IN A letter to Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam, we said we needed to rebuild trust in our market that it so badly needs, and create a level playing field for all ("SGX cites rise in retail activity to rebut petition"; yesterday).
Currently, very large institutional investors with enormous resources and computerised trading systems have the ability to influence prices to a large extent.
This has left the investing public at a huge disadvantage, resulting in many investors not participating in the Singapore market altogether.
The statistics quoted by the Singapore Exchange that "the number of daily retail transactions has skyrocketed by 82 per cent" after the introduction of 100-unit board lots on Jan 19 may not reflect the real situation.
Consultation among members of the broking community has revealed that a large portion of the 100-unit trades was actually carried out by foreign broking houses using computerised trading systems.
So, the bottom line is that the statistics are saying one thing, but the real situation is another.
We have to get beyond statistics and look at the real situation.
I have been in the industry for 20 years, going through many ups and downs, and have not seen the market in such a sorry state as it is in now.
We need to take the bull by the horns and address all the issues mentioned in our letter to DPM Tharman, to rebuild confidence in the Singapore stock market.
S. Nallakaruppan
Currently, very large institutional investors with enormous resources and computerised trading systems have the ability to influence prices to a large extent.
This has left the investing public at a huge disadvantage, resulting in many investors not participating in the Singapore market altogether.
The statistics quoted by the Singapore Exchange that "the number of daily retail transactions has skyrocketed by 82 per cent" after the introduction of 100-unit board lots on Jan 19 may not reflect the real situation.
Consultation among members of the broking community has revealed that a large portion of the 100-unit trades was actually carried out by foreign broking houses using computerised trading systems.
So, the bottom line is that the statistics are saying one thing, but the real situation is another.
We have to get beyond statistics and look at the real situation.
I have been in the industry for 20 years, going through many ups and downs, and have not seen the market in such a sorry state as it is in now.
We need to take the bull by the horns and address all the issues mentioned in our letter to DPM Tharman, to rebuild confidence in the Singapore stock market.
S. Nallakaruppan
