Asia Plus, Thai Brokerages Climb on Trading Plan: Bangkok Mover

Asia Plus Securities Pcl (ASP) led gains among Thai stock brokerages in Bangkok after the exchange announced plans to increase share-trading turnover.

Asia Plus surged 13 percent to 2.54 baht as of the close, the most since Oct. 1, 2010. KGI Securities (Thailand) Pcl jumped 6.4 percent to 2.34 baht, the highest close since Aug. 18. Seamico Securities Pcl (ZMICO) advanced 4.2 percent to 1.25 baht. Finansia Syrus Securities Pcl (FSS) rose 3.6 percent to 2.3 baht.

The Stock Exchange of Thailand plans to raise the value of daily share trading to as much as 32 billion baht ($1 billion) in 2012 from 29.5 billion baht last year by increasing the number of listed companies, Charamporn Jotikasthira, the bourse’s president, said yesterday. Equity trading climbed to 37.4 billion baht today, the most since Dec. 1, according to exchange data.

“Higher trading turnover will help bolster brokerage earnings,” Sasikorn Charoensuwan, the head of research at Phillip Securities (Thailand) Pcl in Bangkok, said by phone. Investors also bought the shares on speculation brokerages may increase their dividend payments and on the possibility of more mergers in the industry, she said.

OSK Holdings Bhd. (OSK), Malaysia’s biggest brokerage by market value, and CIMB Group Holdings Bhd. (CIMB) acquired Thai securities companies last year to expand in Southeast Asia’s second-biggest economy.

Thailand’s bourse also plans to attract more local individual and institutional investors, Charmaporn said. The exchange plans to increase the number of individual investors with equity trading accounts to 750,000 from 680,000, he said.

Trading turnover averaged 23.7 billion baht this month, a 12 percent increase from the previous month, according to exchange data.

-- Editor: Tony Jordan

To contact the reporter on this story: Anuchit Nguyen in Bangkok at anguyen@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Darren Boey at dboey@bloomberg.net