JEDDAH, 27 September 2006 — The Capital Market Authority (CMA) issued a decision yesterday to change its trading hours in the stock market. Effective Saturday Oct. 28, 2006, the trading hours will be from 11 am until 3:30 pm from Saturday to Wednesday.
According to the announcement posted on its website, the CMA made the decision as a result of noting the unsuitability of having two periods of trading and the effect of that on organizing the work at the market in addition to being out of step wit international markets. After considerable studying of trading hours, including surveying requests by investors, the decision was made as another step by the CMA to organize and develop the market.
Recommendations on making the change have been made by experts during the past few months in order to make the market more efficient and decrease the hours wasted by government and private sector employees on trading stocks at trading halls in the banks. “This is a healthy change and it is in accordance with system followed by developing and developed markets,” said Faisal Al-Sairafi, president and CEO of Financial Transaction House. “It will decrease the hours spent by employees away from their jobs and in trading halls in the banks, but it will not guarantee that they would not be spending their time trading from their jobs through the phone or Internet, which will put pressure on the online system of trading,” he added.
This change in the trading hours will also decrease the negative side-effects, whether on their family and social life or on their economic standings, of people spending their time and money unwisely in trading stocks. However, for some the change is not convenient. “I’m a teacher and I used to go to the trading hall in the bank in the afternoon to follow-up on my stocks and get tips from my acquaintances there but with this change, I can’t. What am I supposed to do now? I can’t even use the Internet or the phone while I’m at work,” said Fatima Ali.
