What is the Singapore market's USP?

IT'S no secret that conditions in the local stock market are poor and have been that way for many months. Liquidity is low, retail brokers are disillusioned with their dwindling income and deteriorating working conditions and the retail public appears to have abandoned the market in droves.

In a bid to shore up confidence and attract investors back into local equities, a consultation paper was recently issued on measures to strengthen the market.

It might be that the proposals and various suggestions from the public, if adopted, could spark some life in a moribund Singapore market. But one can't shrug off the nagging feeling that this is simply papering over the cracks, short-term stopgaps that can't hide the fundamental problem afflicting the Singapore stock market: it lacks what marketeers label a Unique Selling Point (USP).