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Singapore Exchange Proposes Lunch Break Revival, Wider Bid Sizes

Andrea Tan
Updated

(Bloomberg) -- Singapore Exchange Ltd., which runs the city’s stock market, is proposing to bring back a midday break, boost minimum bid sizes and widen a forced order range.

The exchange operator is consulting the public on the plans, which it said will address market conditions and balance the diverse objectives of participants, according to a statement released Wednesday. It’s proposing to introduce a midday trading break from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. The SGX plans to raise the tick size for stocks and relevant securities trading in the S$1 to S$1.99 range, to one Singapore cent from half a cent.

The SGX also said it will mandate that companies aiming to list on its main exchange must allocate at least 5 percent of their stock offering, or S$50 million ($35 million), whichever is lower, to small investors. The ruling will kick in on May 2 and is aimed at having greater retail participation.

To read reactions to the potential return of the lunch break, click here.

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SGX in March 2011 scrapped the break, which lasted from 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m. every day, saying it could help add as much as 10 percent to volumes. The daily value of shares traded this year have climbed 10 percent to $839 million from 2016, according to data compiled by Bloomberg as of Tuesday. An average of $1.18 billion shares changed hands each day in 2010, before the intermission was abolished, the data show. Singapore’s stock market has the longest trading day among major venues in Asia.

“SGX constantly reviews its market structures, rules and policies, taking into account changing market conditions, regular dialogue with the industry, and supportive data analysis,” Chief Executive Officer Loh Boon Chye said in the statement.

--With assistance from Niluksi Koswanage

To contact the reporter on this story: Andrea Tan in Singapore at atan17@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Sam Mamudi at smamudi@bloomberg.net, Stephanie Phang, Lena Lee

©2017 Bloomberg L.P.