Starting next year, Taiwan’s stock market will no longer open on weekend compensatory work days, Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) Chairman Wellington Koo (顧立雄) said yesterday.
The decision to do away with “makeup Saturdays” was reached after consultations with the Taiwan Securities Association, Koo said, but added that there are still details that need to be ironed out, as banks would remain open on those days, which could result in securities delivery problems.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a capital market forum in Taipei, he said the commission would work with the banking and securities sectors to resolve those technical issues soon.
The decision to abolish working Saturdays for the stock market was in line with international standards, Koo said.
An official announcement on the matter will be made at the end of October, he said.
Under current work regulations, when a holiday is extended by adding an extra day, a Saturday is usually designated as a compensatory work day.
However, as most foreign institutional investors have weekends off, trading is usually slow on the makeup Saturdays.
On March 31, the most recent makeup Saturday, turnover totaled only NT$76.78 billion (US$2.51 billion), well below the daily average of NT$123.98 billion for that month, Taiwan Stock Exchange data showed.
The Directorate-General of Personnel Administration on Monday released next year’s workday calendar, which has six extended public holidays.
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