Local companies should remain core as SGX chases global listings

Exchanges, like governments, need to cater to all constituencies in order to survive.

Too narrow a focus on any sector or line of business can turn investors and traders off, just as governments ignore a segment of voters at their peril. Yet without focus, the risk is that the exchange will lack themes around which to attract trading in.

Singapore Exchange (SGX) CEO Loh Boon Chye's publicly stated focus to attract more consumer and digital tech companies to list on SGX is thus welcome. The two sectors, currently among the hottest globally, have the potential to bring trading excitement back into the exchange. This is especially among international investors who have long scorned the country's bourse for being too small to matter in the developed world, and too unexciting if they are looking for exposure to the emerging world.