Reuters/Singapore


The CEO of Singapore Exchange (SGX) is to step down in June after five and a half years during which the bourse suffered a damaging penny stock crash that hit trading volumes.
Singapore is Asia’s leading venue for foreign exchange and has seen strong growth in derivatives trading, but the average daily value of shares traded on its exchange has dropped below that of Thailand and trails far behind Hong Kong and Tokyo.
The SGX said in a statement late yesterday that Magnus Bocker, a 53-year-old Swedish national, would leave his post at the end of his contract on June 30.
Share trading in Singapore was hit by a penny stock crash in late 2013, prompting the launch of initiatives to boost liquidity, but the exchange then suffered two technical glitches late last year that halted stock trading and drew criticism from the central bank.
The SGX said it hired executive search firm Spencer Stuart to assess a short-list of both internal and external candidates for the CEO post.
“Without the benefit of a hinterland, the successor would have the same issue of making the exchange relevant,” said Christopher Wong, a senior investment manager at Aberdeen Asset Management Asia, which owns SGX shares.
Bocker, who took over in late 2009, said in the statement he was proud of expanding SGX both in Singapore and internationally, especially for Asian equity index derivatives. “But there is a time and season for everything, and it is now time for me to take on new challenges.”
In an interview with Reuters last month, Bocker said his contract renewal was a matter for the SGX board, but he was enjoying what he was doing. He had said that establishing direct connections between exchanges had replaced mergers and acquisitions as the industry’s main growth strategy, particularly in Asia.
In 2010, Bocker launched an audacious $8.3 billion takeover bid for Australian exchange operator ASX Ltd, but this was blocked by the Australian government. A keen marathon runner, Bocker has driven investment to improve technology at SGX, and October-December net profit rose more than 15 percent to the highest in more than a year, helped by record derivatives business.
“I think what they achieved on derivatives in particular is very impressive, and the successor has some very big shoes to fill,” said Arjan van Veen, an analyst at Credit Suisse.