Such cross-border investigations present additional challenges, as crucial evidence may be situated beyond the jurisdictional reach of enforcement agencies and require coordination by multiple agencies globally. 37. I am pleased to note that the joint investigations arrangement between MAS and the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) which commenced last year for all potential market misconduct offences has facilitated greater efficiency in the enforcement process and enabled both agencies to pursue more effective enforcement outcomes. There have been queries on the status of the investigations by MAS and CAD in the penny stocks debacle; it is still premature for me to comment but I just want to note that this is a complex exercise that is ongoing and involves reviewing vast amounts of trade data from more than 500 trading accounts (both local and overseas), requiring our investigators to obtain and comb through more than 20,000 communication messages, many witnesses and other pieces of potential  BIS central bankers’ speeches  5  evidence. Investigations are at an advanced stage and charges are likely to be filed against the responsible parties in the course of this year. 38. Notwithstanding the complexity of current or future investigations, our enforcement agencies will be relentless in our pursuit of persons who break our securities laws. We will also seek criminal actions or higher civil penalties in appropriate cases to send the right deterrent message. I encourage you to read our Capital Markets Enforcement monograph which outlines our philosophy and approach to enforcement. 39.

Many of these standards are implemented through the exchanges’ own business rules to ensure fair and orderly trading. 9. This brings me to the subject of SGX as a self-regulatory organisation or SRO. Singapore’s capital markets operate under a dual-level regulatory framework. The MAS is the statutory regulator, and we have the broad mandate of overseeing the proper functioning of financial markets, including exchanges like the Singapore Exchange (SGX) and newer entrants such as ICE Futures Singapore (ICE Futures) and EUREX. The MAS, as you all know, is an integrated financial supervisor and our Capital Markets Group performs the equivalent regulatory functions as other standalone securities regulators including the SEC in the US, the SFC in Hong Kong or ASIC in Australia; our regulatory powers encompass policy making, supervision and enforcement. 10. The exchanges, with their frontline interface with industry players, traders and investors, perform complementary and important roles in ensuring fair, orderly and transparent markets. The exchanges are accountable to MAS on how they exercise these regulatory responsibilities. 11. Questions have been raised, and quite understandably so, on whether a listed for-profit exchange can discharge its role as a regulator. 12. In Singapore, this issue has been reviewed periodically since the demutualisation and merger of the Stock Exchange of Singapore (SES) and Singapore International Monetary Exchange (SIMEX) in 1999, to form SGX. It is important to be mindful of what the SRO function entails. 13. Let me elaborate. The SRO function goes beyond listings, which has been the main area of focus.