Annual Report 2017

28 Annual Report 2017 During the past decades, The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) has continuously been committed to the key principles and operations in developing the Thai capital market for sustainable growth while becoming recognized by investors globally as a world-class stock market. SET sets a goal to benefit all sectors while growing together with the economy, society and the country in accordance with the vision “To Make the Capital Market ‘Work’ for Everyone.” In 2017, SET further expanded its operations to benefit all sectors by proactively applying technology to increase efficiency and to provide a full range of services inclusively. In 2017, SET was outstanding in many aspects in both quality and quantity. Particularly in quality, SET received a number of international awards, demonstrating SET’s continuous commitment and implementation on sustainable development in all dimensions. These awards included the “Best Sustainable Securities Exchange of Southeast Asia Emerging Markets 2017” by the London-based Capital Finance International Journal; the top 10 ranking of world stock markets for the sustainability disclosure of listed companies according to the studies on “Measuring Sustainability Disclosure 2017” conducted by Corporate Knights and AVIVA. In addition, 17 Thai listed companies were selected as constituents of the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices: DJSI, the highest number in ASEAN and the fourth highest in Asia. Moreover, eight Thai listed companies received 11 IR Magazine Awards for excellence in investor relations, the highest number of companies in ASEAN. In terms of quantity, SET has continuously demonstrated its outstanding potential at regional level both in market capitalization of IPOs at THB 426.35 billion comparatively highest in ASEAN-5 including the secondary offerings of listed companies totaling THB 215.80 billion. SET’s liquidity in average daily trading rose at THB 50.11 billion, the highest in ASEAN for the fifth consecutive year. Meanwhile, Thailand Futures Exchange (TFEX) has also been continuously growing with an average daily trading volume of 324,217 contracts. At end-2017 the combined market capitalization of SET and Market for Alternative Investment (mai) recorded at THB 17.92 trillion. The SET Index closed at 1,753.71 points and has continued to rise in early 2018 with a historic record high of 1,838.96 points on January 24, 2018. For investors, in 2017 the trading values of institutional investors and retail investors were in a balanced proportion at 52% : 48% ratio respectively, reflecting a stable growth of the Thai stock market, resulting from the activities to expand the institutional investor base, roadshows, with more access channels, while further expanding and developing the retail investor base. At the end of 2017, there were 1,510,053 investor accounts on SET and 146,559 on TFEX. Throughout 2017, SET focused on introducing new technologies and innovations to meet investors’ needs by providing investors with investment knowledge, new tools, investment channels, and digital services. The number of new retail investors on SET and TFEX totaled 148,976 accounts. 2017 was also the year of building foundations to cope with future competition and to prepare for expansion. SET developed infrastructure to support further growth with the application of blockchain technology to initiate the LiVE Platform as a channel Major Developments in 2017