Mondo Visione Worldwide Financial Markets Intelligence

FTSE Mondo Visione Exchanges Index: 99,904.80 +376.50

Opening Speech By Loh Boon Chye, CEO Of SGX, At The Singapore Iron Ore Forum 2021

Date 13/07/2021

1. Good afternoon all and welcome to the Singapore Iron Ore Forum. We are privileged to have you with us today as we come together again after a brief hiatus last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.


2. The forum is well-known to the industry and is the highlight of our annual Singapore International Ferrous Week. Some of you will better remember this to be the Singapore Iron Ore Week.

3. It is very timely that the forum is being held to discuss the opportunities and challenges facing the industry today. We have seen a boom in demand for resource commodities as economies recover from the pandemic. While this has prompted calls of a new commodities “supercycle”, many aspects of supply chain logistics face challenges.

4. Iron ore prices, like those of many other commodities, have continued to climb higher, underscoring the need for effective price risk management amid heightened volatility.  

5. As the world’s second largest commodity, iron ore is viewed upon as a leading economic barometer. Almost two-thirds of all seaborne iron ore goes to China, attracting strong investor interest due to its correlation with growth in the world’s second largest economy, and by extension, the global one.

6. It is for this reason that we see increasing depth and breadth of participation in iron ore derivatives, and we expect this trend to continue as iron ore demand continues to grow, and as it makes big strides towards inclusion into key commodity indices.

7. Singapore’s role as a commodities trading and risk management hub is complemented by the neutral, credible and robust function of price discovery that SGX brings.

8. As an independent arbiter of prices, we will continue to build upon all aspects of our market infrastructure – in pricing, platform resilience, and product innovation.

9. This is demonstrated in the way we have pioneered the iron ore derivatives market more than a decade ago, and since then building a successful ecosystem that delivers solutions that shape the way market participants invest and manage risks.

10. We continue to work closely with the market to drive sustainability and innovation. Following the successful launch of the 65% iron ore contract that is growing in footprint, we launched a new China rebar contract referencing Shanghai rebar prices, which represents a breakthrough for market participants to access China’s domestic steel market.

11. Our ferrous offering is complemented by our leadership in freight derivatives. We have grown our 20% market share just five years ago to over 60% today through delivering capital-efficient solutions for our clients.

12. As an international derivatives hub, our risk management solutions constantly evolve to better serve our ecosystem. This includes being able to help the ecosystem progress to a more sustainable future, such as by integrating ESG considerations into investment portfolios, or facilitating a smoother transition to cleaner energy sources.

13. To that end, we are excited to be leading various initiatives across different asset classes. In May we announced we will be launching a carbon exchange by the end of the year, and just last month we expanded our pan-Asia shelf of benchmark equity derivatives by launching the world's first ESG REIT contracts.

14. We will similarly be working with the commodities ecosystem to potentially introduce greener contracts next year, such as scrap and battery metals, and transition to a more sustainable future.

15. We are truly glad to have this forum to gather industry leaders and experts together in one place. While we are unable to meet in-person this year, we hope that this virtual event gives us the opportunity to discuss how we can continue to navigate market and industry uncertainties as we emerge from the pandemic.  

16. Once again, we would like to thank everyone who made this year’s event possible - MTI, Enterprise Singapore, E-Steel, event and media partners, clearing members, clients and sponsors. Thank you.