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Shares last traded at 99.5 cents before halt in trading at 3.45pm

There have been many attempts to stimulate retail interest in the stock market over the past few years, but the results have not been encouraging. Brokers and the Singapore Exchange (SGX) regularly conduct educational seminars, the exchange’s website is a useful source of instructional information and commissions are now razor-thin, yet volume today is poor, phones are not ringing and many brokers are seriously contemplating throwing in the towel.

Banks, traders seek to recover US$140m from October crash

The property market in Johor, particularly Iskandar Malaysia, might be a case of too much too soon. According to The Star newspaper, red flags are showing in the state where launches of projects and high prices are commonplace but the pace of launches, which now includes “carpet building” by China developers, is flooding the market with more houses than what could be sustainable.

Blumont Group will be investing about A$1.95 million (S$2.2 million) in an Australia-listed diamond miner, its first foray into the precious stones sector.

Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-Shing shares some of his money wisdom, outlining an inspirational five-year plan to improve one’s lot in life Link

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If anyone wanted an example of a stockmarket incident that perfectly highlights the deficiencies in existing surveillance arrangements and one that is crying out for greater official scrutiny all rolled into one, they need look no further than the crash in Ocean Sky International (OSI) shares on Wednesday.

Fall into the red due largely to slump in other income to just $2m from $21.9m

It’s probably not that widely known, but stockbrokers and trading representatives (TRs) are obliged under current Singapore Exchange (SGX) rules not only to refrain from indulging in suspicious trades but also to report such trades to the authorities. Given that there have often been calls for regulators to do more to stamp out market manipulation and rigging, it is necessary to remind the broking community of this duty.

Brokers and investors worry that collateral rule may restrict trading activity

Investors take regulators’ measures in their stride, negating fears of repeat of HK’s big penny stocks sell-off in 2002

The proposed regulation to impose a minimum trading price for mainboard companies is unlikely to create delisting pressure, market watchers say.

Contra rules good for quality, but could hurt volumes: industry

Industry observers welcomed the Singapore Exchange’s proposal of an independent listings advisory committee for SGX, saying that it will help the exchange to make sense of unusual features in potential listings that it has grappled with in the past, such as dual class shares.

Singapore’s market regulators seem to finally be in agreement with a position that The Business Times has taken for years - that having a profit-driven market regulator, one with dual roles of revenue generation and market oversight, is simply not tenable.

Scope for improvement with regard to manipulation and disciplinary action

Market operator and regulator seek feedback on slew of proposed sweeping changes

The Singapore Exchange (SGX) is making some changes to the way it queries companies about unusual fluctuations in the trading of their stocks.

Measures target contra trades and short-selling, among others

Singapore may introduce a minimum price for mainboard shares and impose collaterals for some trades after a slump in the stocks of three commodity companies erased $8.8 billion in market value over three days in October.

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Banking woes spark concerns among foreign investors despite the country’s promised bounty

Dormant US$8b may finally be put to use amid attractive valuations and demand forecasts

Blumont Group shares held by two of its key executives are still being force-sold four months after the catastrophic crash of Blumont and two other penny stocks.

Plug gaps to safeguard interests of all players

Countries that supply China with raw materials got a taste in January of what the future holds as the world’s second-largest economy prepares to restructure itself and dampen its mega-growth of the last two decades.