Singapore Exchange Limited (SGX) witnessed a record year in derivatives and ETFs market. In 2008 SGX’s derivatives volume was almost 62 million contracts. Total trading value of SGX-listed ETFs in 2008 was S$2.94 billion.
The positive derivatives result surpasses its previous record volume in 2007 by nearly 38%. By September 2008, turnover in the total futures and options market had already surpassed that for the whole of 2007. This was followed by a record month in October, when 6,863,420 contracts were traded.
Trading in the CNX Nifty Index Futures grew more than eight-fold to 12,435,118 contracts. The yen-denominated Nikkei 225, MSCI Taiwan and MSCI Singapore futures contracts also registered double-digit growth figures.
ETFs demonstrated a 155% increase over the previous record of S$1.15 billion registered in 2007. It’s the result of active trading in the iShares MSCI India ETF, Lyxor ETF China Enterprise (HSCEI1), Lyxor ETF India (S&P CNX Nifty), SPDR Gold Shares and streetTRACKS STI2 Fund. The launch of five new ETFs3 on SGX by Lyxor International Asset Management in November 2008, including the first ETF in the region on the MSCI Asia APEX 50 Index, contributed to the increased trades as well.
SGX currently has 24 ETFs covering mainly Asian equity markets such as Singapore, India, Greater China, ASEAN, Korea and Japan; as well as commodities, including gold.
“Our trading records have been set as customers benefit from using our market access products, including futures contracts and ETFs,” says Chew Sutat, executive vice president & head, Market Development, SGX. “Investors can capitalise on our products to seize investment opportunities and manage risks, even in challenging markets.”
“Recent initiatives, such as the launch of the SGX Proximity Hosting Service with Asia’s first sub-millisecond trading access; upgrade of the trading engine with increased functionalities; and continued efforts to expand our global customer base, place us in good stead to grow our derivatives business in 2009 and beyond.”
L.D.