Ctg stock traders shy away from internet

---

Sheikh Shahariar Zaman
General investors in the Chittagong stocks are reluctant to use internet-based trading system (ITS) due to ignorance about the advantage the system offers.
The ITS was launched in 2005, but in the last five years the exchange could not attract investors to the facility, Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) chief executive officer Mohammad Abdullah Mamun told the FE.
Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) has yet to introduce the ITS.
Only 121 investors have registered themselves for using the ITS and out of that 72 actively trade on the market. The CSE permitted 19 brokerage houses to offer ITS to their clients out of a total member of 135.
"Registered investors can trade at any place any time under the system and they do not need go to brokerage house physically for trading," Mr Abdullah explained.
An investor can place his or her order even at midnight and it would be executed the following day, he said.
"It is difficult for many investors to physically go to the brokerage houses as they are busy with their regular work schedule and ITS is a perfect solution for them," he added.
The main advantage of the system is that investors can execute their decisions themselves, the CSE chief executive officer said.
The CSE has taken steps to make the system popular among regular investors, he added.
The whole system is very user-friendly and if the investors become aware of it, the trade volume and value of the exchange will increase manifold, he hoped.
The average log-in of ITS users is 35 with average trade value at Tk 1.1 million every day
"We want to shift 20 per cent of the total investors to ITS in two years and 50 per cent in seven years," Mr Abdullah said adding, "With proper marketing campaign, it can be achievable."
CSE general manager Mohammad Atiquzzaman said the exchange would motivate the brokerage houses to set up ITS facilities and make the general investors aware of the use of the system for efficient trading.
"We are going to organise a road show this month in Sylhet, and later on it will be arranged in other places," he said.
The brokerage houses can encourage their clients to opt for ITS, he added.
The brokerage houses will need small offices upon installation of ITS as not many people will visit the offices resulting in the formers' revenue going up due to the user-friendly trading system, he added.
"We have started giving demonstration to different brokerage houses to make the system a popular platform for trading," Mr Atiq said.
He, however, said not all brokerage houses can provide the service as they need to equip themselves with certain technical and human resource facilities.
"In our assessment, about 60 per cent of the brokerage houses will be qualified for providing the service," he said.
The ITS platform can also encourage non-resident Bangladeshis to take part in trading from abroad, Mr Atiq said.
"There are two types of NRB investors. The first one comprises those, who invest in the market believing when they come back home they will enjoy the profit," he said.
The second type of NRB investors want to repatriate the investment and profit through non-resident investors' Taka account (NITA), he added.
The average trading value of the CSE was Tk 660 million in 2009 and it was Tk 420 million in 2008. Over 200 companies are listed with the second bourse of the country.