Singapore seeks greater capital market ties

As China's push for new quality productive forces gains momentum, Singapore has doubled down on efforts at cross-border capital market collaboration to make it more relevant than ever to the next big story unfolding in the world's second largest economy, said Loh Boon Chye, chairman of the World Federation of Exchanges and CEO of Singapore Exchange.

Over the past two years, the China-Singapore exchange-traded fund (ETF), a telling example of closer ties between the two economies' capital markets, has seen its combined assets under management grow by three times year-on-year to nearly 630 million Singapore dollars ($487 million), Loh told China Daily in an exclusive interview on the sidelines of the 2025 Global Investor Conference in Shenzhen, South China's Guangdong province, on Monday.

The cross-border ETF program, allowing investor access to ETFs cross-listed between the Shenzhen, Shanghai and Singapore bourses, has launched nine ETF products as of April since it was set up in 2021.

The ETF scheme is a strong response to growing global investor appetite for the emerging industries of strategic importance in China.

It also offers a platform for Chinese investors to tap into the Singapore and Southeast Asian markets with expanding global reach, as nearly 30 percent of listed companies by market capitalization at the Singapore bourse are from outside Singapore and about 35 percent of the listed firms are international players, Loh said.

Loh said he expects to offer more, as China's great transition to high-quality growth spells huge opportunities for those with the foresight to jump onto the bandwagon.

"China's economy is undergoing a historic transition to high-quality and innovation-led development. The next global champions will come from this region," he said in a keynote speech at the conference that was hosted by the Shenzhen Stock Exchange and which saw nearly 400 participants.

"Cross-border collaboration multiplies the impact of innovation, where one market may offer capital, another offers scale, and where one brings technological expertise, another brings demand," Loh said.

"This is where Singapore and China can do more together to support the development of these new quality productive forces. China offers depth and scale. Singapore brings connectivity and international reach."

At a critical historical juncture where divergence and fragmentation cast a shadow over globalization, Loh believes Singapore has what it takes to be a "launchpad "for China to the world, being a part of the good journey of the country's homegrown companies in their quest for business expansion and global significance.

Loh said he is betting on closer cooperation on index development with the Shenzhen and Shanghai exchanges to cover some of the largest economies and biggest companies across Asia, and pave the way for the rollout of more ETFs based on these broad-based or sector-specific indexes.