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Time for brokers to make bigger contribution to the revitalisation of the Singapore market

Reduced board lot sizes may largely benefit SGX and the brokers; custody accounts could be an opportunity to alleviate frictions of exercising shareholder rights

Ben Paul
Published Mon, Feb 2, 2026 · 07:00 AM
    • SGX RegCo is holding consultations on reducing the standard board lot size for higher-priced shares, and facilitating the wider adoption of broker custody accounts.
    • SGX RegCo is holding consultations on reducing the standard board lot size for higher-priced shares, and facilitating the wider adoption of broker custody accounts. PHOTO: BT FILE

    [SINGAPORE] When the Malaysian market was booming in the early 1990s, some small-time investors in Kuala Lumpur would informally pool their funds together to purchase shares.

    Some of them told me that they formed these loose joint ventures because they didn’t have a lot of spare cash, while others said that they wanted to escape the hassle of having to open their own brokerage accounts. Teaming up with a few friends essentially reduced the frictions and ticket price of participating in the market.

    This arrangement seemed to appeal to their human nature too.

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