This clearing facility for a suite of eighteen OTC products was officially launched by Mrs Lim Hwee Hua, Minister of State for Finance and Transport. (The list of products that can be cleared through SGX AsiaClear? facility is attached in Annex 1.)
SGX is also pleased to announce that it cleared its first OTC oil trade in a deal on fuel oil swap between Bakri Trading and Chemoil International brokered by Ginga Petroleum, an Inter-Dealer Broker. The trades were cleared by ABN AMRO Futures and Fimat Singapore. The first OTC FFA trade cleared was a deal on Panamax Time Charter Basket between Noble Shipping Inc. and IMC Shipping Inc. The trade was brokered by Freight Investor Services Physical and cleared by ABN AMRO Futures and UOB Bullion & Futures.
Fifteen (15) SGX Clearing Members are providing SGX OTC clearing service. There are also 13 participating OTC Inter-Dealer Brokers who are connected to the SGX AsiaClear? facility in order to electronically register customers' OTC trades for SGX clearing. (The list of Clearing Members and OTC Inter-Dealer Brokers are attached in Annex 2.)
Mr Hsieh Fu Hua, Chief Executive Officer, SGX, said, “The SGX AsiaClear? facility for clearing of OTC trades is an important milestone in our vision as an Asian risk management hub as it provides credit risk mitigation to the oil, commodity trading and shipping industries. It also marks the beginning of a close partnership with OTC market participants in Asia including OTC brokers, and augurs well for Singapore's role as an international risk management, oil and commodity trading and maritime centre."
Mr Kola Luu, Executive Director of Financial Markets Strategy, Monetary Authority of Singapore, said, "The launch of SGX's AsiaClear? facility is a good opportunity for Singapore to further strengthen its position as an energy derivatives trading hub and maritime centre. The SGX can also leverage on Singapore's position as Asia's oil pricing centre to develop an efficient regional energy derivatives clearing hub."
BG Tay Lim Heng, Chief Executive, Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore, said, “As Asia’s first clearing facility for Forward Freight Agreements and oil derivatives, the SGX AsiaClear? facility’s broad range of activities will add to Singapore’s vibrancy as an international maritime centre and oil trading hub. I am confident that Asian players will benefit from its global clearing hours as well as SGX’s efficient financial network.”
Ms Gina Lim, Deputy Director, IE Singapore said: "The growth in the global derivatives market, industry liberalisation in Asia, and the increasing demand for more sophisticated risk management tools present opportunities for Singapore to develop into a major risk management hub for commodities. Our pool of international trading companies engaging in significant physical trading and our active OTC oil trading market serve as strong foundations on which we can build."
