What is the Singapore Exchange?

The Singapore Exchange, listed as SGX, is a financial exchange located in Singapore. It is one of the most prominent financial markets in Southeast Asia and plays an important role in the economy of the region. As with other financial exchanges, the Singapore Exchange publicly lists information about the volume and trend of trading for the benefit of people interested in monitoring trading activity, and it has a number of indexes of various financial products used for assessing financial health in the region. Financial news in regions outside of Asia often includes reports on the Singapore Exchange for interested investors.

This exchange was established in 1999 with a merger between the Singapore International Monetary Exchange and the Stock Exchange of Singapore. It lists both securities and derivatives, and within a decade after it was established, it had almost 800 listings. In 2000, the exchange held an initial offering and became publicly traded; shares in the exchange are traded on the exchange itself. As the first Asian financial exchange to do this, the Singapore Exchange established a foothold in the financial market and set a precedent.

An electronic trading system is used on this exchange to facilitate rapid and accurate trades. People interested in trading must apply to do so and will need to meet requirements set by the exchange. Likewise, companies must apply to be listed. This is designed to maintain the integrity of the exchange and increase trader confidence. People usually start trading at the exchange under the sponsorship of a firm.

Trading hours at the Singapore Exchange vary, depending on what kinds of products are involved. Securities and derivatives have different trading schedules and within the derivatives market, there are a number of different schedules for trading hours. After hours trading is permitted for some kinds of products, allowing traders to keep pace with developments in the global market and to take favorable positions for the next day of trading. Like other exchanges, the Singapore Exchange is closed on major holidays.

In addition to playing a prominent role in the economy of Singapore, the Singapore Exchange is also a force in the Asian market at large. Changes in trading can have a ripple effect and company fortunes may rise and fall in response to how they are viewed by traders. Financial regulators monitor this and other exchanges for signs of illegal or questionable activity with the goal of identifying threats to the economy and addressing them before they fully develop.