A broker was responsible for a $65,000 trade error linked to the Punja family name. The error on the South Pacific Stock Exchange involved four companies, three of which were associated with the Punja family. These companies are FMF, Rice Company of Fiji, and Atlantic & Pacific Packaging Company Limited, all of which have directors with the Punja surname. The fourth company affected was Fijian Holdings Limited.
South Pacific Stock Exchange (SPX) Chief Executive Sheraj Obeyesekene disclosed that $65,033.56 were traded before the cancellation of the transactions. He clarified that canceled trades do not impact pricing and thus, have no effect on the indices. There will be no financial loss to any investors involved as the settlements did not take place. The error was purely a human mistake by one of the brokers and had no ill intent.
The erroneous trade, executed on July 5, was canceled after a review determined that the orders had been placed in error by the broker representative involved.
SPX Records Encouraging Trading Activity during First Half of 2024
The South Pacific Stock Exchange reported encouraging trading activity in the first six months of 2024. The trading value recorded during this period was significantly higher than the same period in 2023. Over $33 million worth of trade was recorded in the first half of 2024, compared to $3.4 million in 2023, according to Mr. Obeyesekere.
The SPX Total Return Index grew by 4.44 percent since the beginning of the year. Market performance in June contributed to this strong result, with 289 transactions yielding an aggregate volume of 4,370,649 shares and a trading value of $10 million. This was an impressive improvement of 4504.14 percent compared to May 2024, driven largely by significant institutional investor activity.
Market capitalization increased by 3.25 percent in June, ending the month at $3.46 billion. Based on this recent success, SPX Chairperson Nitin Gandhi expressed optimism for continued momentum.
“SPX is in a period of transition and we look forward to exploring new opportunities to grow the investor base and invite the Fijian public to actively explore stock market investments as a means to achieve financial growth,” he said.