SGX To Develop World's First Integrated Trading Engine - Customers To Enjoy Enhanced Trading Capabilities

Singapore Exchange Ltd (SGX) today announced that it will develop the world's first integrated trading engine for its securities and derivatives markets. With the new engine, known as SGX Quest (SGX Quotation and Execution System for Trading), market participants will have a trading platform that supports a host of new products and sophisticated trading strategies. In addition, the new engine will enhance ease of connectivity between SGX and other markets.

SGX Quest will be implemented in the derivatives market by the 3rd quarter of 2004, and the securities market by the first half of 2005. It will be developed by OMHEX, a leading provider of marketplace technology, processing and outsourcing solutions.

SGX expects to spend S$16m to implement the new trading engine. This is within the exchange's annual budget for capital expenditure.

SGX CEO, Hsieh Fu Hua, said, "SGX has always provided all participants with equal and efficient access and transparent price discovery, so we do not have the same debate here as in some other markets. With SGX Quest, retail and institutional investors alike will gain even faster and seamless access to trading and hedging opportunities across the securities and derivatives markets. This is in line with the exchange's focus on serving our customers better."

OMHEX CEO, Magnus Böcker, said, "Our robust, high performance marketplace technology enables effective and quality executions as well as global connectivity - thus broadening the scope for trading and clearing alliances worldwide. In an evolving marketplace such as today, being able to offer global connectivity and multiple markets on one platform will be a key strategic advantage for SGX as we power more than 25 exchanges worldwide."