The Stock Exchange of Thailand says it plans to launch an exchange-traded fund in 2009 as part of an aggressive expansion plan aimed at increasing its base of investors.

Besides getting into the ETF business, the SET says it wants to offer a host of new securities. Those include gold futures, derivative warrants and an Islamic fund to attract Middle East investment.

The exchange is setting a goal for 2009 of increasing its retail investment base by about 100,000 investors. That would represent a 5% expansion from current levels. The SET also says that its institutional and Internet-based investor base should rise by 10% next year from 2008's levels.

These estimates and the ETF listing strategy were outlined in SET's just-released five-year organizational development plan.

There has been a fair amount of recent activity in Southeast Asia with the listing of ETFs and with the introduction of additional indexes targeting investors in the region, particularly Islamic investors.

Singapore, Hong Kong and South Korea have been among the most active markets in adding ETFs (see story here.)

Thailand only had two ETFs listed and $100,000 in ETF assets through the third quarter, according to Barclays Global Investors' ETF research implementation strategy team, making it the second-smallest market in Southeast Asia, only ahead of Indonesia.

Islamic funds have also been an active area for index providers and asset managers in Southeast Asia.

Dow Jones recently added its first Islamic index specifically targeting companies in Southeast Asian countries, though it has only been licensed by a traditional fund manager (see story here.)

SET will also be splitting into two groups: one focused on capital markets development and the other on exchange functions.