SGX president sees expansion into forex futures, equity options

[SYDNEY] Singapore Exchange will let investors trade options and expand its futures contracts beyond equities into foreign exchange, the bourse's president said.

"Our efforts today are really to expand beyond just equity futures into things like options and other contracts that will help you cover similar exposures," SGX President Muthukrishnan Ramaswami said in a Bloomberg TV interview in the city-state today. "The second focus we have is on similar FX futures contracts for the same markets."

The exchange on Wednesday posted its first quarterly profit growth in more than a year after a world-beating rally in Chinese stocks spurred demand for derivatives. SGX is benefiting from efforts to attract investors across a broader range of asset classes as appetite for trading shares in Singapore stagnates. Derivatives accounted for 39 per cent of revenue in the quarter, up from 32 per cent a year earlier.

"Today we offer equity futures on pretty much most of Asia," Mr Ramaswami said. "The only one we don't have today that trades on our exchange is Korea, so we continue to work on that."

BLOOMBERG