The chief executive of SET-listed Maybank Kim Eng (Thailand) Plc (MBKET), Montree Sornpaisarn, is stepping down next month, indicating early retirement.
Montree: Lead firm to pole position
The resignation closes his tenure as a legendary broker who ranked among the highest-paid executive officers among Thai financial institutions in a survey conducted by the Smart SME website in 2013.
In the survey, Mr Montree's monthly salary was recorded at 1,424,722 million baht, the third-highest after Prachai Leophairatana of TPI Polene Plc and Boonklee Plangsiri of Shin Corp, now known as InTouch Holdings Plc.
MBKET's chief operating officer, Koh Swee Ong, reported to the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) last Friday that the company had approved the appointment of Arapat Sangkharat, the current deputy CEO, as executive officer in charge with immediate effect until further notice.
Mr Montree has worked in the finance and securities industry for over 30 years and had been CEO at MBKET since Oct 1990.
MBKET was previously the country's largest retail broker but it has dropped to seventh-largest in terms of market share.
However in the past three to five years, several factors have hindered MBKET from maintaining its ranking. According to 2021 data, the company now ranks seventh with a 5.48% market share from a total of 38 active brokers, a significant decline from the past five to 10 years of double-digit market share.
A source from the securities industry who requested anonymity said the reason for the decline in market share was due to the resignation of the senior management team who later joined Yuanta Securities (Thailand) in 2016, causing at least 3% of its clients to follow these executives to Yuanta.
In addition, the proliferation of online trading has also resulted in a price war, causing trading commissions to drop considerably from 0.25% to 0.10-0.13% within the past decade which has greatly affected the profit margin of securities businesses.
However, the company expects to record a much higher profit this year compared to last.
"We would like to thank Mr Montree who has been working for the firm for a long time and has been instrumental in helping push the company as a leading securities firm in Asean and the number one broker in Thailand for 16 consecutive years from 2002 to 2017," MBKET chairman Areepong Bhoocha-oom said.
"Although it is with great regret that we receive his resignation, we understand and respect Mr Montree's decision," he said.
MBKET's net profits recovered in 2019-20 with 254.75 million baht and 484.45 million baht recorded, respectively. In the first quarter of 2021, it recorded a net profit of 276.73 million baht, a significant increase compared to 184.68 million baht in the same period last year.
