OPENING

1. Good morning and a very warm welcome to everyone here today. Thanks for joining us in launching the 2023 Singapore Trading Festival bright and early on a Saturday morning.

2. After two years of holding this event virtually, we are really thrilled to be able to have so many of you here in person. Nothing beats the buzz of meeting and interacting directly, especially when we are engaging each other on the Human Theatre of Markets.

EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED

3. The romantic Theatre of the Covid bull run has given way to truly spectacular Drama, Comedy, Tragedy. With a healthy serving of Fantasy and Science Fiction too, if the last few weeks are anything to go by.

4. Cyber, Crypto, Carbon, China, Carry. But no more Corona, thankfully. We have a fireside chat right after this. Charlie Chan, a legendary trader and money manager, in conversation with SGX’s very own Geoff Howie. Look, the lessons of financial history keep reminding us to prepare that there will not be an easy unwinding of many years of cheap money and low interest rates. It’s a Trading Market now. And so, our eminent speakers and panellists throughout this year’s Singapore Trading Festival will touch on many important forward-looking themes to focus your market analysis on.

5. Some of the themes being touched on include making a call on the Fed. We are back to an era of watching central banks, and economic data. The distinct opportunities in Asian markets. The increasing need to get really well educated on environmental factors, specifically on how markets are increasingly going to price climate and biodiversity as risk factors and opportunities. The impact of China reopening in 2023 and reminding ourselves traders and investors that when interest rates go up, discounting the future will cost you more and therefore, profitable companies with strong business models muscle ahead compared to profit-free dream chasers.

THE POWER OF ASIA

6. War is back. Both cold wars and hot wars mean the delinking of the politics and economics of the major economic blocs in the world. In the very near future, four out of the five largest economies in the world will be Asian. #1 China, #3 India, #4 Japan, #5 Indonesia. Everyone in this audience knows that these are very different countries and markets. And so trading and investing across so many different opportunities successfully will require thoughtful homework and research.

7. In fact, not just Indonesia, but rather ASEAN, which is in our backyard, is now coming front and centre in economic vibrancy as being a major growth bucket in all investment portfolios. Given that supply chains shifting around and reconfiguring between these five economies, Singapore is the very best vantage point to be managing your ASEAN and Asian exposure from.

REPOSITION, REALLOCATE & RESET

8. At Singapore Exchange, we offer a wide shelf of trading and investment products, and one which retail investors may be most familiar with is our stock market. But most may not be aware that a key hallmark of our stock market is the stable and reliable investment returns that it offers. Singapore’s listed companies which do business across ASEAN and Asia present strong fundamentals and consistent returns to shareholders.

9. The Straits Times index was one of the strongest last year, booking a total return of 8.4%. Just by investing in the SPDR STI ETF from inception 20 over years ago would have given 6% annual total returns with a sensible amount of volatility.

10. Later this year, we look forward to launching the Depository Receipts Link with the Stock Exchange of Thailand. SGX is working to link up and multiply the liquidity and participation across the most exciting ASEAN markets. Thai investors will gain access our world-class REITs while Singapore investors can gain exposure to strong and fast-growing companies in Thailand.

11. Demand is growing in our structured products such as DLCs. With more volatile markets, such leveraged products are also getting more popular for swing trading and event trading.

12. Our ETF shelf continues to expand. We now have a total of 37 ETFs across asset classes, markets and themes. In 2022, we launched three participating ETFs via the Shenzhen-Singapore ETF link, deepening the financial collaboration between Singapore and China. These latest ETFs reflect robust investment appetite in China and climate investing, raising S$300 million at launch. Total ETFs assets are now over S$11 billion.

BIGGER AND BETTER EVENT THIS YEAR

13. So, this year, we have made the trading festival bigger and better, all the more to deliver value added content and connections with the brokers and issuers to help you understand the market better as you build your wealth.

14. Spread over nine days, starting from today until 2 April, you can look forward to at least 20 sessions that will be available to you either in person or online formats. We now have an exciting new segment too – the STF Circuit where you can participate in the sessions organised by various brokers and industry partners.

15. So, whether you are an experienced investor or someone who’s just starting on your investing journey, we hope you find the talks and activities over the next eight days useful.

CONCLUSION

16. In closing, let me acknowledge that there is no singular approach to investing that leads to success for every individual. What we hope for you is that you fully utilise the content and participate in the activities that have been carefully curated to provide you with the insights and information so you can continue to sharpen your skills and navigate this ever-evolving market environment.

17. Thank you again for joining us today and all the best in your investing journey.