LSX to offer online trading service
Lao Securities Exchange plans to launch a new stock trading service, allowing investors to post buying and selling orders of stocks from computers at the end of this year, according to a top company official.
LSX Chairman and CEO Mr Dethphouvang Moularat said yesterday that the stock market is in discussions with Internet providers to ensure high-speed Internet to enable the home trading system to function properly, in the hope of launching the new trading service for local and foreign stock traders at the end of this year or early next year.
Currently, investors who want to trade stocks have to write down buy and sell orders or use a fax or telephone to communicate with brokers, which is inconvenient for investors especially compared to other world markets.
The introduction of the online stock trading system will encourage local and foreign investors to invest in the Lao market, which lists two publicly traded companies – BCEL bank and EDL Generation, one of the major electricity suppliers in Laos.
Mr Dethphouvang said that the stock market is cooperating with concerned sectors to develop legal documents to manage use of the Internet as one of the communication tools in stock trading, adding that the move aims to prevent possible conflicts between investors and Internet providers in case of an Internet signal disruption.
“Internet providers must ensure a high-speed signal otherwise it will make trading difficult and investors will not be able to act on their investment plan,” he told Vientiane Times .
Mr Dethphouvang confirmed that the communication infrastructure between the stock market and brokers is well established and maintained but one of the major concerns was the connection between brokers and investors.
“The market has developed a home trading system and will provide the computer software to brokers and investors so they can install it on their home computers. This will allow them to post buy and sell orders of the stocks from home as well as from a foreign country.”
The stock market is also investigating the possibility of launching continuous stock trading, which will make it possible for investors to buy and sell stock in real time. Currently, the stock market offers a price-matching service twice a day at 10am and 11:30 am.
According to a report from Lao Securities Exchange, there are about 6,000 stock bank accounts, 53 percent of which are domestic investors, and the rest are foreigners. The largest foreign investors in the stock market are Chinese, who account for 33 percent, Thai are second at 29 percent, the Japanese account for 14 percent, the Vietnamese make up 7 percent and Korean investors account for 5 percent.
vientiane times
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