Rakuten secures 800 contra account openings

KUALA LUMPUR: Online equity broker, Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd, has secured 800 account openings for its collateralised (contra) account trading facility launched in June.

Managing Director Kaoru Arai said the new product had contributed about 20 per cent to Rakuten Trade’s revenue.

“We hope the momentum will continue and project the trajectory to be higher,” he told a media briefing on the product yesterday.

A contra account is a trading account where the trading limit is based on the amount of cash and/or shares placed in a trust account with Rakuten Trade – a joint venture between Kenanga Investment Bank Bhd and Japan’s Rakuten Securities Inc.

Arai said the product allowed clients to trade on an amount higher than the money in their account and enabled them to maximise their trading exposure by offering shares as collateral.

“The advantage is our contra account is fully online and the account can be opened in as fast as two hours.

“We also offer up to five times shares multiplier, the main differentiating factor compared with other brokers. This is aimed at giving flexibility to customers to trade at higher trading limit,” he said.

He added Rakuten Trade’s contra account offered a competitive commission compared with other existing trading products in the market. — Bernama