SINGAPORE - The Singapore Exchange (SGX) said on Thursday (Feb 5) that the number of daily retail transactions has surged by 82 per cent in the first two weeks since the introduction of smaller board lots compared with the last three months of 2014.

This increase in retail trades more than offset a 61 per cent fall in median trade value, SGX added in a press release announcing its first-ever investor carnival.

Daily retail transactions in STI stocks increased at an even faster rate and more than doubled over the previous quarter, said SGX.

The minimum lot size in the securities market was reduced from 1,000 to 100 from 19 January 2015. With smaller board lots, higher-priced stocks have become more affordable to retail investors.

SGX said reduced board lots also enable investors with less investment funds to build a diversified portfolio more effectively, giving them more flexibility to manage their exposure to different sectors.