This step will facilitate trading to be in line with that of other exchanges, making Thailand more attractive and boosting the investor base. The SET will work closely with member companies and adjust relevant systems accordingly, as this change will take effect by Q1/2007.

"Allowing order sending via the DMA system will reduce errors from re-keying, as institutional investors will directly connect their systems to those of their brokers and send orders by themselves. Nevertheless, SET member companies are required to have risk management systems, e.g., for auto-checking, so that orders are verified before being transmitted to SET," Senior Vice President of SET Mr. Supakit Jirapraditkul disclosed.

Investors eligible for DMA must be domestic and foreign institutions as defined by Securities and Exchange Commission regulations, including foreign brokerage firms.

In preparation for the DMA system, SET will improve its trading systems both on the exchange and member sides. All systems will be ready by Q1/2007.

Presently the stock exchanges in the Asia-Pacific region providing DMA are Australian Stock Exchange, Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing, Korea Stock Exchange, Singapore Exchange, and Tokyo Stock Exchange.