Thai PM worries over stock market plunge

AUCKLAND, March 23 (TNA) - Expressing anxieties over the plunge of the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) in the past two days, Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra on Saturday urged stock investors to invest on strong fundamental, secure shares rather than for speculative, short-term trading. Yingluck, now on an official visit to New Zealand, told accompanying journalists that volatility at the SET was resulted from heavy capital inflows by foreign investors to Thailand due to poor global economy. Volatility in foreign capital markets and economy has consequently affected Thai stock market. Touching on market reports that heavy selling at the SET was aimed at shaking her government’s stability, Yingluck declined to express her opinions, saying that the issue should be explained by the equity market officials. Meanwhile, Suranan Vejjajiva, secretary-general to the prime minister, opined that rumours were spread at the SET that the prime minister would resign along with unfounded reports of preparations of having a prime minister in reserve and a military coup. These rumours were negative for both local and foreign investors as they could shake both Thailand’s economic and political stability. Suranan urged every sector to help the country achieving economic stability which would be beneficial to investors. The Kasikorn Research Centre said the SET plunged as it was making a consolidation due to investor worries on both internal and external problems. On Friday, the SET index closed at 1,478.97 points, down 50.55 points. The SET plunged 7.46 per cent this week from last week while average daily turnover rose 6.63 per cent to around 77.6 billion baht. It said retail and institutional investors were net buyers while foreign and equity trading firms were net sellers this week. The Kasikorn Research Centre said the continuous plunge was resulted from investor worries over Cyprus’s economic and financial problems and an appreciation of the Thai baht against the greenback. Investors also sold on worry over the Thai government’s plan to borrow two trillion baht to invest on several transportation projects and on the stability of the government, it said. However, Kasikorn Research Centre forecasts that the SET could rebound next week, depending on measures to rescue to economy-ailing Cyprus. (TNA)