Someone asked for my views about investing in SDR (stock deposit receipts) of Thai companies, recently listed in SGX and promoted by Singapore banks.

I am not familiar with the advantages of investing in SDR. I asked the person to check with his stockbroker. 

It is possible for Singapore investors to buy Thai stocks listed in the SET (Stock Exchange of Thailand). The investor should find out the advantage of investing in SDR, compared with investing in the stock directly in SET.

It is more important to look at the fundamentals of the Thai stocks. Below are the large companies listed in the SET with market capitalization in billion BHT, PE ratio and dividend yield.

For comparson, I show DBS bank in Singapore. 

My observations are:

a) The largest bank in Thailand (Kasikhorn Bank) is 6 times smaller than DBS bank in Singapore. 
b) The PE ratio of several stocks are around 9 times, which are fairly attractive. Some have PE ratios of 20 times or higher. 
c) The dividend yields range from 2% to 7%, while SCB has a dividend of nearly 20%.

In general, the fundamentals of the stocks are similar to those in Singapore and other markets. If any investor wish to buy the Thai stocks, they must make a special study into the stocks and have a special reason to invest in them. 

Tan Kin Lian