Loh Boon Chye, CEO, Singapore Exchange (SGX): Strengthen Market Connectivity; Support China's Internationalisation

To achieve its Five-Year Plan, including its 'dual circulation' and 'new development' strategies, China has continued to promote innovation, digital trade, and sustainable development, making a significant difference in the global landscape. On 13 October, Loh Boon Chye, Vice Chairman of the World Federation of Exchanges (WEF) and CEO of the Singapore Exchange (SGX), delivered a video address at the "Digital Trade and Technology" thematic event during the 2021 Global Digital Trade Conference and the Wuhan (Hankoubei) Commodities Fair.

As an international multi-asset exchange, SGX is a strong supporter of China's internationalisation efforts across equities, fixed income, currencies, and commodities, and ultimately its economic growth, as capital flows and trade flows are inseparably linked. Loh says that the defining trends of our time, whether in digitalisation or sustainability, are borderless, and collaboration is essential to harness their fullest benefits.

At the same time, SGX continues to look for ways to strengthen market connectivity between Singapore and China, and Southeast Asia. SGX's Loh feels that Southeast Asia is fast leapfrogging in digitalisation, as reflected in an increasing number of technology unicorns. Technology is another means to enhance greater connectivity across borders and across multiple asset classes. "Digitalisation has the potential to transform the efficiency of capital markets and advance Asia's capital markets infrastructure," says Loh.

Loh Boon Chye said that Singapore has recently announced a range of initiatives to serve as Asia's leading enterprise financing hub, including establishing an investment fund, a Growth IPO Fund, and enhancing its Grant for Equity Market Singapore (GEMS) scheme. "We are continuing to build a more conducive ecosystem that enables growth capital for companies across their different stages of development, supporting Chinese enterprises as they expand globally."

With the unique position at the centre of the market ecosystem, Exchanges play an important role in their countries' economic development and sustainable society. In closing, Loh reiterated SGX's commitment to support China in its internationalisation journey and look forward to greater collaboration opportunities and mutual success.

The 2021 Global Digital Trade Conference and Wuhan (Hankoubei) Commodities Fair in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China runs through October 26, 2021. The event has attracted representatives from 100+ countries as well as over 10,000 merchants. At the opening, 15 well-known enterprises and institutions from across the country signed a proposal to support the construction of a national trade logistics center in Wuhan. (en.hubei.gov.cn)

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