Singapore Exchange (SGX) today launched its first initiatives to enhance the listing, trading and distribution of fixed income products to build a more vibrant bond market in Asia.

These initiatives include drawing more Singapore-listed companies and other organisations to issue bonds for listing and trading on SGX.

The listing and trading of fixed income securities such as preference shares and convertible bonds will also be encouraged. SGX also plans to halve the time taken to approve bond listings by streamlining the processes involved.

By the first quarter of next year, SGX expects to offer an on-exchange secondary market for individual and institutional investors to trade Singapore Government Securities (SGS). SGX’s Central Depository has been a custodian of individual investors’ SGS holdings since 1 April 2010.

The Singapore Exchange (SGX) recently published two educational guides, An Investor’s Guide To Preparing For Annual General Meetings and An Investor’s Guide To Reading Annual Reports, to enhance retail investor knowledge and improve shareholder engagement at annual general meetings (AGM).

The two Guides are now available in both English and Chinese versions and can be downloaded here.

It’s not mentioned in the guides, but the most important part of the AGM actually happens after the end of the formal proceedings.

And in case you are guessing, no, it’s not the food.

No doubt the majority of the people will be rushing to grab (no exaggeration) the food after the AGM, but this is also the best time for you to talk individually to the management and directors. Ask them your questions, and listen to the replies to the questions posed by other investors.

You might not be able to tell everything with just half-an-hour of personal interaction, but you will definitely be able to get a much better feel of the company compared to before. Sometimes, if a company is not right, you will not even need half-an-hour to find out.

SGX will be holding a seminar this Saturday on how you can start an exciting career as a professional futures trader. If you are considering becoming a full-time trader, here is a good opportunity to hear from SGX’s Certified Trainers Leonard (LED) and Tom (YCK).

I have attended one of YCK’s talk before and I liked his candid and practical style of presentation which was not filled with the typical hype you will encounter in a lot of these “trading seminar previews”.

Programme Highlights:

• Introduction to futures trading
• Myths and facts of the futures market
• Life as a professional trader
• Realities and elements of successful professional trading
• Sharing of trading techniques and decision support tools
• Preview on SGX Academy Professional Courses
• Technical Analysis for the Professional Trader (Intermediate Level)
• Advanced Trading Analysis with Interactive Trading and Professional Mentoring (Advanced level)

Who should attend:

• Existing traders who are looking to enhance their trading skills
• Saavy retail investors who are keen to take the next step and make futures trading as a career
• Current working professionals who are keen to explore futures trading as a career

Date : 19 Dec 09 (Sat)

Time : 9:30 AM – 12:30 PM
Venue : SGX Auditorim (Level 2)
Fee : S$ 0

Level : Intermediate

For more information, call 63275438 or email to register@sgxacademy.com

SGX and SPH announced on Friday that they plan to develop a free financial portal for retail investors. The site is targeted for launch in the second half of 2010.

The portal aims to provide the investing public integrated content from both SGX and SPH. In one comprehensive website, users will be able to obtain SGX’s live market data, company announcements, research reports, regulatory news as well as SPH’s breaking news on companies and stock markets.

In addition, users will have access to an Investor Relations (IR) section maintained by SPH-owned ShareInvestor.com (SI), which is a financial internet media and technology company. The IR section provides users corporate information of over 200 companies listed on SGX.

The English version will be launched first, followed by the Chinese version.

Personally, I find the navigation of the present SGX website quite lacking when it comes to reading and searching for company announcements. Hopefully, the new site will offer something much better. For a start, at least most of the information can be found at one location.

A seminar teaching the fundamentals of investing will be jointly organised by SGX, SIAS and MoneySENSE. This free seminar aims to teach beginners key investment themes which includes:

• Basics of investing in listed and unlisted securities;
• Managing credit, risks and returns; and
• Responsible investing and creating a sensible investment plan

The topics that will be covered are:

1. Investing in Securities: Back to Basics

• How does a Securities Market work?
• Introduction to Investments
• The credit crisis problem explained
• Strategies: sector rotation & portfolio construction

2. Technical analysis tools to manage risks and return

• Overview of charting types & techniques
• Basic chart patterns & trends
• Managing risks & returns

3. Creating a Sensible Financial Plan & Responsible Investing

• Assess Where You Are Now Financially
• Design a Plan To Reach Your Goals
• Risk Management
• Implement & Monitor the Plan

The seminar will be repeated 4 times on 31st Jan, 7th and 28th Feb, and 7th Mar 09 and will be held at SGX Auditorim (Level 2) , 2 Shenton Way, SGX Centre 1 from 1pm to 630pm.

As of this posting, the first session on 31st Jan 09 is already fully booked (200 seats).

You can click on the links below to register for the other sessions. 

7th Feb 2009

28th Feb 2009

7th Mar 2009