11/11/2005

stock exchange raising listing fee

a few years ago there this cry to cut business cost. everyone was complaining that doing business in singapore was too costly. so labour cost was cut. rental cost hardly come down. on the other hand sgx has been raising its fees in several areas to increase its profitability. who is paying for all the increases? the latest increase in listing fee is quite substantial. the easiest way for a monopoly to raise profit is simply raise fee, like the public transport companies raising fares. who can say no? the commuters cannot say no. it is an essential service and the workers must take the transport to work. in a monopoly you don't need a genius to make money. who does not know how to raise fees and fares? raising listing fees is another matter. the cost is going to bite and some smaller and less profitable companies will find it too costly to maintain a listing here. some delisting will be on the card. who is going to suffer when delisting of a company takes place? the public who bought into the shares. just hope that we are really a premier stock exchange and these companies will find it beneficial to pay the higher fees and maintain their listings. if the premier exchange title is only self praise, words, then the delisting will come swift and hard.

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