RIYADH: Saudi investors will now find it easier to deploy capital in Singapore thanks to the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the two countries’ stock exchanges, according to a leading executive at the Southeast Asian-based bourse.
In an exclusive interview with Arab News on the sidelines of the Saudi Capital Market Forum, Pol de Win, head of Global Sales & Origination at the Singapore Stock Exchange, said the agreement will act as a connecting pool of capital between the two markets.
According to de Win, the Singapore Exchange is trying to optimize the processes between Tadawul Exchange and SGX Group by aligning regulatory norms.
The MoU comes after both bourses experienced success in 2022 amid global political tensions and economic uncertainties.
Reflecting on the MoU, de Win said: “This is really a formalization by both sides; both the Tadawul Group as well as SGX. We see real opportunities to work more closely together, broadening the offering of our respective market participants; both issuers and investors.”
“It is also for investors that are based in Singapore to deploy their capital into the Saudi market. That is a very important thing for Saudi Arabia,” he added.
The executive pointed out how the Singapore stock exchange was looking to the Saudi bourse when it came to developing best practice.
“We optimize the processes between the Tadawul exchange and that’s the group that we align connections – from a markets’ infrastructure point of view – that we align regulatory processes,” he said.
Reiterating the fact that Singapore is an open market, de Win noted that investors in Singapore have an appetite to diversify their markets.
“Investors look across borders, that is of course South East Asia, it is China. But increasingly, it is also the opportunity that is represented by the region (Middle East) today. At the end of the day, there is a huge amount of capital generation happening here,” he noted.
De Win also pointed out that Singapore’s stock exchange has an increasingly international flavor as almost half of the companies listed are foreign firms.
“We are very international as well, and we stand out from that perspective. Our investors are predominantly global, and that is a very important aspect. That is something that Saudi and the Saudi Tadawul Group can draw lessons from,” he noted.
The executive warned that global economic uncertainties still persist, but volatility on the macro front has started stabilizing.
“Globally, we have been going through a tough market, and frankly, we are still not out of the woods quite yet. It was pretty unprecedented to experience an entire year where capital markets have been volatile. The consensus now is for a more stable rate outlook to come into play in the second quarter of this year,” said de Win.
