Euroclear is to launch a new service for Singapore Government Securities (SGS) early in 2004. The Brussels-based ICSD says the move completes Euroclear’s coverage of Singaporean securities, which already encompasses corporate debt, equities, warrants and investment funds.
Launch of the new service will involve the creation of a link to the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s Electronic Payment System (MEPS), which will be operated by Euroclear’s local agent in Singapore – namely, State-owned DBS Bank Ltd.
This link – which Euroclear says is the first for between the central bank and any national or international central securities depository – aims to
boost liquidity in these instruments by making them more accessible to international broker-dealers, but Singapore is not a large market. The total value of the Singaporean government bond market at the end of September was S$61.95 billion
(approximately Euros 30 billion).
Euroclear Bank first began servicing Singaporean securities in 1991, when it created a link for equities – operated by DBS Bank – to the Central Depository Private Ltd. (CDP).
“Singapore has one of the world’s fastest-growing economies and we are very pleased that our clients will soon be able to settle all of their Singaporean securities transactions with us,” says Wim Claeys, Managing Director, Operations and Network Management, Euroclear Bank. “As Asian debt markets continue to expand, Euroclear intends to work closely with local providers to offer a complementary, low-cost service.”