Singapore Exchange expands in China, names country chief

[SINGAPORE] Singapore Exchange Ltd, which has been struggling to attract large initial public offerings (IPOs), said it is expanding further into China and appointed its listings chief to a new position as the head of its China business.

SGX said in a statement on Wednesday that Lawrence Wong will relocate to China and continue to head the listings business. The exchange has established a wholly foreign-owned enterprise in China and will set up branches in Shanghai and Beijing, in addition to its current representative office in Beijing.

"China is a key market in SGX's strategy for our future growth and international footprint," said Magnus Bocker, chief executive of SGX. "The continual expansion of our on-the-ground presence in China will enable us to better capitalise on long term growth opportunities whether for fund-raising, indices or commodities."

While Singapore is the number one venue in Asia for foreign exchange and has seen strong growth in derivatives trading, the average value of shares traded on its exchange each day is now less than that of Thailand's and trails far behind Hong Kong and Tokyo.

In an interview with Reuters last month, Bocker said he was looking to emulate the much-heralded Stock Connect link between Hong Kong and Shanghai by formally linking together Southeast Asian bourses. Joining Stock Connect or forming a strong separate ASEAN trading link would provide an impetus to Singapore's beleaguered securities market.

REUTERS