Friday, July 31, 2009

Asia needn't follow Europe, US: Bocker

Business Times - 31 Jul 2009

By JAMIE LEE

(SINGAPORE) Asia may not see the same level of consolidation as European bourses, said Singapore Exchange's (SGX) newly appointed chief executive Magnus Bocker yesterday.

The outgoing president of the world's largest exchange Nasdaq OMX said that, contrary to the West, Asian bourses have various regulatory structures and growth phases.

'The developments we've seen in Europe and to some extent in the US, I don't think we'll see them mimicked in the same way in Asia,' said Mr Bocker, who crafted the acquisition of several exchanges in the Baltic states and engineered the US$3.7 billion merger between OMX and Nasdaq in 2008.

'Just as the (Asian) market is without M&A, it has a lot of growth prospects. From that perspective, M&A isn't the highest priority,' added Mr Bocker, who was speaking to the local press for the first time.

The strategy of attracting foreign listings, including Chinese companies, is unlikely to change, he said.

He added that New York, London and Singapore have succeeded in riding the trend of Chinese companies listing abroad.

'Why shift that (strategy) if that's one of the strengths?' he said. He declined to comment about the S-chips that have reported dodgy accounts.

SGX chairman JY Pillay said at the start of the press conference: 'It may well be that our strategy requires modification but Magnus is not entering a broken organisation that requires a complete overhaul.'

Mr Bocker said that there was a lot of potential in developing high-frequency trading in Singapore.

He declined to comment on the potential conflict of interest in SGX being both a regulator and a listed stock exchange but said that, in general, any division of roles should be thought through carefully.

Mr Bocker - who was selected through a head-hunting firm after a near-six- month search - said he was initially reluctant to join SGX as his family enjoyed being in New York.

'It wasn't love at first sight,' said Mr Bocker, who will be working in Asia for the first time.

But his three sons, who last visited in May, were 'charmed' by Singapore, while he was drawn to the good food here.

'It was my oldest son who was the last trigger,' said Mr Bocker. 'He said: 'You always persuade me to take the challenge. So, of course, you'll take this one.' '

The avid runner has already eased into Singapore. After arriving at around 5am on Wednesday, Mr Bocker went for a jog two hours later around Botanic Gardens before showing up for work at 9am.

'We're going house and school hunting tomorrow,' he said.

Mr Bocker takes over from Hsieh Fu Hua on Dec 1. Mr Hsieh, who led SGX for around six years, declined to reveal any plans after he steps down but said returning to corporate finance firm PrimePartners is a possibility.

No comments:

Archive

Followers