SGX to establish separate company to undertake regulatory functions

THE Singapore Exchange will establish a separate subsidiary company to undertake all the front-line regulatory functions it currently performs, it said on Monday.

"The move aims to further enhance the governance fo SGX as a self-regulatory organisation by making more explicit the segregation of its regulatory functions from its commercial and operating activities," said SGX.

The Singapore Exchange halted the trading of its shares on Monday just before the market opened.

The bourse said the halt was requested to clarify a news report by The Straits Times, which reported rumours that SGX may be planning to set up a separate unit to house its regulatory functions.

In the past, the SGX has faced criticism for the perceived conflict of interest of being a profit-making entity which has to answer to shareholders as well as a market regulator.