Bursa Malaysia Needs To Be Privatised

On Star Bizweek: When the smoke signals are right

• ...Bursa Malaysia, has an obligation to ensure orderly and fair trading but its officials have said in the past that healthy speculation is good for the market.
  
  In fact, since Bursa Malaysia is a listed company with a profit imperative, one may be forgiven for thinking that it may be a little reluctant to curb activities that increase trading turnover to which its profits are directly correlated

Healthy speculation is good for the market? Bah!

And yeah... 'Bursa Malaysia is a listed company with profit imperative'..

This issue has been mentioned many times before.

Bursa Malayaisa is a listed entity, a business and sadly for the stock market, this business is there to make money.

And so I ask again, how could Bursa perform as a regulator when its company objective is to make money?

Now Star Biz, Managing editor P Gunasegaram, is questioning this very same issue.

And fellow blogger, M.A. Wind is also addressing this very same issue, http://cgmalaysia.blogspot.com/2011/08/when-smoke-signals-are-right.html

• Although I admit that investigating these kind of suspicious trading patterns is not that simple, Bursa Malaysia (BM) has a huge pool of employees and a database full with information regarding account holders and trades done. It always stunned me why there was never any enforcement whatsoever on the issue of insider trading. Recently I did notice some rare activity on this area, but the alleged perpetrators only had to pay back their ill gotten gains. A one in a thousand chance to get caught and then only having to pay back the gains? I don't see the rationale for these kind of low punishments at all.

Seriously, the root of the problem lies in the whole structure of Bursa Malaysia.

It should, never been allowed to be a listed entity. It's ludicrous. How could the investing public expect Bursa Malaysia to perform adequately as a regulator when the company focus is to make money?

How could it?

Star Biz, Managing editor P Gunasegaram, questions the issue of insider trading.

Yeah, have we heard Bursa swinging the rotan on insider trading? Have we? Me? I am not aware of any.

Yes, zero. Zilo.

Huh?

That's what I said too. No insider trading here? Seriously?

Take the recent issue on Ranhill where a Ranhill's director bought shares of the company a week BEFORE Ranhill announced that there is a takeover bid of the company. And what do we call such an activity?

My suggestion?

The very first thing that needs to be done is to privatise Bursa Malaysia!

Yes. That's my recommendation.

Bursa Malaysia needs to be privatised.

Take it private!

It has to be removed as a listed entity. It has to be removed as a business.

If that does not happen, there's no chance to see Bursa Malaysia perform as a regulator!!!!