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19-01-2011, 08:05 AM
Full-day trading - good or bad? 
Business Times - 19 Jan 2011
Remisiers to get full plate of work in lieu of lunch
By JOYCE HOOI
(SINGAPORE) Remisiers will be soon be trading lunch-time for crunch-time.
Yesterday, the Singapore Exchange (SGX) announced that it would start all-day continuous trading from March 1, in a move that will mark the end of the market's cherished 90-minute lunch break.
While Magnus Bocker - SGX's chief executive officer - made the announcement yesterday after a cheery but pointed airing of Dolly Parton's 9 to 5 in the SGX auditorium, remisiers will not be singing along anytime soon.
Albert Fong, the president of The Society of Remisiers (Singapore), called the move 'mercenary' yesterday. 'We are definitely disappointed. Imagine you are working 9 to 5 and you don't have lunch. How would you feel?' Mr Fong told BT yesterday.
If the move receives regulatory approval, the 12.30-2pm lunch slot will vanish and the market will trade from 9am to 5pm.
The prospect of the market being open to trade even as remisiers dart outside for a bite brings with it practical concerns, as well.
'Assuming a client has an open position and I'm not around and can't do anything - I would feel very irresponsible,' said Mr Fong.
Some remisiers, however, will not be as affected as others. The ones at the top of the food-chain might continue enjoying the spoils of lunch, as they have as many as two assistants, BT understands.
The move to scrap the lunch break was set in motion about half a year ago, as the SGX sought to boost trading volumes by keeping the market open for business during the 90-minute window.
'This will make Singapore one of the most accessible markets in Asia and in the world,' said Mr Bocker yesterday.
He also told the media and analysts that according to 'general wisdom', the boost to trading volumes could range from 6 to 12 per cent.
Mr Fong reckoned, however, that the increase in volumes would be marginal. He also noted that it is a particular class of market participant that will leap at trading throughout every single second of the workday.
'This is more to satisfy the traders than the genuine investors. Investors don't need to hedge,' said Mr Fong.
As more bourses around the world eliminated their lunch breaks, SGX's move towards all-day trading appeared inevitable.
Currently, heavyweights like the New York Stock Exchange, Nasdaq and the London Stock Exchange do not have lunch breaks. Closer to home, the Korea Exchange, India's National Stock Exchange and ASX have also done away with them.
Remisiers such as Phillip Securities' Henry Tjoa have taken this move stoically, resigning themselves to being at the beck-and-call of the market even as food beckons.
'Each remisier might have to pair up with another one. Still have to eat, right?' said Mr Tjoa.
He also noted that Hong Kong and Japan plan to extend their markets' trading hours as they compete with Singapore for a share of the trading action.
'We are a smaller market, so it looks like we have no choice,' he said.
Resistance appears to be futile, even to The Society of Remisiers' Mr Fong.
'What choice do we have in the light of global competition? Notwithstanding the move will adversely affect the ways we conduct our business, we will move forward,' he said.
David Gerald, the president and CEO of the Securities Investors' Association of Singapore, welcomed the advent of all-day trading.
'Retail investors here will not have to sit and wait until lunch is over to manage their portfolio or risk, especially if they have invested in foreign-based products or shares,' he said.
'The needs of retail investors are evolving and we are of the view that allowing investors more opportunities to actively manage their investments is a step in the right direction.'
Business Times - 19 Jan 2011
Remisiers to get full plate of work in lieu of lunch
By JOYCE HOOI
(SINGAPORE) Remisiers will be soon be trading lunch-time for crunch-time.
Yesterday, the Singapore Exchange (SGX) announced that it would start all-day continuous trading from March 1, in a move that will mark the end of the market's cherished 90-minute lunch break.
While Magnus Bocker - SGX's chief executive officer - made the announcement yesterday after a cheery but pointed airing of Dolly Parton's 9 to 5 in the SGX auditorium, remisiers will not be singing along anytime soon.
Albert Fong, the president of The Society of Remisiers (Singapore), called the move 'mercenary' yesterday. 'We are definitely disappointed. Imagine you are working 9 to 5 and you don't have lunch. How would you feel?' Mr Fong told BT yesterday.
If the move receives regulatory approval, the 12.30-2pm lunch slot will vanish and the market will trade from 9am to 5pm.
The prospect of the market being open to trade even as remisiers dart outside for a bite brings with it practical concerns, as well.
'Assuming a client has an open position and I'm not around and can't do anything - I would feel very irresponsible,' said Mr Fong.
Some remisiers, however, will not be as affected as others. The ones at the top of the food-chain might continue enjoying the spoils of lunch, as they have as many as two assistants, BT understands.
The move to scrap the lunch break was set in motion about half a year ago, as the SGX sought to boost trading volumes by keeping the market open for business during the 90-minute window.
'This will make Singapore one of the most accessible markets in Asia and in the world,' said Mr Bocker yesterday.
He also told the media and analysts that according to 'general wisdom', the boost to trading volumes could range from 6 to 12 per cent.
Mr Fong reckoned, however, that the increase in volumes would be marginal. He also noted that it is a particular class of market participant that will leap at trading throughout every single second of the workday.
'This is more to satisfy the traders than the genuine investors. Investors don't need to hedge,' said Mr Fong.
As more bourses around the world eliminated their lunch breaks, SGX's move towards all-day trading appeared inevitable.
Currently, heavyweights like the New York Stock Exchange, Nasdaq and the London Stock Exchange do not have lunch breaks. Closer to home, the Korea Exchange, India's National Stock Exchange and ASX have also done away with them.
Remisiers such as Phillip Securities' Henry Tjoa have taken this move stoically, resigning themselves to being at the beck-and-call of the market even as food beckons.
'Each remisier might have to pair up with another one. Still have to eat, right?' said Mr Tjoa.
He also noted that Hong Kong and Japan plan to extend their markets' trading hours as they compete with Singapore for a share of the trading action.
'We are a smaller market, so it looks like we have no choice,' he said.
Resistance appears to be futile, even to The Society of Remisiers' Mr Fong.
'What choice do we have in the light of global competition? Notwithstanding the move will adversely affect the ways we conduct our business, we will move forward,' he said.
David Gerald, the president and CEO of the Securities Investors' Association of Singapore, welcomed the advent of all-day trading.
'Retail investors here will not have to sit and wait until lunch is over to manage their portfolio or risk, especially if they have invested in foreign-based products or shares,' he said.
'The needs of retail investors are evolving and we are of the view that allowing investors more opportunities to actively manage their investments is a step in the right direction.'
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