Published November 19, 2008

Bursa to launch new trading platform

System may go 'live' as early as Dec 1

By PAULINE NG
IN KUALA LUMPUR

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The Malaysian stock exchange will launch a new equities trading platform next month that is expected to be more accessible, efficient, transparent and scalable. This will make any integration with overseas markets easier, should the proposed common trading platform with Asean bourses eventuate.

The RM100 million (S$42.5 million) Bursa Trade Securities (BTS) will replace the current 18-year old Score system - which suffered a major glitch in July that resulted in almost a day's loss of trade - and comes almost a year after it was implemented for the derivatives market.

Riding on the BTS platform, the derivatives market itself had a hiccup in September, though on a much smaller scale.

Bursa Malaysia chief executive Yusli Mohamed Yusoff said that problems can be expected from time to time, but the BTS back-up system should allow for recovery of data within stated time frames.

Problems can emerge in two areas - hardware and software. And in these circumstances, the exchange has two resumption scenarios.

If a major disruption occurs before the start of a trading day, trading will resume on that same day. If it happens during a trading day, resumption will take place on the next business day.

An Asean common stock exchange initiative involving six nations - Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines and Vietnam - calls for the creation of a more inter-linked platform that will allow traders to trade more easily, Mr Yusli said at a BTS briefing yesterday.

He confirmed that a proposed common trading platform between the Singapore and Malaysian bourses, which has been bandied about for several years, 'has been shelved'.

Mr Yusli, whose contract has been extended for another year, according to industry executives, said that a full dress rehearsal for BTS will be conducted with all market participants on Nov 29, and that barring any problems, the system will go 'live' on Dec 1.

Features of BTS include real-time and continuous matching of orders, rather than in 10-second batches under Score, and transparent pre-opening prices.