Singapore is waving Asia's growth card after it recorded new highs in daily trade volume for 2012. With global FX and equities volumes nearly falling by 30%, 2012 has been a year to forget for most executing venues, (on-Exchange and OTC) however Asia has been the focus as the next major growth story with the Asian Development Bank seeing economic growth at 6.1% for the worlds most populous continent and home to the second and third largest economies of the world. SGX saw the highest growth in derivatives trading.
Singapore Exchange’s (SGX) derivatives and commodities markets achieved several new record highs in both December and the full year.
The Strait Times Index is trading at 3,233.62.
Securities market performance as measured by the Straits Times Index was up 20% in 2012. However as in most global markets, trading activities declined. Nevertheless, securities trading in December grew strongly from a year earlier.
Securities
Turnover declined 12% in 2012 to S$321.5 billion; securities average daily value (SDAV) was 12% down at S$1.3 billion.
In December, turnover was up 39% from a year earlier at S$23.2 billion; SDAV grew 46% to S$1.2 billion.
Derivatives
Volume in 2012 reached a new high of 80.2 million contracts, up 11%; daily average volume also grew 11% to a new high of 326,595 contracts.
Open interest reached a new high of 2.95 million contracts on 13 December.
In December, volume was up 55% from a year earlier at 8.0 million contracts; daily average volume grew 67% to a record-high 402,920 contracts.
Commodities
Volume of agri-commodity futures grew 56% in 2012 to 255,815 contracts. December volume grew 18% year-on-year to 20,442 contracts.
Volume of commodity Swaps cleared in 2012 grew 74% to 332,465 contracts. In December, volume cleared grew 80% year-on-year to 22,036 contracts.
OTC Financial Derivatives Clearing
Volume of OTC interest rate swaps cleared totalled S$316 billion notional since the November 2010 launch. New trades cleared in 2012 totalled S$85 billion, up 39% year-on-year. In December, volume of new trades cleared was S$2.3 billion, up 91% from a year earlier.
Other Key Highlights
Stock market capitalisation grew 20% in 2012 to S$935 billion.
Bond listings reached a three-year high of S$183.1 billion in 2012, up 49% from the previous year. There were 390 bond listings in 2012, up 36%. The biggest listings during the year were the US$2.25 billion Indonesian sovereign bonds and the US$2 billion Nippon Life Insurance 30-year bond. In December, 16 bond listings raised S$5.4 billion. The value of listings was down 35% from a year earlier. The largest bond listing in December was the US$1 billion Mongolian government bond.
SGX’s newer derivative contracts continued to gain traction, posting strong volume growth in December and all of 2012. China A50 futures volume tripled in 2012 to a new high of 10 million contracts. Trading of the contract also reached a new one-month high of 1.7 million contracts in December after achieving a record one-day volume of 196,968 contracts on 18 December.
Nikkei Dividend Index futures volume more than doubled in 2012 to a new high of 152,554 contracts. In December, volume was up 25% from a year earlier at 5,533 contracts.
Volume of the Indian Nifty futures contracts in 2012 reached a new high 14.7 million contracts, up 0.3%. December volume grew 4% year-on-year to 1.2 million contracts.
SICOM rubber futures volume grew 55% in 2012 to 255,815 contracts. In December, volume was up 21% year-on-year to 20,442 contracts.
Volume of iron ore swaps cleared in 2012 more than doubled to 217,803 contracts, a new record high. In December, volume more than doubled to 18,968 contracts from a year earlier.
