How did you come to be in the oil and gas industry?

SGX mirrors the evolution of Singapore’s economy, and this is particularly the case given Singapore’s role as a global commodity trading hub and international financial centre. SGX plays an integral role in sustaining many aspects that continue to attract O&G players to this market, including the financial and trading.

 

Aside from low commodity prices what do you believe is the greatest challenge to our industry’s future growth?

Access to capital is critical, even more so with the low commodity price. SGX has attracted the largest share of IPO funds amongst all the South East Asian bourses with S$2.3 billion (US$1.6 billion) in IPO proceeds as of 21 Nov 2016, according to a Deloitte report. South East Asia based and global oil & gas companies are invited to tap into this pool of liquidity.

 

Where do you see the greatest opportunity in today’s global oil and gas markets and how are you positioned to capture this opportunity?

Continued price uncertainty and volatility is one of the key challenges, as well as the changing supply and demand dynamics. This is particularly pronounced within the LNG market where trusted and robust price tools are essential. A thriving derivatives market is critical towards supporting the growth of trading and activity in the Asian spot market. This is why we launched the Singapore LNG index in January 2016, and announced an MOU with Tokyo Commodity Exchange to further develop LNG derivatives in November 2016.

If you could wave a magic wand over our industry, what would you change and why?

Oil & Gas reserves and resources reports have several audiences beyond the trade.  etter guidelines and integration with public market reporting practices, for example with respect to valuation reports, discussion on materiality, self enforcement & regulation, etc., would be welcome.

What are the strategic priorities for your company in the next 12 months?

One is the fixed income market. There are more than 2,000 debt securities listed on SGX, over 750 diverse issuers from 34 Countries, in 19 currencies with more than US$800 billion raised.          For the period January  to October 2016 SGX listed 373 bond issues for US$130 billion. We have launched an OTC bond trading platform called SGX Bond Pro and hope to see more liquidity in the coming year.

How would you describe your company in one sentence to a new client/partner/investor?

The Singapore Exchange (SGX) is a trusted international market infrastructure, operating equity, fixed income and derivatives markets to the highest regulatory standards.

What differentiates your company from similar companies working in Asia Pacific?

SGX’s strategy as a multi-asset exchange has benefitted its listed companies which enjoy versatility in managing their capital structure as SGX offers convenient access to both the equity and debt markets.

What takeaways would you like attendees at our Asia Pacific Assembly to go home with regarding your company and your work both in Asia Pacific and further afield?

Companies that list on SGX gain access to pan-Asian liquidity. Singapore is home to US$1.8 trillion in assets under management 80% of which is sourced from outside Singapore, is respected for its high regulatory standards and has a AAA sovereign credit rating.

About Chew Sutat

Chew Sutat is a Singapore-based exchange executive who serves as an executive vice president of the SGX. He is head of equities and fixed income trading at the exchange.

Chew joined SGX from Standard Chartered Bank in 2007. At Standard Chartered he was group head of investment and treasury products for the wealth management business. He joined SGX as an executive vice president and head of development.

At SGX, Chew served as head of sales and clients prior to heading fixed income and equities. He was also head of corporate and market strategy.

He also worked at OCBC Securities as an associate director and at DBS Bank as an associate.