The breakdown that saw the stock market glitching on July 16 was “merely a technical glitch,” according to Bursa Malaysia Bhd CEO Muhamad Umar Swift.
“The technical issue mentioned is just that, a glitch. Not cybertech or anything, but just a glitch that was unforeseen,” said Umar.
The breakdown occurred on July 16, which caused a disruption of the exchange’s securities trading system.
“We have managed to replicate the problem, and we have applied a patch, and we then replicated the problem again. The patch handled it. Moving forward, we will be watching closely for any other transactions that could trigger glitches in the system,” Umar said at a press conference for Bursa’s 1H2020 results yesterday.
When asked about the measures Bursa is taking to increase stock exchange attractiveness, Umar shared that one of the focal points the exchange is looking at is the cost of doing business for the ecosystem.
“We have to make sure everyone, from one of the larger banks down to the private broking houses, are brought along. We need to care not just for the larger parts, but the smaller as well,” said Umar, adding that this involved working together with the Securities Commission (SC) as well.
Bursa’s plan to set up a wholly owned subsidiary to take up the regulatory functions of the stock exchange (Bursa RegSub) are “on track and progressing,” according to Umar.
“There are many things progressing, but we are still on track to launch on Jan 1, 2021,” shared Umar.
Bursa’s first half of 2020, ended June 30, saw a profit after tax and minority interest of RM151 mil, which the exchange noted is a 62% increase year-on-year (yoy) over the RM93.2 mil of the corresponding half in 2019.
“The higher Patami (profit after tax and minority interest) is due to a higher operating revenue of RM320.7 mil, an increase of 33.6% over the RM240 mil of 1H2019,” said Umar.
An interim dividend of 17 sen, a dividend payout ratio of 91.1%, was also announced.
According to Bursa chairman Abdul Wahid Omar, this marks Bursa’s highest first-half financial performance and dividend payout since its listing in 2005.
