PSX adopts new trading system

KARACHI:

The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) has announced the formal launch of the much-awaited trading and surveillance platform, called Designated Time Schedule (DTS), and increased the duration of daily share trading by 30 minutes with effect from upcoming Monday.

The technologically advanced trading platform has a built-in surveillance system, meaning it is capable of detecting and preventing data leakages and theft attempts. It will ensure improved security features to better safeguard investor data.

“Key changes to the DTS are extension of continuous trading session by 30 minutes, reduction in post-close session to 10 minutes and reduction in break period to one minute,” said PSX General Manager for Trading and TREC Affairs Jawad H Hashmi in a notification on Friday.

“It (DTS) is a technologically advanced trading system,” PSX board of directors member Ahmed Chinoy said while talking to The Express Tribune.

“It ensures security of investors’ data, accelerates trading speed manifold and provides data analytics to enhance services for investors,” he added.

PSX bought the software (DTS) for $2.85 million from Shenzhen Stock Exchange (SZSE) before Covid-19 outbreak in Pakistan in February 2020. Test run of the system had been going on for about 10 months.

“The new system works at high speed and concludes trading session (full session calculations and compilation of trading data at the end of the session) in just 30 seconds or less than a minute compared to 30 minutes that are required by the present system (KATS/Karachi Automated Trading System),” PSX CEO Farrukh H Khan said the other day.

“The increase in trading session (by 30 minutes) will definitely raise trading volumes in daily sessions,” he said.

Khan said that the new system carried built-in surveillance software, which the existing trading platform (KATS) lacked. “The stock market performs surveillance manually by acquiring data from KATS.”

Khan highlighted that the new system would automatically address complaints of investor data leakages and theft, and would reveal which investor bought which company’s shares at what price.

In the past, some stockbrokers had alleged that officials copied and sold data on a daily basis to other stockbrokers and investors.

To address their grievances, the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) and the PSX have conducted a number of studies to check data leakages and address complaints.

The new system will fully replace KATS, which has remained in place since 1997.

“We kept updating KATS as and when needed,” the CEO said. “Throughout Covid-19 lockdown, KATS enabled the PSX to operate through remote working (work from home) and we did not close the market for a single day.”

However, the system had become outdated and needed a replacement, he pointed out.

Originally, the new system was supposed to become operational by the first quarter (January-March) of 2021, however, problems arising due to the Covid-19 pandemic slowed down the process of deployment, Khan revealed.

To purchase the new trading and surveillance system, the PSX had shortlisted two global stock markets including the London Stock Exchange.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 23^rd, 2021.

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