The Stock Exchange of Thailand is pushing companies to invest in less developed neighbouring countries to benefit from higher growth rates, bourse President Charamporn Jotikasthira said in an interview.
Thailand's annual economic growth rates of four to five per cent are "not as exciting as the countries surrounding us", he said in Bangkok on Wednesday. "I'd rather see all of them going abroad more."
The exchange on Sept 1 will ease rules for listing joint ventures that are often used in cross-border transactions. It will also soon establish trading links with Singapore and Malaysia that will make it cheaper for retail investors to buy shares in those countries, Mr Charamporn said.
Bangkok-based Thai Beverage Pcl (THBEV) and PTT Exploration (PTTEP) & Production Pcl are leading an overseas push as Thai companies look for new markets. Thailand's economy is about twice the combined size of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam, countries with 176 million people that the International Monetary Fund estimates will grow 6.4 per cent on average next year.
"Thailand is playing a very important role in that regional growth," Jason Cox, co-head of Asia Pacific Global Capital Markets at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, said in an interview on Wednesday. "The country is well positioned to take advantage" of higher growth rates in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam, he said.
Thai companies have spent more than US$21 billion buying overseas assets from the beginning of 2008, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That compares with about $1.5 billion from 2003 to 2007.
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