Buying a board lot of DBS no longer takes S$7,000-plus. From Monday 5 October 2026, Singapore Exchange (SGX) has cut the standard board lot, the smallest normal trade, from 100 shares to 10 shares for 11 higher-priced stocks, including all three local banks. SGX announced the change on 1 July 2026 and said it is meant to lower barriers to market participation and improve affordability for retail investors.
> Quick view: What: standard board lot cut from 100 to 10 shares for 11 SGX stocks · From: Monday 5 October 2026 · Stocks: DBS, OCBC, UOB, SGX, Keppel, Venture, Haw Par, Jardine Cycle & Carriage, Great Eastern, Jardine Matheson, Prudential · DBS, one lot: about S$772, down from S$7,721 · Next review: January 2027 · Your existing shares: unchanged
The rule
SGX's news release sets two price bands for the new lot sizes:
| Price of the stock | Old board lot | New board lot |
|---|---|---|
| Above S$10, up to S$100 | 100 units | 10 units |
| Above S$100 | 100 units | 1 unit |
The change covers stocks (not preference shares), stapled securities, REITs, business trusts, company warrants (not SPAC warrants) and depository receipts and shares listed on SGX-ST. For now it only applies to the 11 stocks selected in the first round, which SGX says made up 35% of trading activity in the first six months of 2026. All 11 currently trade between S$10 and S$100, so each moves to a 10-share lot.
What one board lot now costs
These figures use each stock's closing price on Friday 2 October 2026, the last trading day before the change, and leave out brokerage fees, clearing fees and GST.
| Stock | Price on 2 Oct | 100 shares (old lot) | 10 shares (new lot) |
|---|---|---|---|
| DBS Group Holdings | S$77.21 | S$7,721 | S$772 |
| UOB | S$43.11 | S$4,311 | S$431 |
| OCBC | S$31.66 | S$3,166 | S$317 |
| Jardine Cycle & Carriage | S$26.49 | S$2,649 | S$265 |
| Singapore Exchange | S$20.99 | S$2,099 | S$210 |
| Great Eastern Holdings | S$19.64 | S$1,964 | S$196 |
| Venture Corporation | S$16.42 | S$1,642 | S$164 |
| Haw Par Corporation | S$13.10 | S$1,310 | S$131 |
| Keppel Ltd | S$11.04 | S$1,104 | S$110 |
| Jardine Matheson Holdings | US$55.36 | US$5,536 | US$554 |
| Prudential plc | US$14.20 | US$1,420 | US$142 |
Jardine Matheson and Prudential are quoted in US dollars on SGX, so your broker will convert or ask you to hold USD. Prices move every trading day, so treat the table as a guide to the scale of the change, not a quote.
The fine print
- Your existing shares are not touched. They are just counted in smaller lots. PhillipCapital's POEMS gives the example of 50 shares of a stock moving from 100 to 10: those 50 shares are now 5 board lots, so an old odd lot can now be sold on the normal market.
- Under 10 shares is still an odd lot. Quantities below the new lot size trade on SGX's Unit Share Market, under its own rules.
- The list is reviewed every quarter. SGX checks daily closing prices each calendar quarter. The next review is in January 2027, using closes from July to December 2026. Changes are announced within the first five trading days after the quarter ends and take effect within the first five trading days of the second month after the quarter, so a January decision would apply in early February 2027.
- A cut is one-way. SGX says board lot reductions remain even if a stock later falls below the S$10 or S$100 mark.
What it means for you
- A smaller first step into blue chips. Someone who wants to own a few bank shares can now do it with a few hundred dollars instead of several thousand, and add 10 shares at a time.
- Check the minimum commission before you buy small. Many brokers charge a minimum fee per trade, so on a S$300 order that fixed fee is a far bigger percentage than on S$3,000. Compare fee tables first; our stock brokerage comparison lays out the costs.
- Monthly savings plans are another route. If you prefer to put in a fixed sum each month, regular savings plans and robo-advisers already let you buy fractions; see our investment apps guide.
- Smaller lots do not make a stock safer or cheaper in value. The share price is exactly what it was; only the minimum order changed.
This is a summary of Singapore Exchange's announcement, not investment advice and not a recommendation to buy any stock. Check the details with your broker before you trade.
