Important to keep up efforts to restore confidence in local market

IF there is an overriding truth about stock markets, it is that confidence is everything. Without it, a market has almost nothing going for it - investors will stop trading, liquidity will dry up and prices eventually drift ever lower.

For this reason, the authorities have been taking steps in recent months to boost confidence. In August, the Singapore Exchange's regulatory arm SGX RegCo announced that although wrongdoings are confined to a small proportion of the market, it will nevertheless be increasing efforts to deter such acts, including setting up a dedicated whistle-blowing office. SGX RegCo also announced that…