Regulatory Alerts2017-10-23
Treatment of Block Transactions and Orders with a Size Greater Than or Equal to the Normal Block Transaction Size – October 23, 2017
Issued by the Algerian Stock Market Supervisory Commission (COSOB) on October 23, 2017, this joint note clarifies the regulatory treatment of block transactions and large orders under Article 104 of the General Stock Exchange Regulations. It establishes that a block transaction requires simultaneous agreement on volume (equal to or exceeding the normal block size) and execution terms between buyer and seller intermediaries prior to exchange declaration. The directive further specifies that block authorization merely permits off-exchange execution with flexible pricing advantages rather than mandating it, and allows parties to instead submit full-volume orders directly to the central order book under standard market rules if they prefer not to utilize off-exchange benefits.