Singapore Remains Largest Foreign Exchange Centre In Asia-Pacific

SINGAPORE, Sept 2 (Bernama) -- Singapore remains the largest foreign exchange centre in Asia-Pacific and third largest globally after London and New York, according to the 2016 Triennial Central Bank Survey of the global foreign exchange and over-the-counter derivatives markets by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS). The average daily trading volume of Singapore's foreign exchange market was US$517 billion (US$1=RM4.08) in April 2016, up 35 per cent from US$383 billion in April 2013. Singapore's share of global foreign exchange volume has grown to 7.9 per cent in 2016, from 5.7 per cent three years ago. In a statement Thursday, Monetary Authority of Singapore's (MAS) Deputy Managing Director, Jacqueline Loh, said Singapore was the pre-eminent marketplace in Asia for global and regional banks, non-bank financial institutions and corporate treasurers to manage their foreign exchange risks. "MAS is working with the industry to build further on this lead. We are looking to further enhance price discovery, liquidity and transparency in our foreign exchange market by strengthening electronic trading capabilities and anchoring market infrastructure," she said. The expansion in Singapore's foreign exchange market was chiefly driven by growth in Group of 10 and Asian currencies such as the yuan (78 per cent), yen (67 per cent), British pound (60 per cent) and South Korean won (55 per cent). Foreign exchange swaps made up the largest traded foreign exchange product class in Singapore and accounted for 48 per cent of all trades, followed by spot (24 per cent) and foreign exchange forwards (20 per cent). Interest rate derivatives market also registered strong growth, with average daily volumes surging 57 per cent to US$58 billion in April 2016, compared to US$37 billion in April 2013, the second highest in Asia. The most actively-traded instruments were Australian dollar (25 per cent), Singapore dollar (18 per cent) and yen (13 per cent) interest rate derivatives. The BIS has published the preliminary global results Thursday at http://www.bis.org/publ/rpfx16.htm?m=6%7C35), with a detailed analysis to follow in December 2016. Central banks of many other countries are also publishing their own survey results; links to their websites can be found on the BIS’ website. -- BERNAMA