SET, Clearstream join to ease international investor access to Thai fund market

The new linkage between SET’s mutual fund platform FundConnext and Clearstream’s global fund processing platform Vestima enables international investors to access the Thai fund market. As of August 2019, the Thai mutual fund market encloses assets under management at Bt4.01 trillion. In return, Thai investors have access to more than 190,000 investment funds from close to 50 jurisdictions worldwide via Vestima.
The linkage of the two platforms is operated via SWIFT’s standard messaging format ISO 20022. Cash will flow through Standard Chartered Bank (Thai) Plc.
Pakorn Peetathawatchai, SET's President, said: “The linkage enhances fully automated capabilities for cross-border investment fund distribution between Thailand and the world. As the first implementations of ISO 20022 in Thailand, FundConnext is committed to providing the world and Thailand’s investment communities with lower cost, ease of access and more efficient services.”
Bernard Tancré, the head of investment funds services at Clearstream, said, “Adding order routing, asset servicing and settlement services for Thai domestic investment funds to our portfolio perfectly fits our Asia funds strategy. The connection between Clearstream’s Vestima and SET’s FundConnext will enhance access to Thai and international funds for domestic and global market participants.”
Lisa O’Connor, the managing director of capital markets and standards, APAC, SWIFT, said, “For more than 10 years, ISO 20022 has been widely adopted as a standard for funds distribution and processing as it allows for interoperability, richer data and straight-through processing. We are delighted that Clearstream and The Stock Exchange of Thailand decided to leverage ISO 20022 and SWIFTNet capabilities to design their link and we strongly believe it will bring benefits to all their investors.”
Plakorn Wanglee, the president and CEO for Thailand and representative offices at Standard Chartered Bank (Thai) said: “We are pleased to partner with SET and Clearstream in further developing the FundConnext platform, which will enhance the cross-border mutual fund subscription and redemption flow. With our global innovation and network and the strength of all partners, the synergy will pave way for the meaningful growth of Thailand’s mutual fund industry.”