ong chong tee : regulatory landscape for 2016 – positioning for a dynamic, trusted and vibrant market keynote address by mr ong chong tee, deputy managing director ( financial supervision ) of the monetary authority of singapore, at the sgx equities dialogue 2016, singapore, 28 january 2016. * * * mr loh boon chye, ceo of sgx ladies and gentlemen good afternoon. i am delighted to join you at the inaugural sgx equities dialogue. a challenging start 1. 2016 has started on a challenging note for global stock markets. the first trading week of this year alone saw global markets losing close to s $ 3 trillion, 1 led by sharp declines in the chinese stock market. the sti index has fallen by more than 20 % during the last 12 months to the lowest level since october 2011. oil prices are testing lows last seen in 2004 and many other commodity prices are also under downward pressure. 2. the prevailing negative market sentiments reinforce the importance of various measures undertaken by both mas and sgx together with different market stakeholders, to build a more robust and resilient financial market. these include areas relating to capital, liquidity and margin rules, infrastructure resilience and so on ; all of which complement various measures on promoting high standards of professional conduct, improved corporate disclosures as well as retail investor education. we have also worked with the industry at large on regular stress tests and crisis management exercises. the current uncertain macroeconomic and market environments underscore the importance of staying vigilant to new or growing risk areas and vulnerabilities. 3. but it is also important not to lose sight of the long - term positives. our capital markets continue to attract a diverse range of players and activities. besides sgx, international exchange groups such as the intercontinental exchange ( ice ) and eurex, have or will establish exchanges and clearing houses in singapore. these will add to the vibrancy of our exchange landscape in parallel with the continued growth in our asset management industry. the last asset management survey done for 2014 showed robust growth in total assets under management, with assets under management increasing by 30 % to s $ 2. 4 trillion. there is clearly a role for our capital markets to help match savers and users of capital and in the management of financial risks. 4. the sgx equities dialogue this afternoon is a good occasion for sharing, discussion and reflection on developments affecting our securities market. allow me to use this address to

they are members of exchanges or not. bis central bankers ’ speeches exchanges, depending on the type of products that they offer, may need to impose differentiated requirements on different members depending on the assessment of product risks and credit worthiness of their members, which may or may not be regulated by mas. protocols on information sharing between mas and exchanges ’ sro units will hence be mapped out. 30. at a broader level, we believe this change will lead to greater supervisory efficiency and better system - wide risk management. while exchanges will retain their regulatory responsibilities in terms of member supervision, their resources can be concentrated on the supervision of members with significant risk exposures on their respective exchange. this can include members which are not under mas ’ oversight such as those based overseas. market surveillance 31. the mas on our part will be enhancing our surveillance capabilities both within and across markets. the presence of multiple exchanges, each focused on its own markets, can give rise to blind spots as each exchange may not have the complete picture of common members ’ exposure and activities. there are also certain markets such as in the otc derivatives space that are not under the direct surveillance of exchanges. 32. hence mas, as the statutory regulator, will be in a better position to aggregate and review different pools of information in the activities across exchanges and market sectors to anticipate possible risk and to investigate potential misconduct and market abuses. 33. advancement in technology, particularly in the field of data analytics, has brought about enhanced surveillance techniques. in terms of capacity building, the mas will enhance our analytics and thematic studies of big datasets to detect hitherto complex patterns, for potential market misconduct and abuses. 34. what all these mean, is that in each market, both the exchange and mas will be looking out for potential risks, albeit based on different parameters. this will increase the robustness of the overall oversight of market activities. robust enforcement and market discipline 35. these enhancements to our surveillance efforts will complement, in a significant way, our enforcement actions against market misconduct. the objective is on early detection as well as to support more expedient investigations and tough enforcement actions. this will also augment our toolkit to combat misdemeanors such as market manipulation and insider trading. 36. mas has and will spare no effort to investigate any serious market misconduct and to take appropriate enforcement action. this is not always an easy task because investigations into market misconduct often involve complex and large scale relationships, which will necess