Trading unit of bank stocks to increase to 5,000 shares
Trading unit of bank stocks to increase to 5,000 shares
JAKARTA (JP): The Jakarta Stock Exchange (JSX) will raise the
trading unit (lot) of bank shares to 5,000, from the current 500.
to improve efficiency, the exchange's executive said on Friday.
Head of trading division Yohanes Liaw said the new trading lot
would be effective from Monday.
He emphasized that implementation of the 5,000-share trading
unit would not interfere with other regular non-bank shares,
which would continue to trade on the 500-share trading lot.
"Other shares will be traded as usual, while shares in the
banking sector that are still in the 500-share trading units will
be traded in the odd lot market until they are gradually replaced
with the 5,000-share trading units when they go through trading
settlement," Yohanes said.
Yohanes said the increase of the trading unit to 5,000 shares
was made to maintain efficiency in shares administration amid a
significant increase in the volume of shares on the JSX.
"We had a significant increase in the number of bank shares
following the rights issue of recapitalized banks," he said.
At least four of 21 publicly listed banks, which joined the
government-sponsored recapitalization program, issued billions of
rights shares to raise funds to partly finance their
recapitalization. The other banks will issue their rights shares
by the end of the year.
Yohanes said one bank under the recapitalization program, for
example, had issued over 200 billions of rights shares.
He said the huge volume of shares was burdening parties to
keep the shares in custody, since it would take up a large amount
of room space.
Back-office work and other handling fees for the abundant
shares during trading activities created additional burdens, he
added.
"The increase from 500 to 5,000 shares per trading unit, at
least for shares in the banking sector, will help ease the
burdens, since it reduces the number of shares physically," he
said.
However, Yohanes said the problems would cease once JSX
implemented the scripless trading system in March next year. (udi)