KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia Bhd expects a minimal impact on the costs of securities trading upon the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) today.
Chief executive officer Datuk Tajuddin Atan said the GST would only be applicable to services related to the securities transactions but not on the securities itself.
“The GST won’t be charged on the value of the whole securities transactions but only on the fees related to the transactions such as brokerage and clearing fees,” he told reporters after Bursa Malaysia’s annual general meeting here yesterday.
A clearing fee is charged by Bursa Malaysia at a rate of 0.03 per cent of transaction value with a maximum of RM200 per transaction, while a brokerage fee is charged by brokerage firms and varied according to each firm.
On the stock market outlook, he said 2015 would be a challenging year on the back of volatile global stock markets and commodity prices.
He said the local stock exchange would not only face greater regional competition, but would also have to navigate the impact of changing regulatory requirements.
However, he said Bursa Malaysia remained cautiously optimistic as Malaysia has a proven track record of being a tenacious and resilient market arising from the strength of its investor protection and corporate governance framework that was built over the years.
“These factors will continue to support the growth agenda in the market while maintaining market confidence and integrity,” he said.
Tajuddin said Bursa Malaysia would also continue to attract retail investors participation to create a balance atmosphere in the market place.
He said retail traders brought velocity of trading to the market place while institutional investors provided stability.
Last year, retail traders accounted for 25.8 per cent of securities trading while local institutional investors and foreign institutional investors’ participation stood at 40 per cent and 23.6 per cent, respectively. — Bernama