Thai bourse plans to add $16 billion in market cap in 2021

BANGKOK (Reuters) - The Stock Exchange of Thailand on Friday said it was seeking to boost its market capitalisation this year by 500 billion baht ($16.61 billion) through initial public offerings (IPOs) and secondary listings.

Last year, the market capitalisation of IPOs in Thailand was 555 billion baht, the exchange said in a statement.

That was driven by the country's largest listings, Central Retail Corporation Pcl and SCG Packaging Pcl, each raising over $1 billion.

"The target for new listings is high, similar to the last two years," said the head of the exchange's Issuer and Listing Division, Manpong Senanarong.

The index also hopes to attract foreign listings from neighbouring countries and support fundraising for small businesses and startups, he said.

The total market capitalisation of the Thai index is currently 16.62 trillion baht ($551.79 billion) according to Refinitiv data.

State-owned energy firm PTT Pcl plans to launch a $1.5 billion to $2 billion IPO of its retail and oil arm in 2021, Refinitiv IFR reported.

($1 = 30.1200 baht)

(Reporting by Chayut Setboonsarng; Editing by Martin Petty)