Having a meaningful regulatory conversation

SINCE Singapore Exchange Regulation (SGX RegCo) was incorporated as a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Singapore Exchange to take on its frontline regulatory responsibilities, there has been chatter that this change spells more regulation ahead. I find this interesting because if the objective were to increase the number of regulations, there is no need to set up a dedicated subsidiary because adding new regulations is par for the course. It is removing them that is hard.

I would like to explain that our focus as a regulator will sway towards neither more nor less regulation; rather, we want to regulate meaningfully. By meaningful regulation I mean regulation that is meaningful to all market participants, will remain meaningful today and tomorrow, and will produce meaningful outcomes.

When it comes to regulation of capital markets, there is a tendency to focus on investor protection. This is particularly true in Singapore where there is a higher proportion of retail investors compared to the Western jurisdictions. This, however, risks losing sight of the reason that capital markets exist in the first place: which is to help companies grow, stimulate the economy, create more jobs and allow investors to participate in that growth.