SGX proposes to revive lunch break
Singapore Exchange Ltd (SGX), which runs the city’s stock market, is proposing to bring back a lunch break and boost minimum bid sizes as it seeks to boost trading.
The exchange operator was consulting the public on the plans, which it said would address market conditions and balance the diverse objectives of participants, according to a statement yesterday.
SGX was proposing to introduce a midday trading break from 12pm to 1pm. It plans to raise the tick size for stocks and relevant securities trading in the S$1 (RM3.15) to S$1.99 range, to one Singapore cent from half a cent. It also plans to widen a forced order range, which helps to prevent error trades.
SGX said it would mandate that companies aiming to list on its main exchange must allocate at least five per cent of stock offering, or S$50 million, whichever is lower, to small investors.
The ruling will kick in on May 2 and is aimed at having greater retail participation.
The exchange last year proposed a minimum of 10 per cent or S$100 million to be distributed to retail investors.
SGX in March 2011 scrapped the lunch break saying it could help add as much as 10 per cent to volumes.
The proposed midday halt had minimal impact with only 5.1 per cent of trading done during the hour, said SGX.
The daily value of shares traded this year climbed 10 per cent to US$839 million (RM3.7 billion) from last year. An average of $1.18 billion shares changed hands each day in 2010, before the intermission was abolished.
Singapore’s stock market has the longest trading day among major venues in Asia.