Singapore

Conduct, Culture & Accountability

MAS Raises Conduct Concerns in Financial Advisory Sector

By Editors | 15/07/2019

The MAS has commenced a review of the disciplinary frameworks at financial advisory firms, with a view to eventually sharing best practices and developing further guidance.

Clearing & Post-Trade

CFTC Eases Foreign Clearinghouse Access to US Customers

By Manesh Samtani | 15/07/2019

An alternative compliance regime will be provided for non-US DCOs registered with the CFTC, while exempt DCOs will be allowed to offer clearing through foreign intermediaries.

Trading & Investment

SGX Launches New Trading Engine from Nasdaq

By Editors | 15/07/2019

The upgrade standardises and unifies SGX’s operations, messaging and data infrastructure, enabling greater flexibility, speed and cost-efficiency when launching new products and services.

Tokenisation

Singapore Marks Launch of First Private Exchange with First Listing

By Editors | 13/07/2019

Backed by SGX and licensed by MAS, 1exchange takes private companies’ shares and puts them into an SPV to back digital tokens that can then be listed and traded by investors.

Anti-Money Laundering

OCBC to Speed Up Police Investigations with Automated Data Retrieval

By Editors | 11/07/2019

OCBC Bank and the Singapore Police Force are collaborating on a new project to reduce the amount of time it takes for investigators to access banking information to just 1-2 days.

Structural Regulation

SGX RegCo Announces Changes to Voluntary Delisting Rules

By Editors | 11/07/2019

The new rules require exit offers in conjunction with voluntary delistings to be both “reasonable” and “fair”, and exclude the offeror and concert parties from the shareholder vote.

Market Abuse

Singapore Convicts Three Front-Runners Under Insider Trading Laws

By Editors | 11/07/2019

Two First State equity dealers told a UOB Kay Hian remisier about their firm’s intended orders to front-run trades in 100 counters, leading to over S$8mn in insider trading profits over 8 years.

Cryptocurrency

Singapore Proposes GST Exemption for Digital Token Payments

By Editors | 09/07/2019

Transactions involving digital tokens or cryptocurrencies that function or are intended to function as a medium of exchange will be exempt from GST.

Fraud, Scams & Cybercrime

Former Barclays Singapore Director Gets 13-Year Jail Term

By Editors | 05/07/2019

The former private banker forged signatures and documents to siphon off $10mn from client bank accounts between 2010 and 2013.