SGX Chairman Koh says cash equities business 'needs more work'

The bourse's cash equities market's volume was "subdued" in FY2024.

SGX Group Chairman Koh Boon Hwee said the bourse's cash equities business "needs more work."

Data from SGX's annual report showed that its cash equities market's volume was "subdued."

In FY 2024, cash equities saw a 3.8% YoY decline in traded value, dropping to $253.2b  from $263.2b.

Meanwhile, equities-cash revenue declined by $7.1m or 2.1% YoY to $334.9m.

"Some may argue that the stock market is only one aspect of our financial ecosystem, but it is more like a pillar. We should recognise that if this one pillar were to falter, the whole is put at risk," Koh wrote in a letter to shareholders published on 16 September.

Koh said SGX will take on a more "holistic" approach and give " equal emphasis to the demand side of the marketplace" to further address stock market issues.

Koh said there's also a need for "greater diversity in the demand side of the equation."

"We need to foster an institutional asset-management ecosystem that includes the local stock market. Without domestic institutional demand, we cannot expect to see foreign institutional demand," he said.

"Only when we support our stock market can we attract foreign companies to list here. After all, if we do not support our market, why should we expect others to do so?" he added.