6 May
The value of shares traded on the Yangon Stock Exchange (YSX) in April touched the lowest of K902 million with 173,808 shares being traded, due to the long market holidays during Thingyan.
In January 2020, 196,836 shares worth K1.25 billion were traded on the exchange while 188,919 shares, with an estimated value of K1.48 billion, were traded on the exchange in February and 228,913 shares valued K1.42 billion were traded in March respectively, the exchange’s monthly report showed.
At present, shares of five listed companies — First Myanmar Investment (FMI), Myanmar Thilawa SEZ Holdings (MTSH), Myanmar Citizens Bank (MCB), First Private Bank (FPB), and TMH Telecom Public Co. Ltd — are being traded on the stock exchange.
The sixth public company — Ever Flow River Group Public Co., Ltd. (EFR) — was given green light to be listed on the exchange and the first day of share trading was earlier scheduled on 20 March 2020 in accordance with Section 41 (c) of the Securities Exchange Law and Section 7 and 8 of the Securities Listing Business Regulations. However, due to the coronavirus consequences, it was postponed and the base price and listing date will be timely published to investors in accordance with the conditions of instructions by government, according to YSX’s notice.
Next, the Securities and Exchange Commission of Myanmar (SECM) allowed foreigners to invest in the local equity market in March.
In April, the share prices of FMI were closed at K10,000 per unit, MTSH at K3,750, MCB at K8,100, FPB at K22,500 and TMH at K2,750.
The YSX was launched three years ago to improve the private business sector. It disseminates rules and regulations regarding the stock exchange and knowledge of share trading through stock investment seminars.
To boost the trading, the YSX has doubled its stock trade matching time from two to four per day last year. The exchange launched 7 times matching per day on 26 March 2020.
In addition to this, it has held promotional events to attract new investors and encourage existing investors to trade more actively. The stock exchange has also sought the government’s support to get more public companies to participate in the stock market and help more institutional investors, such as financing companies, investment banks, and insurance companies, to emerge.
A total of 2.4 million shares worth K13.39 billion were traded on the YSX in 2019, a significant increase compared to the previous year, according to the annual report released by the exchange. — Ko Htet (Translated by Ei Myat Mon)
