Despite pandemic, Thailand is set to lead the region with 30 IPOs

Bangkok

THE Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) is heading for a record-breaking year in terms of new initial public offering (IPO) valuations.

The bourse's president Pakorn Peetathawatchai anticipates that it will have 30 new listings by the end of this year, and is looking forward to a similar performance in 2021.

He expects to see several more medium-sized listings coming up this year, and there will be "two or three big ones" next year, he added.

All this, even as Thailand's real economy heads for a hefty contraction due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Thailand's gross domestic product (GDP) shrank 12.1 per cent in the second quarter …