Singapore’s financial watchdog will require traders to report their short selling positions on securities listed at the Singapore Exchange (SGX).
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (SGX) will implement the requirements from 1 October this year, which they state “will improve transparency on short selling activities in the securities market and enable investors to make more informed trading decisions.”
Under the new rules, investors with short positions above a certain threshold will have to report these positions to the MAS through a new online portal.
MAS will then publish the aggregated short positions of each securities on the Wednesday of every week.
The go-live of the new rules comes after a two-year consultation launched by MAS, amid a growing number of public short-selling campaigns against listed companies in the region.
The regulator said at the time the rules will aim to “enhance price discovery and maintain market discipline.
Other regulators such as the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) and European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) have passed similar strict rules on short selling.
Short selling involves the sale of a security that the seller does not own, or has borrowed, believing that the security’s price will decline so that it can be profitably bought back at a lower price.