Featured image by Wikimedia A few bloggers have asked  me about the timeline for rights subscription via Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) online trading account and I would like to share my recent experience from buying OUE Commercial REIT.   [caption id="attachment_120334" align="aligncenter" width="571"] OUE Commercial Trust Timetable[/caption] 1 July 2015 Purchased 1,500 shares of OUE Commercial REIT via SCB Online Trading - received email and SMS confirmation. 3 July 2015 Received the Contract Note (normal mail - issue date 2 July 2015). My Settlement Date is 6 July 2015. 13 July 2015 Two trading days of trading of rights entitlement have passed without any news from SCB. I called SCB at night and was told that I may have missed the dateline. The call centre representative advise me to buy at least three trading days before "ex-rights" date. I was "stunned like vegetable" but to his credit he will ask the trading representative to contact me tomorrow. 14 July 2015 Received a SMS from SCB:

Dear customer, please be informed of a Corporate Action event (RIGHTS ISSUE) for OUE COMMERCIAL REIT - RTS (XXXX) that requires your action. Kindly ensure your account is funded at the point of instruction if you wish to participate in the Corporate Action. Please call our hotline 1800 242 5333 or +6562425333 by 5pm, 21st July 2015 to give your response.

A SCB Trading Representative also contacted me to confirm that I am eligible for rights and asked if I want to do it now. I told him that I will call him back and asked for their operating hours. He replied that I can all them 24 hours a day during market days - hmm... makes me wonder why no one can answer me correctly that night. Monday night is not a market day? 15 July 2015 Received Receipt/Withdrawal Confirmation (normal mail - issue date 11 July 2015) that I am have 675 rights shares. 16 July 2015 Received a mail from SCB on OUE Corporate Announcement (normal mail - issue date 14 July 2015) on the rights exercise and the options available. 20 July 2015 I called SCB at 2350hrs (wanted to verify if they are open 24 hours). I subscribed to my allocated rights (675) plus excess rights (2,825) - I have to ensure that I have sufficient funds in my account to pay for both allocated and excess rights. A trading representative will call me again tomorrow to confirm. Seems to give the impression that all centre representatives work 24 x 7 while trading representative work during office hours only. [I will give SCB the benefit of the doubt, their trading representatives are all busy that night]. 21 July 2015 A trading representative called to verify my subscription and checked again that I have sufficient funds in my trading account. 26 July 2015 There is no email or SMS confirmation that my subscription has been processed. I check my trading account and there was no deduction yet. Just as I was about to call SCB, I realised that I missed out an important statement - "Fund debit date: 27/07/2015". The fund debit date is also the OUE actual last date for application and payment. I wonder what is the purpose of ensuring that I have sufficient funds when the deduction will only happen later. SCB did not 'freeze' the amount either. In normal circumstances if I apply for rights via ATM, the money will be deducted immediately and I will have a receipt. 28 July 2015 I checked that the money has been deducted from my trading account. I am pleasantly surprised that there was no admin charge for rights subscription. I saved $2. LoL. 31 July 2015 Received Receipt/Withdrawal Confirmation (normal mail - issue date 29 July 2015) that 675 ex-rights shares have been removed from my account. A blogger friend commented that based on OUE time table I should also be informed on my excess rights application. I checked my online trading account and there was no refund. I guess I will just have to wait till 5 Aug to confirm the number of rights I am allocated. I will not be surprised if I received a confirmation only after 5 Aug. In the meantime, I will continue to check my trading account. 6 August 2015 I finally see a refund in my SCB trading account and a update in my Securites Trading Account. I now have 3,200 shares (1,500 existing + 675 entitled + 1,025 excess). Summary

• I believe one can buy on the last day of the "cum-rights" trading and be eligible for the rights - I bought mine one day before.
• Takes 5 and 6 working days to receive a notification via SMS and mail respectively to inform me about my rights. At least 2 trading days of trading of rights entitlement would have passed. May be an issue for those who intend to sell off their rights as early as possible.
• 5 working days to take action. This is 4 working days faster than the stated date in OUE Commercial REIT Timetable.
• SCB dateline also falls on the same date as OUE Commercial REIT "Close of trading of rights entitlement" date. I'm not sure if this is coincidental or planned.
• There will be no email or SMS confirmation during the entire rights exercise.
• With the reduced broad lot size, applying for excess rights is no longer straightforward. Chances of making a 'killing' via rights is dramatically reduced. Read here about another blogger recent rights experience.

Imagine owning 10 times the amount of OUE shares - applying for rights with SCB is going to be an 'exhilarating" roller coaster ride! Hopefully with this post, readers will know what to expect. Did  you also encounter 'issues' with your rights experience? If so, I will love to hear from you and also serve as a good information for the community.