Singapore, 25 September 2007...According to the latest survey by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), average daily foreign exchange (FX) turnover volume in Singapore jumped 84% from the previous survey in 2004, to reach US$231 billion in 2007. The survey ranks Singapore as the fifth largest FX centre in the world and the second largest in Asia, closely behind Tokyo.
2 The BIS Triennial Central Bank Survey – FX and Derivatives Market Activity in 2007 (www.bis.org/press/p070925.htm ) – which is for the reporting month of April this year, shows that Singapore’s FX market continues to be international in character, with the major currencies such as US Dollar, Japanese Yen and Euro dominating turnover volumes.
3 The survey also ranks Singapore as eighth largest centre globally in terms of over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives trading, up from twelfth position in 2004. The average daily OTC derivatives turnover in April 2007 increased threefold to US$68.6 billion, compared to US$17 billion in 2004. FX derivatives accounted for an average daily turnover of US$11.3 billion while single currency derivatives stood at US$57.3 billion.
4 The BIS survey uses a submission basis based on where the FX or derivatives transaction originated (ie point of sales). Fifty banks in Singapore were involved in the survey. The Singapore Foreign Exchange Market Committee carries out a semi-annual FX survey of the top trading banks in Singapore, in co-ordination with committees in New York, London, Tokyo and Canada. This survey is based on a trading desk basis. The last survey done for the month of April 2007 had put average daily FX turnover at around US$223 billion for the top 30 FX banks in Singapore alone.
5 Mr Ong Chong Tee, Deputy Managing Director, MAS, said, “The BIS as well as the SFEMC surveys affirm Singapore’s continued strong growth as a key foreign exchange centre in the world. A number of financial institutions have chosen Singapore as their Asian FX trading hub, and several have been expanding their operations here.”
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