SGX opens derivatives office in HK to target Greater China

SINGAPORE Exchange (SGX) has opened a derivatives office in Hong Kong to deepen its presence in the Greater China region, the market operator announced on Monday.

The Chinese market took on greater importance for SGX in late 2014 as the start of the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect trading link drove up interest in SGX's China A50 futures. Those contracts were seen as a hedging instrument and as a proxy to a market that was expected to benefit from the easing of access to the Shanghai stock market.

Single-day volume on the China A50 futures hit a high of 594,551 contracts in January.

Chew Sutat, executive vice-president of SGX, said that the exchange's Hong Kong operations have been growing partly due to products that include contracts for gold, iron ore, offshore renminbi and other foreign exchange pairs.

"As we grow our presence in Greater China, our international network and connectivity will provide additional Asia-based offerings and bring the financial markets and participants of Hong Kong and Singapore more closely together," Mr Chew said in a statement.

SGX shares were trading at S$7.84 as at 2:22pm on Monday.