One of world’s last iconic trading pits closes

SINGAPORE – They curled their fingers, raised their arms, and tapped their heads while their throats went dry from hours of shouting.

“Buy all!” “Buy 20!” The traders in the pit of the Singapore Exchange had a language of their own. Today, their voices will be silenced forever when one of the world’s last remaining “open outcry” trading facilities – and probably the last in Asia – closes its doors.A tradition which traders say dates back hundreds of years will end when all of the exchange’s transactions are conducted electronically after the close of business on Friday.”I think we probably would be the last in Asia,” said Rama Pillai, senior vice president of the Singapore Exchange.The chaos in the world’s trading pits became a symbol of 20th century capitalism.It was a business where physical stamina counted as much as intellect.”It’s very exciting, especially when the market’s moving and the adrenaline just drives, and you go out there and it’s like fighting a war, in a sense,” said Ng Tee How, 48.In the pit, he was known simply as “Byt”, the trading symbol he wore on a chunky white tag pinned to his red jacket.The jacket marked him as a “local”, an independent non-clearing exchange member who trades with his own money.”This is the symbol that my wife picked for me,” Ng said.”You need a symbol that’s easy for people to shout at you.”Singapore began operating Asia’s first financial futures exchange in September 1984.At its peak, hundreds of derivatives traders worked in the open outcry facility on a two-level floor 10 times the size of the last remaining pit.”You could see anywhere from 500 to 800 people, screaming and shouting,” Pillai said.”We’re talking about 80 or a hundred people inside one pit, and you can’t even move,” recalled TC Low, 47, a trader for 12 years.”It was like a fish market,” said Low, known on the floor as “Bik”.Just three weeks ago he left the pit for the new era behind a computer console.His trader’s jacket has been replaced by less formal attire, a blue polo-style shirt.At its busiest, there were multiple pits but beginning in November 2004 the Exchange began moving the trading, contract by contract, onto its electronic platform.The last contract to be traded in the “open outcry” pit, Euro-yen futures and options, will go fully electronic starting on Monday.”Open outcry” facilities have already closed in Australia and London, Pillai said.”Once we close, I think the last open outcry facilities will be in the States,” he said.The Chicago Mercantile Exchange in the United States still uses “open outcry” trading in a spectacle unmatched anywhere since global trading began the move to computer systems in the 1980s.Singapore’s last pit is in a room smaller than a tennis court.With trading already conducted simultaneously by computer, the room was quiet two days before its closure.Nampa-AFPToday, their voices will be silenced forever when one of the world’s last remaining “open outcry” trading facilities – and probably the last in Asia – closes its doors.A tradition which traders say dates back hundreds of years will end when all of the exchange’s transactions are conducted electronically after the close of business on Friday.”I think we probably would be the last in Asia,” said Rama Pillai, senior vice president of the Singapore Exchange.The chaos in the world’s trading pits became a symbol of 20th century capitalism.It was a business where physical stamina counted as much as intellect.”It’s very exciting, especially when the market’s moving and the adrenaline just drives, and you go out there and it’s like fighting a war, in a sense,” said Ng Tee How, 48.In the pit, he was known simply as “Byt”, the trading symbol he wore on a chunky white tag pinned to his red jacket.The jacket marked him as a “local”, an independent non-clearing exchange member who trades with his own money.”This is the symbol that my wife picked for me,” Ng said.”You need a symbol that’s easy for people to shout at you.”Singapore began operating Asia’s first financial futures exchange in September 1984.At its peak, hundreds of derivatives traders worked in the open outcry facility on a two-level floor 10 times the size of the last remaining pit.”You could see anywhere from 500 to 800 people, screaming and shouting,” Pillai said.”We’re talking about 80 or a hundred people inside one pit, and you can’t even move,” recalled TC Low, 47, a trader for 12 years.”It was like a fish market,” said Low, known on the floor as “Bik”.Just three weeks ago he left the pit for the new era behind a computer console.His trader’s jacket has been replaced by less formal attire, a blue polo-style shirt.At its busiest, there were multiple pits but beginning in November 2004 the Exchange began moving the trading, contract by contract, onto its electronic platform.The last contract to be traded in the “open outcry” pit, Euro-yen futures and options, will go fully electronic starting on Monday.”Open outcry” facilities have already closed in Australia and London, Pillai said.”Once we close, I think the last open outcry facilities will be in the States,” he said.The Chicago Mercantile Exchange in the United States still uses “open outcry” trading in a spectacle unmatched anywhere since global trading began the move to computer systems in the 1980s.Singapore’s last pit is in a room smaller than a tennis court.With trading already conducted simultaneously by computer, the room was quiet two days before its closure.Nampa-AFP