thai BDC registers all government debt securities automatically. For corporate bonds, dealer-members together with an issuer must propose for the registration. Although listing is not compulsory, in practice most bonds are registered with Thai BDC except for the bonds issued without purpose to trade such as bonds issued for debtor.

Money Market: Currency
Until the baht went into freefall in July 1997, the Thai currency was regarded as a strong and stable currency. The baht has been strengthening against the US dollar since the beginning of 2002. A peak of less than 41 THB/USD was reached in July 2002. Strong portfolio inflows, speculative interest rate arbitrage trading and rising confidence in the domestic economy also contributed to the strengthening baht. The BOT, which is targeting exchange-rate stability and the level of foreign reserve, has expressed concern about the loss of export competitiveness signaled by a stronger baht, and there has been some buying of US dollars to prevent further baht appreciation.

Link to Financial Sector Page