Wednesday, September 26, 2012

China Market will be closed for a long holidays

China Market will be closed from October 1st (Monday) to October 5th (Friday) to celebrate long National Day holidays.

Although mainland China is celebrating super long 5-days holidays but Hong Kong is celebrating on Oct. 1 (for Mid-Autumn / Moon Festival, a day in lieu of Sept. 29 and 30) and Oct. 2 (National Day, a day in lieu of Oct.1)

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

SGX Singapore and Bursa Malaysia are expected to link on Sept 18

[Singapore] Singapore Exchange (SGX) and Bursa Malaysia are expected to link their stock exchanges on Sept. 18 as the full system testing has already been completed under the Asean Trading Link (ATL).  Investors should be able to trade all-stocks through the ATL. Originally, it was planned to be ready by end-June, but system testing are only fully tested recently.

SGX-Bursa was previously connected through the Central Limit Order Book (CLOB). CLOB was an over-the-counter (OTC) market set-up in Singapore in 1990 but was suspended abruptly after the 1998 Asian financial crisis. Singapore investors' were obviously stunned of this sudden frozen of their equities around September 1998. During 1998, if I remembered correctly, Malaysia ex-PM Mahathir shocked and stunned Singapore's shares investors by putting the 'death' of 8-years old CLOB International forcing the SES (now it known as SGX) to shut down the CLOB market for Malaysian shares, leaving in limbo shares close to S$5 billion held by more than 160,000 investors. Although many migration of frozen shares was transferred and completed by broking houses to help their clients around year 2000 but the pains of going through these processes was quite traumatic time for these investors. So, these Singapore investors were left with a rather traumatic and unforgettable experience when KL, Malaysia ordered all Malaysian-listed companies in Singapore be delisted from SES (Singapore Stock Exchange), so I think it will take some times for them to get over the 'old-injuries'. I think initial take-up likely to be slow. I really don't know? We'll see  when SGX Singapore and Bursa Malaysia resume their trading links on Sept. 18. 2012 (Tuesday). 

The ATL plans to connect seven bourses across six countries in the region, involving some 3,600 public-listed firms with a combined market capitalisation of US$2 trillion.

The ATL would eventually include the bourses of Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines in an effort to raise the profile of Asean as a highly-investable asset class.

SGX and Bursa Malaysia will be the first two stock exchanges to connect on the ASEAN Trading Link (ATL), followed by the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET). 

The link to Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) is set to go online sometime in October. Actual date is not available yet. Once that is up, investors from Singapore and Malaysia can buy Thailand's shares directly from their local brokers.

For instance, a Singapore investor who wants to buy Thai shares will place their orders through a local broker. The order goes directly into the SGX via the Asean Trading Link(ATL) instead of having to be routed to another broker in Thailand.


The link to the other exchanges are expected to follow in the coming months.
 
SGX said it will introduce new rules that will allow market players to have direct access to its securities trading system. SGX is also introducing new rules on the participation criteria and compliance requirements for its members in relation to the ASEAN Trading Link (ATL). The new rules will take effect on 18 September 2012.

Asean comprises of 10 countries - Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Philippines, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

ASEAN Exchanges consist of seven members, the countries are SGX (Singapore Stock Exchange, Singapore), Bursa (Malaysia Stock Exchange, Malaysia), SET (Stock Exchange of Thailand, Thailand), the JKSE (Jakarta Stock Exchange, Indonesia), the PSE (Philippine Stock Exchange, Philippines), the HOSE (Hochiminh Stock Exchange, Vietnam). 

The idea to allow seamless trading among Southeast Asia's bourses came up about four years ago as ASEAN sought to attract portfolio investors drawn to the larger Asian markets of China and India.

The start of the Singapore-Malaysia electronic trading link will mark the first key milestone  towards breaking down the barriers to cross-border trade in Southeast Asia. Brokers are required to pay some cost to connect the trading link.

Through the trading link, investors in Asean will enjoy a new ease of access to a wider investment selection as well as tap the region's growth opportunities.