新交所寄望"大中華"機遇
For Singapore’s SGX exchange, this month’s launch of a trading link between the Hong Kong and Shanghai equity markets has loomed large, as investors look ever more anxiously at the rise of China’s capital markets.
對新加坡交易所(SGX)而言，本月啓動的滬港通是一塊很大的烏雲，因爲投資者越來越焦慮地關注着中國資本市場的崛起。But far from being unnerved, Magnus Böcker, SGX chief executive, believes the landmark link will actually help his business in the long run.
但新交所首席執行官薄滿樂(Magnus Böcker)非但沒有感到驚慌，反而相信香港和上海之間具有里程碑意義的股市鏈接，從長期看實際上有利於新交所的業務。
“It’s important for all of us in the exchange world that it becomes a success because it shows the importance of connectivity – and that liquidity feeds liquidity,” he says.
“對於交易所圈子的所有人而言，滬港通取得成功是很重要的，因爲它展示出互聯互通的重要性，而流動性會帶來更多流動性，”他說。
One ripple effect from the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect scheme has already been felt in Singapore: trading volume in SGX’s FTSE China A50 index – the only index on Chinese shares available outside China – more than doubled in the quarter ahead of the link’s launch.
滬港通機制的一個漣漪效應已經可以在新加坡感受到：新交所富時中國A50指數(FTSE China A50 index)——中國境外推出的唯一中國股指——的交易量在滬港通啓動前的那個季度增加一倍多。Now, Mr Böcker is working on an Asian link of his own: in September he began talks with the Taiwan stock exchange about connecting markets.
現在，薄滿樂正致力於打造自己的亞洲鏈接：9月，他開始與臺灣證券交易所(Taiwan stock exchange)洽談互連市場。He says that, with Singapore and Taiwan developing rapidly as offshore centres for China’s renminbi, a link with Taiwan opens up “greater China” opportunities for investors.
他表示，鑑於新加坡和臺灣正快速發展成爲人民幣離岸中心，與臺灣互聯互通將爲投資者開啓“大中華”機遇。This, he hopes, will help counteract a torrid year for the equity markets run by SGX. A penny stock scandal a year ago dented investor confidence, and Singapore’s markets have suffered anaemic volumes since. A three-hour trading outage this month has not helped.
他希望，此舉將有助於新交所運行的股票市場擺脫一年來的窘境。一年前的一場細價股醜聞挫傷了投資者的信心，新加坡市場自那以來一直交易低迷。本月發生的三小時交易中斷也於事無補。Singapore has also been hit by de-listings of sizeable mid-cap stocks, as companies have chosen to take businesses private – including CapitaLand, southeast Asia’s biggest property developer, which this summer delisted its shopping mall operating unit, CapitaMalls Asia.
新加坡也受到規模可觀的中盤股退市的打擊。一些企業選擇將業務收歸私有，包括東南亞最大房地產開發商凱德集團(CapitaLand)，該公司今年夏天將旗下購物中心經營公司凱德商用(CapitaMalls Asia)摘牌。Despite this, SGX remains the eighth-largest exchange globally, as measured by the market capitalisation of its operating company as a listed entity – just behind Japan Exchange Group and ahead of ASX of Australia. However, it was overtaken by Thailand’s stock exchange last year in terms of equity market trading volume.
儘管如此，新交所仍是全球第八大交易所（按照其經營公司作爲上市實體的市值來衡量），剛剛落後於日本交易所集團(Japan Exchange Group)，領先於澳大利亞證券交易所(ASX)。不過，就股市交易量而言，新交所去年被泰國證交所超過。In the fiscal first quarter that ended on September 31, revenue generated from equity market trading at SGX fell 29 per cent, as a result of a 27 per cent fall in average daily trading volume.
在截至9月30日的財年第一季度，新交所股市交易產生的營收下降29%，這是日均交易量下跌27%的結果。Mr Böcker has moved to address this by signing up 21 banks and brokers to act as so-called liquidity providers and market makers, to encourage trading.
作爲對策，薄滿樂已經與21家銀行和經紀公司簽約，讓它們充當所謂的流動性提供者和做市商，以求鼓勵交易。Liquidity providers receive a discount on the fees that SGX charges if they commit to trading a certain amount of shares in value terms, while market makers provide quotes at narrow bid-offer spreads on designated stocks.
流動性提供者如果承諾交易一定數量的股票（按價值計），就能得到新交所的收費折扣，而做市商對指定的股票提供買賣價差較窄的報價。“Yes, volume is down, but the quality of the market – the spreads and depth of the market – has actually been enhanced following the introduction of these two programmes,” Mr Böcker says. “And we are only four months in.”
“沒錯，交易量有所下降，但在採取這兩個計劃後，市場的質量——價差和市場深度——實際上已得到增強，”薄滿樂表示。“而我們纔剛剛開始四個月。”Average daily trading volume in shares covered by these programmes – including ThaiBev– jumped 129 per cent from June 1-October 31, compared with an overall market rise of 6 per cent.
從6月1日至10月31日，這兩個計劃覆蓋的股票——包括泰國飲料(ThaiBev)——的日均交易量躍升129%，而市場整體的交易量增長6%。In addition, from January, SGX plans to cut the “board lot size” – the number of shares investors must deal in – from 1,000 to 100, to make it easier to buy blue-chips. Then, in March, it aims to introduce a “minimum trading price” of 20 cents, to discourage “excessive speculation” in low-priced penny stocks.
另外，新交所計劃從1月起將“每手買賣單位”（投資者必須交易的股票數量）從1000減至100，讓投資者更容易購買藍籌股。然後，新加坡擬從3月起實行20分的“最低交易價”，以阻止人們對價格低廉的細價股進行“過分投機”。Mr Böcker also hopes to attract more international companies with a new system, introduced this month, that allows those listed on one of 22 bourses overseas – including London – to gain a secondary listing in Singapore more easily.
薄滿樂還希望本月啓用的一個新系統能夠吸引更多海外企業，該系統讓那些在海外22家股市（包括倫敦）之一上市的股票更容易在新加坡二次上市。He can already take satisfaction from the strength of the derivatives business. It is closing in on equities trading as the largest source of income, accounting for 30 per cent of group revenues, against 33 per cent from equities.
他已經可以從衍生品業務的實力得到一些鼓舞。這塊業務正逼近作爲最大收入來源的股票交易，目前佔集團總營收的30%，而股票交易佔33%。One reason is the success of certain futures contracts tied to China – such as iron ore swaps, which are widely used by Chinese traders, many based in Singapore – and of renminbi currency swaps, which were launched last month.
原因之一是涉及中國的某些期貨合約獲得成功，如鐵礦石掉期合約，它們得到中國貿易商（有很多落戶新加坡）的廣泛使用，以及上月推出的人民幣外匯掉期合約。But all eyes will be on how SGX fares early next year when, for the first time, it faces competitors in its back yard.
但是，各方將密切關注新交所在明年初的表現如何，因爲屆時該交易所將首次在本土面對競爭對手。Intercontinental Exchange, owner of NYSE, plans to launch a new commodities exchange in March, while Deutsche Börse is building an Asian clearing house. Both will be in Singapore.
紐約證券交易所(NYSE)的東家洲際交易所(Intercontinental Exchange)計劃在3月推出一個新的大宗商品交易所，而德意志交易所(Deutsche Börse)正在建設一個亞洲清算中心。這兩者都將設在新加坡。Mr Böcker views rival offerings as an indicator of growth. “I think that [them] coming to Singapore is very important for the success of SGX because it once again proves Singapore as an international financial centre,” he says. “There is nothing that grows a business faster than more players being in it.”
薄滿樂把競爭對手的產品視爲一個增長指標。“我認爲，（他們）來新加坡對於新交所的成功非常重要，因爲它再次證明新加坡是一個國際金融中心，”他說。“要推動業務增長，沒有什麼比更多弄潮兒參與進來更快。”
