The Stock Exchange of Thailand may lower its target for new listings of companies that have Board of Investment (BoI) incentives this year after floods have hit industrial estates in the Central region.
SET president Charamporn Jotikasthira said yesterday that the exchange might revise several of its targets this year after floods swamped many provinces. Meanwhile, some listed companies might report lower profits in the current fourth quarter. Brokers would also review their revenue projections for this year.
He said the electronics, automotive and industrial-estate sectors had suffered direct impacts from the floods, but this would have much effect on the overall SET Index, as their market capitalisation is low. In addition, most of the affected businesses are non-listed companies.
“However, the SET will have to revise its target for new listings from those companies that received BoI incentives, as most of them are in the flood-hit industrial estates,” he said.
Charamporn added that listed companies had reported substantial damages to the SET.
Meanwhile, SET chairman Sompol Kiatphaibool said a group of capital-market firms had discussed the establishment of a matching fund worth Bt500 million to help relieve flood victims.
The group comprises the Thai Listed Companies Association, the Association of Investment Management Companies and the Association of Securities Companies.
Sompol said after the meeting that initially, the fund would only help farmers affected by the flooding, not other business sectors such as infrastructure or automotive. Most automotive companies are non-listed firms.
The impact of the crisis on the stock market is not clear yet, he said. “The flood-affected companies should take not more than six months to restore their businesses back to the normal. This is because factories are only partially damaged.”
Source: The Nation
