The operational procedures with respect to the calculation of closing prices for equity securities listed and traded on the Bahamas International Securities Exchange (BISX) will be changed, effective Friday, 11 May 2001.
Currently, the closing price for any equity security traded on BISX is calculated on a daily basis using the Volume Weighted Average Price (VWAP) of the trades for that day. The VWAP is calculated by taking the total value of shares traded divided by the total shares traded:
“Volume Weighted Average Price = Total Value Traded / Total Shares Traded”
Under the new procedure, the closing price for each individual security will continue to be calculated using the VWAP method; however, on any given trading day, the closing price will only be re-calculated if a total of 1,000 or more shares have been traded. If less than 1,000 shares trade in a security on a given trading day, then the closing price will remain unchanged from the previous trading day’s closing price. This procedure applies to each individual security and is applied to trading on a daily basis, and is not cumulative.
Based on analysis of market trading, discussions with market participants and the Securities Commission of The Bahamas, BISX believes that this operational change will provide a more accurate reflection of pricing in the market.
As part of its ongoing commitment to stimulate market development and growth, BISX will continue to enhance its market practices and operations to ensure that investors are provided with a transparent, fair and equitable securities market, where they can confidently trade their securities.
As the domestic market in equity securities develops, BISX will continue to review its market operations and prior to any market operational changes being made, BISX will inform the public of such changes in a timely manner.
BISX Chief Legal & Compliance Officer, Keith Davies comments: “This change in BISX’s operational procedures is the result of working closely with market participants and responding to the particular needs of the domestic capital market. We believe that this change will address the conditions in our current market, without affecting its integrity and fairness.”
The Bahamas International Securities Exchange was incorporated in September 1999, with the domestic equity market catering for the trading in Bahamian public companies launched the following year on 12 May 2000. Currently 16 Bahamian public companies are listed on BISX, representing a market capitalization of over US$1.8 billon. Daily prices are posted on BISX’s website (www.bisxbahamas.com) and in local newspapers. Trading on BISX is conducted through its Broker Members via a secure Wide Area Network that provides immediate access to the market.
Trading in a formalized regulated market environment has been conducted for the past 12 months using BISX infrastructure.