Bangkok Post, Thailand, Nikhil B. Srinivasan Column.

Byline: Nikhil B. Srinivasan

Dec. 6--With PTT listing today and a healthier market than we have had in months, it is worth pausing for a moment (maybe just a moment) to consider the availability of information on the securities being traded on the stock and bond markets daily, and the longer-term consequences for markets and investors.

I am not referring to basic company information which, thanks to the Internet, is accessible to anyone, anywhere. Rather, I am concerned with analytical information that provides guidance for investors who actually buy and sell securities.

We have very limited securities research today. With stocks, the decline in broking commissions coupled with a significant drop in broking volumes has reduced the budget for equity research in stockbroking firms. Moreover, most foreign houses have either shut entirely or scaled back significantly their coverage of Thai stocks.

One cannot argue with the rationale for such decisions. A poor corporate sector and economy have reduced the business. Deregulation has just added to the woes.

And unlike global investment banks where corporate finance departments underwrite a significant part of the research budgets (upward of 50 percent ), the research budgets at Thai securities houses came from broking commissions, given the limited amount of investment banking activity in the local markets.

When it comes to corporate bonds, research is almost non-existent. While a relatively new market in its current form, it is becoming sizeable. According to Fitch Thailand, the ratings agency, more than 80 billion baht in corporate bonds have been issued in Thailand this year. Yet, barring rating agencies, one is hard-pressed to find a regular, detailed source of information on corporate bonds.