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) tomorrow.
"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 today.
A clearing fee is charged by Bursa Malaysia
at a rate of 0.03% 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% of securities trading while local institutional investors and
foreign institutional investors' participation stood at 40% and 23.6%,
respectively. - Bernama