SINGAPORE: Stock markets in Singapore and Malaysia are hoping that they can increase the volume of trading between the two countries by launching the first cross-border trading opportunities for investors. The ultimate goal with the new linking of the countries' stock exchanges is to push toward a Southeast Asian platform that will encompass the region as a whole. “This is a great move being made and as an investor I believe it will be great in combining the two economies even closer,” said Mike Chan, a local trader in Singapore. He told Bikyamasr.com that he was already looking at the offerings and “I plan to get involved soon after I see how it all plays out initially.” Singapore Exchange (SGX) and Bursa Malaysia (BURSA) began offering the services Tuesday, while the Stock Exchange of Thailand is set to join the cross-border trading between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations members sometime in October. The three account for 67 percent of the total market capitalization of the Asean Exchanges group, which includes Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam's two bourses, Bloomberg news agency reported. “The trading platform is part of a push by Asean Exchanges to bolster regional capital markets and lure more investors to bourses whose companies had a combined market value of $1.98 trillion at the end of March, according to the group's website. Japan and Hong Kong's equity markets were valued at $3.79 trillion and $3.11 trillion at the time,” the report said. The combined average daily value of stocks traded in Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand this year is $2.5 billion, or about a fifth of Tokyo's $13.5 billion daily average, according to data published by Bloomberg.
