Singapore Exchange plans 'bolt-on acquisitions' to continue growth

Singapore Exchange (SGX) published on Monday its latest annual report on the occasion of its 25^th anniversary, reporting operating profit up 23% in the year to the end of June to a record S$743m (£427m).

SGX Group chief executive officer Loh Boon Chye reflected in the report on the firm’s successes over the last 25 years while looking ahead to the next phase.

“To complement our organic growth, we will explore opportunistic investments, including bolt-on acquisitions that are strategically aligned and value accretive to the Group. Overall, the investments we make will help create a future-ready infrastructure to support our multi-asset, global expansion.”

Among the successes discussed by Loh were the progress the group has made in futures and options, including in the last 12 months.

“Derivatives volumes rose to new highs, underpinned by robust activity across our product shelf,” Loh said. “Across equities, foreign exchange (FX) and commodities, total daily average volume rose 17% in FY2025, supported by broad-based growth as investors managed risk and sought exposure through our platform.”

The SGX chief executive said the strong volumes were driven partly by increasing demand for the group’s products from outside of Asia.

Loh said: “Overnight volume in the T+1 sessions contributed 21% to total volume compared with 18% a year ago, highlighting the growing relevance of our offering to international participants and reinforcing our venue’s role in connecting global capital to Asia’s key exposures.”

This latest commentary is consistent with observations made last month when the SGX chief executive officer said the firm’s FX derivatives market operating revenue should grow 6%-8% each year over the medium term.

Speaking on an analyst call, SGX president and head of global markets Michael Syn said the exchange is forging ahead with a planned listing of its first perpetual futures contract later this year.

SGX reached agreement in 2021 to acquire foreign exchange trading platform MaxxTrader for $125 million (£92m). The exchange also acquired BidFX in July 2020.