BFIT tops all in internet trading

STOCK MARKET / BROKERAGES

BFIT tops all in internet trading

NUNTAWUN POLKUAMDEE

According to the Stock Exchange of Thailand, internet trading accounted for 13.05% of total turnover last year, up from 6.56% the previous year.

BFIT Securities topped all brokers in 2007 with a 13.57% share of all internet trading.

Kim Eng Securities ranked second in terms of online trade at 11.98%, followed by Asia Plus at 8.88%, Phillip Securities at 6.28% and IV Global Securities at 5.66%.

Prasit Srisuwan, the chief executive officer at BFIT Securities, said the company's online trading rose to 15% of total market trade in the second half of last year.

The broker, whose total market share on the Stock Exchange of Thailand was 3.65% at the end of last year, hopes to boost its share to 5% by the end of the year. Mr Prasit said BFITSEC currently has 6,000 online trading accounts, with 2,300 considered active.

The company actively promotes its online trading system to investors due to lower transaction fees. Securities regulators allow online investors to pay commissions of 0.2% for margin accounts and 0.15% for cash and credit balance accounts, compared with a minimum commission of 0.25% for normal trading accounts.

For 2008, BFITSEC would set aside two billion baht in funds for margin lending, with most stocks available for trades. The broker controlled its credit risk by setting varying call and forced margin limits based on the type of security purchased.

''For normal stocks, we set call margins at 35% and forced selling at 28%, while higher-risk stocks might have a call margin at 45% and forced selling at 35%,'' Mr Prasit said.

''We expect to receive margins of 6% to 7% on our margin loan operations.''

Mr Prasit said internet trading, which accounts for around half of the company's total SET transactions, was expected to rise to 60% of total trades by the end of the year.

He said the company would open three to four new cyberbranches to help promote and cater to online investors.

According to the Stock Exchange of Thailand, internet trading accounted for 13.05% of total turnover last year, up from 6.56% the previous year.

A total of 1.042 trillion baht worth of transactions were made online through the SET in 2007, up 99.62% from the 522.38 billion processed the year before.

Of the 40 securities companies on the SET, 33 provide online trading services.

Kampanat Lohacharoenvanich, the chairman of the Association of Securities Companies, said internet trading had high potential for future growth, due to lower commission rates compared with traditional trading.