Dr. Santi Kiranand, representative of the Federation of Thai Capital Market Organizations (FETCO), commented on the monthly FETCO Investor Confidence Index (ICI) for February 2018 details follow:

  • FETCO Investor Confidence Index (ICI) for the next three months (through April 2018) stood at 156.62, staying within the ICI’s bullish range of 120–160, and rising 1.74% from the previous month’s level of 153.94.
  • The overall ICI rose slightly as foreign investors and proprietary traders remained very bullish. ICI’s for local institutional investors and retail investors rose but remained bullish as they were the previous month.
  • The Banking (BANK) sector drew the most investor interest while Electronic Components (ETRON) was least attractive for investing.
  • International capital flows were seen by some investors as the biggest factor boosting confidence, while at the same time other investors saw international fund flows as the biggest drag on confidence.

“During January, the SET Index jumped to record-breaking highs, with a closing of 1838.96 points on January 24, 2018.  Investors remain confident that international capital flows will bolster the stock market with the influx of capital and strengthen the Baht while confidence also remains strong in global and domestic economies, which are projected to grow from last year.  The IMF has revised up its global GDP forecast for 2018–2019 to 3.9%, making most investors remain bullish.  However, the global fund flow is also considered as a drag on investments by investors since capital inflow can impact the Baht and regional currencies, and may thus impact the performance of listed companies. Another concern is the possibility of accelerating inflation in the US and Europe, and the expectation that US interest rates are likely to be raised gradually 3 or 4 times this year.”