Court’s ruling on Thaksin’s frozen assets to have little impact on stock exchange

BANGKOK, Feb 10 (TNA) – The ruling by the Thai Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Holders of Political Position on fugitive ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra’s Bt76 billion frozen assets scheduled for February 26 will affect investment sentiment in the stock market only slightly and then only for the short term, according to a top securities executive.

SCB Securities Chief Executive Officer Thongmakut Thongyai said he believed there will be no violence no matter what verdict is delivered.

He said the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) remains attractive for investment.

However, he allowed that the bourse had borne the brunt of persistent political conflicts and unclear rules and regulations governing investment projects in the Map Ta Phut Industrial Estate and third generation cell-phone technology and transmission causing uneasiness and inconvenience in investment by local and foreign investors.

He attributed the recent sell-off of stocks by foreign investors to mounting concerns over the stability of financial institutions in Europe and cash holding by some investors on the eve of the Lunar New Year festival.

The SET composite index dropped slightly by 2.20 to 685.89 points on Tuesday’s trading with a daily turnover of Bt13.15 billion. (TNA)