Singapore, 29 September 2004 - For the fourth year in a row, average daily trading volumes of treasury activities have risen. According to the Monetary Authority of Singapore's (MAS) Survey of Singapore Treasury Activities 2003, average daily treasury volumes rose almost 21% from US$139 billion in 2002 to US$168 billion in 2003. The 2004 BIS Triennial Survey of Foreign Exchange (forex) and Derivatives Market Activity released yesterday showed that Singapore remains the world's fourth largest forex centre and the second largest in Asia after Tokyo.

2   These developments were highlighted in the welcome remarks by Jacqueline Loh, Executive Director of MAS' Reserve & Monetary Management Department, at the 2nd Asiamoney Foreign Exchange Forum held at the Ritz-Carlton Millennia Singapore today.

3   The MAS survey showed that the number of treasury professionals continued to rise by nearly 6%, to over 3,000 executives in 2003, in line with the strong performance in the industry. Treasury revenues remained relatively stable last year, reaching a high of S$4.5 billion in 2003. Industry players have indicated that this robust performance has continued through to the first half of 2004.

2003 Survey of Singapore Treasury Activities (168.4 KB)