BANGKOK: The Thai index fell on Friday as shares of seafood producers came under selling pressure after a news report on labour practices worried investors while shares of PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia outperformed after treasury share sale. Losses in shares of Charoen Pokphand Foods Pcl, Thai Union Frozen Products Pcl and Seafresh Industry weighed on the Thai stock market. The UK's Guardian newspaper had earlier this week published a report alleging slavery in the Thai seafood industry. The benchmark SET index ended down 0.07 percent on the day and finished the week 0.23 percent lower, its first loss in three weeks. Jakarta's composite index eased 0.2 percent and was down 0.2 percent on the week, reversing an almost 1 percent gain in the previous week. Shares of energy firm Perusahaan Gas Negara shed 1.4 percent in selling led by domestic investors, Thomson Reuters data showed. Vietnam's benchmark VN Index posted a sixth straight session of gain, ending up 0.12 percent on the day and 2.8 percent on the week, Southeast Asia's best performer.

SOUTHEAST ASIAN STOCK MARKETS Change on day Market Current Prev Close Pct Move TR SE Asia Index* 426.52 426.97 -0.11 Singapore 3293.25 3293.01 -0.01 Kuala Lumpur 1876.74 1873.87 +0.15 Bangkok 1456.02 1457.02 -0.07 Jakarta 4926.66 4934.41 -0.16 Manila 6784.95 6809.18 -0.36 Ho Chi Minh 574.48 573.77 +0.12 Change on year Market Current End 2013 Pct Move TR SE Asia Index* 426.52 388.37 +9.82 Singapore 3293.25 3167.43 +3.97 Kuala Lumpur 1876.74 1866.96 +0.52 Bangkok 1456.02 1298.71 +12.11 Jakarta 4926.66 4274.18 +15.27 Manila 6784.95 5889.83 +15.20 Ho Chi Minh 574.48 504.63 +13.84 * The Thomson Reuters South East Asia Index is a highly representative indicator of stocks listed in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. - Reuters

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Southeast Asia Stocks: Thailand's seafood firms fall; Malaysia up

HO CHI MINH CITY, June 12 (Bernama) - Thai VietJetAir, an airline venture between Vietnam's VietJet Aviation Joint Stock Co. (VietJetAir) and its Thai partner, plans to launch services in the third quarter of this year.

An official from VietJetAir confirmed the plan after the no-frills carrier took delivery of more Airbus A320 aircraft to meet surging summer travel demand on the domestic market and facilitate future expansion, Vietnam News Agency (VNA) reports quoting Saigon Times Daily.

VietJetAir expanded its Airbus A320 fleet to 15 last week after taking delivery of three new jetliners.

The second largest carrier in Vietnam after the nation's flagship Vietnam Airlines plans to take delivery of three more aircraft toward the end of this year when the airline venture launches its services.

Last year, VietJetAir inked a memorandum of understanding with Thailand's Kan Air to form an aviation joint venture headquartered in Bangkok, Thailand, with registered capital of some US$6.5 million. The Vietnamese side owns 49 percent of this venture.

VietJetAir said after the deal signing last year that Thai VietJetAir had plans to operate domestic and international flights from Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok this year, with two to three Airbus A320s.

The joint venture is part of VietJetAir's strategy to expand its operations in Asia and offer more options for passengers, particularly those in Vietnam and Thailand to travel to Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and other destinations in the region.

VietJetAir started to fly in Vietnam in December 2011 before launching daily service between Ho Chi Minh City and Bangkok in February last year and the Hanoi-Bangkok route in June in the same year.

The carrier conducts more than 700 domestic and international flights a week at present.

VietJetAir said the three new Airbus A320 aircraft would enable it to provide the market with more than 37,800 seats a week in summer, particularly for those routes to tourist sites in coastal areas.

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Thai Vietjetair To Launch Services In Q3

When Thailands military coup spurred foreigners to pull money out of the equity market late last month, the nations top-performing stock investors jumped at the chance to take the other side of the trade.

BBL Asset Management Co., the manager of Thailands best-performing equity fund during the past five years, has been boosting stock holdings as a bet the junta will accelerate spending to shore up the economy. The Thai unit of Aberdeen Asset Management Plc, which runs the nations second-best performing fund, is also buying amid inflows from local clients.

No other stock market in Southeast Asia has rallied more than Thailands since the May 22 coup as local investors piled into shares at the fastest pace this year last month. While bears say the military takeover has failed to resolve conflicts that led to more than six months of political deadlock, Thai money managers are betting the junta will fast-track measures needed to bolster an economy that contracted by 0.6 percent in the first quarter.

The military governments plan to restore business confidence and accelerate spending will revive the economy, Voravan Tarapoom, the chief executive officer at BBL Asset, which oversees about $13 billion, said by phone on June 2. The firms BBL Bualuang Thanakom Open-end Fund has returned an annualized 29 percent in the past five years, the most among 165 Thai-domiciled stock funds tracked by Bloomberg.

The SET index yesterday erased its losses since anti-government protests that led to the coup. The Oct. 31 demonstrations marked the start of an escalation in tensions between opposition politicians and the ruling Pheu Thai party that eventually led to Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatras ouster and spurred the army to take over power for the 12th time since 1932. The measure slipped 0.3 percent at 10:27 a.m. in Bangkok.

The Thai stock gauges 3.5 percent rally from May 22 through yesterday compares with a 0.7 percent drop in the MSCI Southeast Asia Index. The SET is valued at 17 times reported earnings, versus 15 times for the regional measure, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

The junta plans to speed up infrastructure spending, including a dual-track train project that was ruled unconstitutional under Yinglucks government. The military will boost investment in projects along the nations borders with Malaysia, Myanmar and Laos, according to Air Chief Marshal Prajin Juntong, its head of economic affairs.

Domestic individual and institutional investors bought about 34 billion baht ($1 billion) of Thai shares in May, the most since December, according to exchange data compiled by Bloomberg.

Violent political demonstrations in Bangkok havent been reported since May 15, when grenade and gunshot attacks killed 3 and injured 22 anti-government protesters, according to the Bangkok Emergency Medical Services website. The military has banned political gatherings nationwide, deploying troops to suppress anti-coup demonstrators.

For Thai investors, they are here and know that the situation is much calmer, probably calmer than before the coup, Adithep Vanabriksha, a Bangkok-based money manager at Aberdeen Asset, which oversees about $541 billion worldwide, said by phone. The firms Thailand-domiciled Aberdeen Small Cap Fund (ABESMF) has returned an annualized 29 percent in the past five years. This boosts their sentiment and confidence in the economy and stock market.

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Top Thai Funds Use Foreigners Coup Jitters to Buy Stocks

(June 4): When Thailands military coup spurred foreigners to pull money out of the equity market late last month, the nations top-performing stock investors jumped at the chance to take the other side of the trade.

BBL Asset Management Co., the manager of Thailands best- performing equity fund during the past five years, has been boosting stock holdings as a bet the junta will accelerate spending to shore up the economy. The Thai unit of Aberdeen Asset Management Plc, which runs the nations second-best performing fund, is also buying amid inflows from local clients.

No other stock market in Southeast Asia has rallied more than Thailands since the May 22 coup as local investors piled into shares at the fastest pace this year last month. While bears say the military takeover has failed to resolve conflicts that led to more than six months of political deadlock, Thai money managers are betting the junta will fast-track measures needed to bolster an economy that contracted by 0.6 percent in the first quarter.

The military governments plan to restore business confidence and accelerate spending will revive the economy, Voravan Tarapoom, the chief executive officer at BBL Asset, which oversees about $13 billion, said by phone on June 2. The firms BBL Bualuang Thanakom Open-end Fund has returned an annualized 29 percent in the past five years, the most among 165 Thai-domiciled stock funds tracked by Bloomberg.

Spending Plans

The SET index yesterday erased its losses since anti- government protests that led to the coup. The Oct. 31 demonstrations marked the start of an escalation in tensions between opposition politicians and the ruling Pheu Thai party that eventually led to Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatras ouster and spurred the army to take over power for the 12th time since 1932.

The Thai stock gauges 3.5 percent rally since May 22 compares with a 0.7 percent drop in the MSCI Southeast Asia Index. The SET is valued at 17 times reported earnings, versus 15 times for the regional measure, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

The junta plans to speed up infrastructure spending, including a dual-track train project that was ruled unconstitutional under Yinglucks government. The military will boost investment in projects along the nations borders with Malaysia, Myanmar and Laos, according to Air Chief Marshal Prajin Juntong, its head of economic affairs.

State Fund

Domestic individual and institutional investors bought about 34 billion baht ($1 billion) of Thai shares in May, the most since December, according to exchange data compiled by Bloomberg.

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Top Thai funds use foreigners coup jitters to buy more stocks

HANOI: South-East Asian shares mostly gained on Monday, with the Thai SET Index rising 1.78% to its highest level since Oct 31 as investors pinned hopes on an upcoming economic reform plan while Philippine shares rallied on bargain hunting.

Investors anticipated a spurt in the Thai economy due to economic policies expected to be released on Wednesday by the National Council for Peace and Order, said CIMB Securities analyst Kasem Prunratanamala.

Banking stocks are likely to benefit especially from the plan as requirements for investment loans would grow in the coming months, Kasem added.

Siam Commercial Bank Pcl led the gains on the Thai Stock Exchange with a 4.4% jump, the highest single-day rise since January, Reuters data showed.

Sentiment was also helped by a positive Moody's rating on the Thai economy and a weekend protest against the military coup that was not as bad as investors expected, Kasem said.

Moody's on Monday affirmed Thailand's Baa1 sovereign rating, saying the country's fundamental credit strengths were solid enough to weather cyclical pressures on the economy and recurring bouts of political instability.

Volumes on the Thai bourse were solid, with 10 billion shares changing hands, a level not seen in nearly seven months, Reuters data showed.

Analysts expected the SET Index to gain further, with the next resistance level seen between 1,460 and 1,480 points.

The Philippine stock market also rallied on Monday as investors looked for bargains in shares that were at one-month lows, hit by weaker-than-expected economic growth data, said Manny Cruz, a market strategist with Asiasec Equities.

The Philippine SE Composite Index rose 0.94%, reversing falls since Thursday after data showed the country's economy unexpectedly grew at its slowest pace in two years in the first quarter.

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Southeast Asia stocks: Most Up; Thai at 7-mth high, M'sia and Vietnam buck trend

HANOI (June 2): Southeast Asian shares mostly gained on Monday, with the Thai SET Index rising 1.78 percent to its highest level since Oct. 31 as investors pinned hopes on an upcoming economic reform plan while Philippine shares rallied on bargain hunting.

Investors anticipated a spurt in the Thai economy due to economic policies expected to be released on Wednesday by the National Council for Peace and Order, said CIMB Securities analyst Kasem Prunratanamala.

Banking stocks are likely to benefit especially from the plan as requirements for investment loans would grow in the coming months, Kasem added.

Siam Commercial Bank Pcl led the gains on the Thai Stock Exchange with a 4.4 percent jump, the highest single-day rise since January, Reuters data showed.

Sentiment was also helped by a positive Moody's rating on the Thai economy and a weekend protest against the military coup that was not as bad as investors expected, Kasem said.

Moody's on Monday affirmed Thailand's Baa1 sovereign rating, saying the country's fundamental credit strengths were solid enough to weather cyclical pressures on the economy and recurring bouts of political instability.

Volumes on the Thai bourse were solid, with 10 billion shares changing hands, a level not seen in nearly seven months, Reuters data showed.

Analysts expected the SET Index to gain further, with the next resistance level seen between 1,460 and 1,480 points.

The Philippine stock market also rallied on Monday as investors looked for bargains in shares that were at one-month lows, hit by weaker-than-expected economic growth data, said Manny Cruz, a market strategist with Asiasec Equities.

The Philippine SE Composite Index rose 0.94 percent, reversing falls since Thursday after data showed the country's economy unexpectedly grew at its slowest pace in two years in the first quarter.

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#SE Asia Stocks* Most up; Thailand at 7-mth high on economic reform hopes