SGX hires TradingScreen to set up Asian bond trading platform

SINGAPORE Exchange (SGX) has hired TradingScreen to create its over-the-counter Asian bond trading platform, TradingScreen announced on Tuesday.

In a statement, SGX president Muthukrishnan Ramaswami said: "Continuing with our tradition of innovation, we were keen to invest in technology that would equip the region with a versatile platform addressing the peculiarities of bond trading within the Asian markets. TradingScreen as our technology platform provider will help us achieve this and will allow us to adapt to clients' needs in the coming years while providing the best trading service for bonds in Asia."

SGX said in November that it plans to roll out the new platform by the middle of 2015. The goal is to create a concentration of liquidity for high-yield and investment-quality corporate bonds. The focus will initially be paper denominated in the G-3 currencies - the US dollar, euro or yen - with local currency debt included later.

Shares of SGX last traded at S$7.25 on Monday, lower by one per cent or seven Singapore cents, before the announcement.