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Singapore exchange chief calls for more cooperation with Hong Kong bourse

Straits Times Index has lost about 20 per cent since Loh Boon Chye’s appointment in July

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Singapore Stock Exchange chief executive Loh Boon Chye has spent the bulk of his career in markets. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Cooperation can be more important than competition for Asia’s stock markets, the head of Singapore’s exchange said on Thursday.

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Singapore Stock Exchange chief executive Loh Boon Chye said working together could grow the pie, but remained quiet on further moves into China by the exchange.

“Access [to China] is clearly a focus for us but it doesn’t necessarily mean a connect,” he said in Hong Kong.

Loh was appointed chief executive of the exchange in July, after previously working as Asia-Pacific head at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, among other roles.

He joined the exchange in the middle of China’s stock market turmoil, which saw the Shanghai market fall by 30 per cent over three weeks in July.

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“Clearly it’s a tough market but I went into this role recognising what environments can be and spending the bulk of my career in markets, you know their cycles. They come and go,” he said.

The general view is that exchanges compete but in my role I’ve actually seen more alliances and cooperation
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