THE Singapore Exchange (SGX) and UOB Bullion and Futures, a unit of United Overseas Bank (UOB), are setting up a centre to train futures traders.

 

The facility, which opens next month, will instruct people interested in futures trading as well as overseas traders wanting to expand their knowledge of the Singapore market. Up to 200 people can be trained a year.

 

The centre at UOB Plaza will house the latest trading simulation technology and will allow participants to test and refine their trading strategies using real-time market data, said SGX and UOB in a statement yesterday.

 

They will also be taught how to employ multiple trading strategies in the equity futures market.

 

The centre is part of SGX Academy's Professional Traders Development Programme, which aims to inject more professionally trained traders into the industry and enhance trading standards.

 

The curriculum will be taught by SGX Academy trainer Samuel Tan, who has more than 18 years of trading and portfolio management experience, including eight years at Temasek Holdings as a senior portfolio manager and three years in the hedge fund industry as a macro trader.

 

Mr Ng Tee How, president of the Association of Financial and Commodity Traders, said the SGX's programme could lead to a more robust trading ecosystem, making Singapore a choice location for foreign proprietary trading companies to set up shop.

 

The SGX has been keen to grow multiple revenue streams outside its mainstay securities trading business. This has involved expanding markets such as commodities, index products, retail bonds, as well as derivatives like futures and options.

 

Futures trading here has increased significantly over the last year and investor interest is expected to continue to grow, said yesterday's statement.

 

In April, SGX handled trades in six million futures contracts, up 27 per cent from the same month last year.