Market Profiles

RBC IS operates an omnibus account structure in this market. Singaporean residents will be segregated.

For further information or support around accessing this market, please contact your RBC IS representative.

Singapore Exchange (SGX) 
SGX is the first demutualised, integrated securities and derivatives exchange in Asia Pacific. It was formed on December 1, 1999 by the merger of two well-established and respected financial institutions - the Stock Exchange of Singapore (SES) and the Singapore International Monetary Exchange Ltd (SIMEX). 

On November 23, 2000, SGX became the first exchange in Asia-Pacific to be listed via a public offer and a private placement. Listed on our own bourse, the SGX stock is a component of benchmark indices such as the MSCI Singapore Free Index and the Straits Times Index (STI).

The SGX operates through several subsidiaries, including:

• Singapore Exchange Derivatives Trading Limited(SGX-DT)
• Singapore Exchange Derivatives Clearing Limited(SGX-DC)
• Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Limited(SGX-ST)
• Central Depository (Pte) Limited(CDP)

The SGX-ST operates the market for the trading of listed securities. The various boards on SGX-ST are:

• Main Board
• Catalist
• SGX-ETF

SGX Bond Pro

The first Over-The-Counter (OTC) trading venue dedicated to Asian bonds. SGX launched the SGX Bond Pro on 10 December 2015. From mid-2018, SGX Bond Trading Pte. Ltd has assumed the general counterparty role for SGX Bond Pro and provides a unique trading and post-trade solution to enable the execution of client trades on SGX Bond Pro while maintaining full pre- and post-trade anonymity between trading counterparties.

The SGX Securities Market operates on the REACH platform that was introduced on August 15, 2011 and it benefits market participants by making price discovery more efficient, thereby improving market quality and liquidity. SGX Reach is supported by NASDAQ OMX's Genium INET platform; HP's hardware; Mellanox's InfiniBank connection and HCL's operations support. SGX Reach is the fastest trading engine in the world with ultra-low latency of less than 90 microseconds and over 100 times faster than SGX's previous Quest-ST system.

SGX provides two powerful and flexible methods to access SGX REACH. SGX Access REACH API and SGX Access FIX solution. Market participants may choose to connect to REACH via the OMNet API or the FIX 5.0 API.

The Pre-Settlement Matching Services (PSMS) phase one was launched on October 13, 2008 as scheduled.

PSMS is a service of SGX Prime, which has replaced the manual pre matching process between market participants by automating the matching of settlement instructions through file uploads into PSMS. These file uploads consist of trade details between the market participants who are involved in settlement of trades. Currently, this is available only for on exchange settlement and off exchange settlement. It is an open access infrastructure that facilitates institutional straight-through processing of trades for the securities market via the exchange's clearing and settlement system.

PSMS will be used by all market participants for post-trade settlement of AUD, CNY, HKD, EUR, SGD and USD denominated equities and fixed income instruments listed on SGX. This includes all brokers' 'free of payment' and 'against payment' trades and custodian banks' 'against payment' trades.

ISIN: Yes
Other: None

Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS): oversees the securities industry through the Securities and Futures Act (SFA), which governs seven regulated activities including the provision of custodial services for securities. MAS is also the defacto central bank and administers the Banking Act, which governs financial institutions operating in Singapore. The MAS conducts routine inspections on banks to ensure sound banking practices and compliance. 

The Singapore Exchange: The Singapore Exchange (SGX) is a public company approved by the Minister of Finance to conduct the business of a securities exchange. The SGX is responsible for the regulation of its member companies in accordance with its rules and by-laws. It also ensures that listed companies comply at all times with the SGX listing requirements and corporate disclosure policy.

Securities eligible for deposition into the CDP system are immobilised and the physical certificates of these immobilised securities are safe kept with CDP nominated custodian bank, DBS Nominees Pte Ltd. Physical certificates are not eligible for trade settlement. Securities not eligible for deposition are held in physical form.

Minimum Bid Size

SGX introduced minimum trading price (MTP) of SGD 0.20 a share on March 2, 2015. The MTP requirement will only be effective after a one-year transition period ending on March 1, 2016.

For the avoidance of doubt, the minimum bid sizes above apply to securities and Futures Contracts denominated in all currencies, except the Hong Kong Dollar ("HKD") or Japanese Yen ("JPY"), which are as below:

For securities denominated in Hong Kong Dollar:

For securities denominated in Japanese Yen:

(Source: SGX website)

SGD, EUR, AUD, RMB, USD, HKD & GBP

An over-the-counter market allows investors to trade in a number of international securities listed on foreign exchanges. Shares "quoted" on SGX-ST therefore do not have to adhere to the corporate disclosure policy that applies to companies listed on the SGX Main board.

There are two main type of settlement modes DVP (on exchange trades) and FOP (off market trades).

Depositary agents and clearing members enter orders on the SGX system and trades are matched and executed automatically. The trade is then captured and affirmed in the CDP system. Trades between depositary agents and clearing members are netted and settled on T+2.Under CDP's PSMS, cash positions for institutional trades are settled on a net basis during the afternoon, while securities are settled on a gross basis through an overnight batch run.  CDP will initiate the settlement batch run on SD (T+2) at 1:30PM and start the final settlement batch run on SD (T+2) at 3:30PM.

The cut-off time to determine if investors have sufficient securities to meet their delivery obligations is 1:30 (local time) on T+2. Investors must ensure there are sufficient securities in their security accounts by this time.

Effective December 10, 2018, the settlement period shortened by one business day from T+3 to T+2 for all trades in Singapore.

There are no direct SGX by-laws that forbid short selling but the current settlement and clearing systems actively work against it. 

• No cash market for scripless shares
• Short-sellers must cover their positions within the same day or face a buy-in by the SGX
• Stringent buy-in procedures by SGX
• SGX-ST Trading Members may not enter a sell order unless the relevant market participant has informed them whether an order is a short sell order

In Singapore, naked short selling – securities sold short without borrowing in advance – which results in failed delivery to CDP are closed-out by buying-in from the market. The buy-in is automatically initiated by the SGX-ST on the buyer’s behalf on T+2 or the settlement date. For all trades that fail to match and reflect as awaiting settlement status in by 13.30 p.m. on T+2, CDP would issue the buy-in list by 2.30 p.m.

The auto buy-in sessions will be held daily for these trades from Mondays to Fridays, between 3.30 p.m. to 5.00 p.m.

In April 2013, CDP has revised the buying-in period in the buy-in market from three to two market days.

Market participants must not short-sell in the buy-in market as it runs counter to the objective of buy-in. Any failure to deliver shares in the buy-in market is liable to penalty of SGD 20,000 and/or disbarment from participating in the buy-in market.

Same-day turnaround trades on equities trades are possible. These are processed in the WEB FE via CDP sub-account opened for institutional investors or designated accounts opened for foreign brokers, as approved by CDP. 

Turnaround trades on fixed income securities are also allowed. 

Settlement instructions for turnaround trades can be linked so that onward delivery is conditional on settlement of incoming settlement instruction. If a linked receipt-against-payment trade settles partially, the linked delivery-against-payment trade will not settle. If a linked receipt-against-payment trade fails, the linked delivery-against-payment trade will also fail.

The Central Depository (Pte) Ltd (CDP)  began operations in 1987 to provide depository, clearing and computerised book-entry settlement services to investors. It also facilitates corporate actions by listed companies.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) issues Singapore Government Securities (SGS) on behalf of the Singapore Government and is responsible for the development of the SGS market. These debt instruments can be in the form of either Treasury bills or bonds. Both SGS Bond and SGS Treasury Bill auctions are conducted based on the uniform-price auction format. In a uniform-price SGS Treasury Bill auction, successful competitive bidders and all non-competitive bidders will be allotted the securities at a uniform yield, which is the highest accepted yield (also referred to as cut-off yield) of successful competitive bids submitted at the auction.

Only the Primary Dealers (PDs) in the SGS market are allowed to submit bids at the auctions. The SGS PDs are appointed to play a role as specialist intermediaries in the SGS and SGD money markets.

As SGS are scripless, ownership of SGS is reflected as a book entry in the investor's account with the bank. Therefore, investors must open SGS accounts with any participating bank, either a Primary or Secondary Dealer, of the SGS market to facilitate the safekeeping and debiting/crediting of SGS. 

The banks maintain SGS book-entry accounts with MAS where their SGS holdings are custodised. However, since the launch of trading of selected SGS bonds on SGX-ST on July 8, 2011, these selected SGS holdings can also be custodised in CDP, as similar to securities currently custodised in CDP.

Central Depository (Pte) Ltd. (CDP) maintains book-entry holdings of equities, corporate bonds and selected SGS bonds traded on SGX. CDP provides depositary, clearing and settlement services for equities and debt securities; records all immobilised transactions electronically and acts as the nominee for shares held on behalf of depositors.

Money market instruments (SGS) are cleared and settled at MAS.

BIS is an international organisation which fosters cooperation among central banks and other agencies in pursuit of monetary and financial stability. The Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures (CPMI) uses three common structural approaches, or models, to categorise the links between delivery and payment in a securities settlement system.

PSMS system follows BIS Model 2 – a system in which securities transfers occur on a trade-for-trade (gross) basis throughout the processing cycle. However, fund transfers occur on a net basis at the end of the processing cycle. Security transfers are made via book entry and are final; fund transfers are irreversible, but not final. Therefore, final transfer of securities precedes final transfer of funds (i.e. delivery precedes payment).

Debt Securities Clearing Settlement System (DCSS) and MAS Electronic Payment System plus (MEPS+) systems follow BIS Model 1 where there is simultaneous gross settlement of securities with real time gross settlement (RTGS) of cash. That is, the final transfer of an asset or security to the buying party only occurs when the transfer of cleared funds in payment for the security to the selling party, and vice-versa, is confirmed. This simultaneous exchange of cash and security along with the RTGS of inter-bank obligations, guarantees irrevocability and offers the highest level of customer protection available.

Equities
CDP eligible securities are held in immobilised form (scripless) at the CDP and are registered in the name of "The Central Depository (Pte) Ltd". Ownership is transferred automatically upon settlement and entitlements are accrued to the underlying account holder.

Physical scrip of securities cannot be used to settle a market transaction, as book entry settlement is mandatory for all immobilised securities traded on the SGX-ST. In order to convert physical securities into scripless form, these paper securities must first be re-registered into the name of 'The Central Depository Pte Ltd', by the Share Registrar. The re-registration exercise takes approximately 14 business days. A further 14 business days will be required for converting the securities from scrip to scripless shares by CDP. These shares are not available for trading when they are out for registration or scripless conversion.

Physical shares deposited into the CDP will also be registered in the name of "The Central Depository (Pte) Ltd" and will take approximately 14 business days, with a further 14 business days for conversion into scripless shares by CDP. These scrips will not be available for trading when they are out for registration or conversion. Physical shares cannot be traded on the SGX.

Scripless securities can also be withdrawn from the depository in physical form. The conversion and re-registration into a nominee name or beneficial name will take approximately 14 to 21 business days. The buyer can arrange to transfer the legal title by re-registering the certificates through the share registrar.

Non CDP eligible (unlisted) securities are held in physical form.

Fixed Income
Singapore Government Securities (SGS) that are issued after 1987 are held in dematerialised form at the MAS. Unlike equities, these instruments are registered in the name of the participant. Ownership and registration of the SGS are recorded in the booksof the MAS via a book-entry system and transfer of ownership occurs automatically upon settlement. SGS trades are settled via the Monetary Authority of Singapore's Electronic Payment System (MEPS+).

Where Are The SGS Kept? 
As SGS are scripless, ownership of SGS is either reflected as a book entry in the investor's account with the bank, or the CDP for individual investors. Therefore, investors must open SGS accounts with any participating bank, either a Primary or Secondary Dealer of the SGS market, or the CDP, to facilitate the safekeeping and debiting/crediting of SGS. The banks maintain SGS book-entry accounts with MAS where their SGS holdings are custodised.

Since July 8, 2011, SGX launched the trading of SGS Bonds on SGX platform for SGS bonds with maturities of two years or more. SGS bonds traded on SGX will be cleared and settled in CDP, they would be subjected to the same matching and settlement processes as per securities that are settling in CDP, this includes the same settlement cycle and buy-in risks involved. The same SGS Bonds that are traded via SGS dealer banks instead will remain cleared and settled in MAS via the MAS's MEPS+ system. 

Transfers of SGS bonds between those custodised in CDP and MAS is possible, but subjected to turnaround processing time as it involves submission of physical request forms by the local custodian to the depository, and the processing time at the depositary.

Corporate Bonds are held in immobilised form in the CDP and are registered in the name of "The Central Depository (Pte) Ltd". Transfer of ownership occurs automatically upon settlement. Unlisted physical corporate bonds are usually registered in the name of the beneficial owner or in the nominee name of the investor's local custodian. Registration procedures are identical to those applicable to physical listed equities.

Corporate bonds issued prior to October 28, 1998 in are registered and bearer form. Those in registered form are registered in the name of either the depository agent's name or the client's name upon their instruction. Most corporate bonds issued after October 28, 1998 are traded on a scripless basis and the certificates are immobilised and deposited into the CDP system for settlement. These are settled thru the Debt Clearing Settlement System (DCSS) platform on the CDP.

Listed on SGX-ST: Corporate bonds listed on the SGX-ST are settled on a T+3 basis, similar to other instruments traded on the exchange. The DCSS system available on the CDP is used for settlement of these bonds. The system earmarks the securities and generates a confirmation to the paying Depository Agent, who is then required to effect payment via the MEPS+. This is undertaken directly by the Depository Agents' banks using MEPS+. Once confirmation of payment from MEPS+ is received by DCSS, the securities are released to the buyer on-line on a real time basis until CDP market settlement cut-off time at 17.30).

Unlisted Bonds: There is no standard settlement cycle for unlisted corporate debt and normally settlement is therefore fully negotiable between the counter-parties. Unlisted corporate bonds are held in immobilized form and are settled via book-entry through authorised depositories, which includes all full-licensed banks and brokers, and some merchant brokers.

Registration of equities is either done by Company Registrar or appointed agents (e.g. Boardroom Corporate & Advisory Services Pte Ltd, BACS Pte Ltd).

Fixed Income - Singapore Government Securities: Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) Corporate Bonds: Company Registrar or appointed agents.

Registration period ranges from 14 to 21 business days and during this period the said shares are not available for sale.

Shareholdings in this market may be required to be disclosed by the beneficial owner, particularly when such shareholdings reach or exceed prescribed disclosure limits. Investors must ensure that they comply in full by reporting such holdings to the appropriate organisations for this market, within the timeframe required. If you have any questions regarding this issue we encourage you to consult your legal counsel.

Failure to comply with the reporting requirements in this market may lead to penalties and / or other sanctions.

Under the Singapore Companies Act Cap 50, based on Part (1) Section (81), and Securities & Futures Act Cap 289, a substantial shareholder is one who holds not less than 5% of the aggregate of the nominal amount of all voting shares in a listed company and is required to inform the company and the Singapore Exchange (SGX) within two business days of becoming a substantial shareholder. 

With effect from 19 November 2012, the Monetary Authority of Singapore announced simplification procedures for directors and substantial shareholders where directors and substantial shareholders will only need to notify any change in shareholdings to companies, and no longer to SGX. 
It is also a legal requirement for listed entities to notify investors of interest or change in interest, and they would need to announce the change no later than the end of the following business day.

Under Sections 83 & 84 of the Companies Act Cap 50, substantial shareholders are also required to report any discrete change of more than 1% and cessation in substantial shareholding to the company and the SGX within two business days.

MAS will introduce a stiffer penalty of up to S$250,000 and/or imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years for material contraventions which are committed internationally or recklessly. Civil penalties may also be imposed for such flagrant breaches of the law. 

The same procedure applies to the all securities traded on the Singapore Exchange (SGX), except to the following companies/industries which specific restrictions are imposed, and approval must be obtained from the relevant authorities prior to reaching the specified thresholds.

A substantial shareholder may hold their shares through various nominees/custodians but the duty to comply with the substantial shareholder notification requirements lies with the substantial shareholder.

Consequences of Failure to Disclose
Non-compliance with the substantial shareholding notification requirements may result in:

Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs)
With effect from 19 November 2012, the shareholder of the manager of a Business Trust or REIT will be required to give notification when his shareholdings in the manager reaches, cross or falls below the strategic levels of 15%, 30%, 50% and 75%. For BTs and REITs where business and assets are externally managed by the manager, investors are likely to be also concerned with the identity of the persons controlling the manager. Any acquisition or disposal of interest in the securities of the Business Trust or REIT by the manager must be disclosed under MAS new disclosure of interest regulatory regime.

1. Streamlining of security delivery cut off time 
Market cut-off time: The cut-off time to determine if investors have sufficient securities to meet their delivery obligations will be 13:30 (local time) on T+2. All trades that fail to settle by T+2 will be automatically put in the buy-in queue.

2. Introduction of Buy-in on T+2 
For trades with insufficient securities, the Central Depository (CDP) will publish the list of those securities required in the buy-in market on the SGX website at 14:30 on T+2. There will be a buy-in session from 15:30 to 17:00. CDP will not accommodate withdrawal of buy-in requests should the securities subsequently become available on T+3 after the cut-off time which is 12:00 noon.

3. Revision of Inter-Broker Money Settlement ("IBS") between CDP and Clearing Members
The CDP will only make payment to clearing members for securities that are available for settlement at 12:00 on T+3. For securities that are not available at that time, the CDP will make payments after the securities have been delivered.

4. Penalty for Failed Settlements on T+2
A trade will be deemed to have failed settlement if the buy-in for the shortfall is unsuccessful by the end of T+2. The SGX will impose a penalty of SGD 1,000 or 5% of the value of the failed contract that was not bought in (whichever is higher), at the end of T+2 The existing arrangements for the SGX to consider appeals for the waiver of this penalty will continue. This is in addition to the current processing of SGD 75 plus 7% GST per contract.

5. Buy-in and Procurement after T+2
Buy-in will continue on T+3 through to T+5 from 15:00 to 17:00 for open positions that are not covered in the previous market day. Clearing members may request for the withdrawal of buy-in orders by 11:00 on T+3 if they can confirm to the CDP that there are sufficient securities in the investor's security account. The clearing member is required to procure the requisite securities from T+6, should the buy-in be unsuccessful. The penalty for each day a sell contract is overdue will be increased from SGD 100 to SGD 5,000. The SGX may refer the clearing member to the Disciplinary Committee if it fails to do so by the end of T+7. The Disciplinary Committee may impose a penalty of not less than SGD 20,000 to the clearing member, if it is found culpable. The penalties as set out in points 4 and 5 are cumulative in nature.

6. Penalty for failed deliveries in the Buy-in Market
The SGX may refer clearing members who have failed to deliver the requisite securities sold in the buy-in market to the Disciplinary Committee. The Disciplinary Committee may impose a penalty of no less than SGD 20,000, and/or disbar the clearing member from the buy-in market, if it is found culpable. 

SGX-ST affects the buy-in at 15:00 on SD for failed settlements. The price bid begins at two minimum bids above the closing price of the previous day, the current last done price or the current bid price, whichever is the highest. If the securities are still not obtained, SGX-ST has the absolute discretion to raise the price bid by two minimum bids from time to time throughout the buy-in until the securities are bought. In a buy-in situation, the delivering party is liable for the "buy-in" and will bear all associated costs.

The buy-in price is the higher of two minimum bids above previous day's close, the current last transacted price or the current bid price, whichever is the highest. If the shares cannot be obtained the SGX will raise the bids higher until all shares have been bought in. Similarly, a selling broker can sell out against a defaulting buyer if the payment for the purchase is not received on settlement date.

After completion of buy in, SGX will publish the list of securities bought in (including the individual counters), the volume and dollar value at 8.30 pm the following business day.

The SGX will grant a limited exemption for market makers of cross-listed ETFs who are unable to meet the revised settlement timelines due to time-zone or settlement cycle differences. Eligible market makers must submit their application for exemption to the Enforcement Unit.

The Singapore Exchange (SGX) launched its Securities Lending program on January 7, 2002. The motivation behind this move is to pave the way for the development of a securities lending market in Singapore, provide improved investment and hedging opportunities for market participants and to help create a more sophisticated capital market structure in Singapore.

Under this facility, CDP acts as counterparty to both lenders and borrowers and assures the return of all lent securities or their cash value equivalent, in the unlikely event the borrowed securities are not returned. Borrowers will need to pledge collateral (include cash, letters of credit from banks, and securities acceptable to CDP) for all loans.

The minimum borrowing is T+3, with the possibility of indefinite extension of the borrowing period through continues rollovers of T+3. However, lending is prohibited 10 days prior to book close date.

Through Depository Agents (DAs) in Singapore, investors can register as lenders and/or borrowers of the list of selected stocks listed on the SGX Main Board. Lending participants must hold at least 50,000 shares of any of the eligible stocks listed on the SGX Main Board.

From March 10, 2014, SGX conducts periodic reviews and revision on the list of eligible securities and the respective margin rates for its Securities Borrowing and Lending Programme (SBL). 

Due to the revision in the margin rates, borrowers who receive notices for margin calls on affected outstanding positions, will have to top up the collateral accordingly as provided for under SGX Securities Lending 'Terms and Conditions for Borrower'. 

The Central Depository (CDP) maintains a Clearing Fund that can be applied in the event a Clearing Member is unable to discharge its money obligations to CDP or if CDP suffers any loss as a result of liquidating a defaulted Clearing Member's position.

The Clearing Fund structure is scalable and clearing members' contributions is linked to the level of risk (securities traded value) they bring to the clearing system. CDP requires only a portion of Clearing Members' required contributions to be deposited upfront; Members will be called upon to deposit the remaining contributions (known as "Contingent Contributions") under conditions of increased risk or to meet losses arising from Clearing Member default(s).

Singapore is fully committed to the global fight against terrorism, and has signed various anti-terrorism conventions, including the United Nations International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism. Singapore has been a member of the Financial Action Task Force since 1991, and is also one of the founding members of the Asia-Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG), which encourages the adoption, implementation and enforcement within the Asia-Pacific region of internationally accepted anti-money laundering standards. 

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) participates in the Singapore Inter-Ministerial Task Force on Anti-Terrorism, set up shortly after September 11, 2001. MAS also participates actively in global efforts to combat money laundering, aimed at preserving the integrity of the global financial system. MAS seeks to combat money laundering by requiring banks to apply the following principles documented in MAS Notice 626 sets out the obligations of a bank to take measures to help mitigate the risk of the banking system of Singapore being used for money laundering or terrorist financing.

For further details, please visit MAS website: www.mas.gov.sg.

For clients serviced out of certain locations this is an FII market. Please refer to the Terms & Conditions for Global Custody or contact your RBC Investor Services' Client Manager before making portfolio investments.

Foreign investors are eligible to invest in all securities traded on SGX. In general, there are no foreign ownership level restrictions for local shares, unless specifically stated in the company's Memorandum and Articles of Association (M&A).

There are certain companies in Singapore which are subject to their own M&A that limit foreign ownership of their shares. These are usually in industries such as banking, stock broking, airlines, national shipping lines and media companies. The percentage of foreign share ownership varies with different companies but is usually between 19% and 70%.

Each company has the responsibility for monitoring its own foreign shareholding limits and foreign institutions are subjected to the same Substantial Shareholder disclosure requirement and penalties as discussed in the Risk Disclosure Requirements section earlier.

Principal, income and capital gains can be repatriated freely.

There are no foreign exchange controls in Singapore. 

In March 2002, the MAS relaxed the SGD lending rules to allow banks to extend unrestricted SGD credit facilities to non-residents:

• for SGD investments in financial assets and real estate
• for asset swaps, cross-currency swaps and cross-currency repos
• for SGD proceeds to be used offshore
• for avoidance of securities settlement fails provided the overdraft amount is matched against an MT210 (Notice to Receive Funds) from the non resident entity. Such overdrafts must be covered within two business days.

Financial institutions are also no longer required to ensure that SGD credit facilities extended for investment purposes be withdrawn when the investments are either wholly or partially liquidated.

In addition, financial institutions in Singapore may now lend any amount of SGD denominated securities in exchange for either SGD or foreign currency denominated collateral. The requirement that any lending of SGD securities exceeding SGD 5 million to be fully collateralised by SGD collateral has been lifted. Financial institutions can transact SGD FX options with non-resident entities freely, without having to maintain documentary proof showing that SGD FX option transactions are for hedging purposes.

However, the MAS is maintaining two basic guidelines:

• Financial institutions in Singapore are prohibited from extending SGD credit facilities exceeding SGD 5 million to non-resident financial entities, should they have reason to believe that the proceeds may be used for speculation.
• Non-resident entities are required to swap the proceeds of SGD loan, debt or equity issues into foreign currency if these proceeds are to be used offshore.

Offshore banks in Singapore may extend loans of up to SGD 20 million in aggregate beyond which MAS approval is required.

MEPS+ is a real-time gross settlement (RTGS) system developed for large-value Singapore dollar interbank funds transfers and the settlement of scripless Singapore Government Securities (SGS). The main feature of MEPS+ is the real-time and irrevocable transfer of funds and SGS. The settlement of the cash leg of SGD-denominated corporate and other government debt instruments can also be made through MEPS. 

Operating hours for MEPS+ are from 9 am to 5.30pm. All of the foreign current payments are done through telegraphic transfers and the deadlines depend on where the currencies are being paid to.

Short-term overdrafts are available to non-resident investors to prevent a trade failure due to a temporary shortfall in funds and to facilitate daily trade settlements. This however, is capped to a maximum limit of SGD 5 million, further which will require consent from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).

The ex-date is generally two working days before the book close date, and there is approximately 10 working days between the record date and payment date.

On Payment date itself, the issuer will make the dividend payment to the share registrar (for shares held in scrip-based form and CDP (for shares held in scripless form), who will in turn distribute the dividend entitlements to holders of shares in accordance with its practice.

General Corporate Action Cycle
The company will announce to the market on the intent of a corporate action. The company will submit the CA proposal to SGX for approval. Upon approval, an AGM/EGM will be held to seek shareholders' approval via a resolution. Once the resolution is passed, the Company will finalise and announce the details of the corporate action, such as Record Date and Book Close Date to the market.

Entitlements due are based on CDP's record of beneficial owners as at book close date. Claims arise when purchase trades on a cum-basis are settled after the book-close date and sales trades on an ex-basis are settled before the book-close date.

No

No

Provided in English. A notice of the general meeting must be received 15 to 21 days prior to the meeting. Extraordinary general meetings are announced one to three weeks in advance.

A shareholder is entitled to appoint multiple proxies to attend and vote at the shareholders' meetings.

The Company will record shareholders' voting rights based on shareholdings as at 72 hours before the meeting date

On request subject to availability

On request subject to availability

Not required

Not applicable

Non taxable dividends
Generally, the following dividends are not taxable:

• Dividends paid on or after 1 Jan 2008 by a Singapore company.
• Foreign dividends received in Singapore on or after 1 Jan 2004 by resident individuals.
• If these are received in Singapore by any individual resident in Singapore through a partnership in Singapore, the dividends may be exempt from Singapore tax if certain conditions are met.

Taxable Dividends 

Dividends derived in Singapore are taxable unless they are specifically exempted under the Income Tax Act. Taxable dividends include dividends received from co-operative registered under MCYS Co-operatives Societies. 

As announced in the Singapore Budget 2017, it noted that to help companies cope with the economic uncertainty and continue restructuring, the CIT Rebate will be enhanced and extended as follow:

a) CIT Rebate cap will be raised from $20,000 to $25,000 for YA2017 (with the rebate rate unchanged at 50%); and

b) CIT Rebate will be extended for another year to YA2018, but at a reduced rate of 20% of tax payable and capped at $10,000 rebate.

Dividends distributed by real estate investment trusts (REIT) will be subjected to the following tax treatments:

• No tax will be deducted for qualifying unit holders who are (a) Individuals and the units are not held through a partnership in Singapore or (b) Qualifying Unit holders (as defined below):-
  1. Unit holders which are companies incorporated and are tax residents in Singapore
  2. Unit holders which are Singapore branches of foreign companies that have obtained specified approval from the IRAS to receive the distribution from REITs without deduction of tax

• Unit holders which are non-corporate entities (excluding partnerships) constituted or registered in Singapore

• Tax will deducted at 10% for unit holders for distributions made in respect of units held for the benefit of foreign non-individual investors.
• Tax will deducted at 17% for unit holders who are foreign non-individual investors, who (a) does not have a permanent establishment in Singapore; or (b) carries out any operation in Singapore through a permanent establishment in Singapore, where the funds used to purchase the units in REITs are not obtained from that operation.

Withholding Tax
The Singapore Income Tax Act (SITA) contains a withholding tax mechanism where certain payments made to non-Singapore residents are deemed to be sourced from Singapore. Under Section 45 of the SITA, where a Singapore payer is liable to pay to another person not known to him to be a Singapore tax resident (i.e. non-resident), the payer is obliged to withhold tax at specified rates and pay to the Singapore tax authorities.

Types of payments that are subject to withholding tax are interest, royalties, technical service fees, etc.

Non-residents who have to pay withholding tax include:
an individual who has physical presence or exercises employment in Singapore for less than 183 days or a company whose control and management of the business is outside Singapore.

Withholding Tax Rates Applicable on Interest
The general withholding tax rate on interest paid to a non-resident is 15%. 

However, where such an interest is derived by the non-resident through its operation carried out in Singapore, the withholding tax rate is 20% for individuals (from YA 2017, the rate will be increased to 22%) and 17% for persons other than individuals

Reduction of Withholding Tax Rate under Tax Treaties

Where applicable, the beneficial owner of the interest may apply the reduced withholding tax rate under the tax treaty. To apply the reduced withholding tax rates available under the treaties in Singapore, a Certificate of Residence from Non-Residents ("COR") has to be completed and endorsed by the tax authorities of the country of residence of the claimant before forwarding an original copy to the Singapore tax authorities.

Where tax has been withheld upfront, the beneficial owner can claim a tax refund from the Singapore tax authorities if he resides in a country which has a tax treaty with Singapore which provides for a lower withholding tax rate. The tax which can be reclaimed is the difference between the withheld rate and the tax rate provided for in the tax treaty.

Withholding Tax Exemptions 
No withholding tax is applicable on the following interest, subject to certain conditions:

• Tax exempt interest, i.e. interest from tax free Singapore government bonds
• Interest on deposits with approved banks, USD NCDs issued by approved banks in Singapore and interest from approved Asian Dollar Bonds

Individuals
The above interest earned by non-resident individuals is tax exempt.

Non-individuals
Interest from deposits with approved banks and approved Asian Dollar Bonds is exempt from tax if it is earned by non-residents who do not, by themselves or in association with others carry on a business in Singapore and do not have a permanent establishment ("PE") (e.g. a branch) in Singapore.

Interest from deposits placed with approved banks in Singapore earned by non-resident person (not an individual or PE in Singapore) who carries on an operations in Singapore through a PE in Singapore, such interest is also exempt from tax provided that the funds used to make the deposit are not obtained from the Singapore operation.

Interest/discount from qualifying debt securities ("QDS") earned by non-residents
For individuals, interest from debt securities and discount from QDS are tax exempt. For non-individuals, the following types of income are exempt from tax:

• Interest from QDS issued between 28th February 1998 and 31st December 2018, by any person who is not resident in Singapore and who does not have any PE in Singapore.
• Interest from QDS issued during the period from 27th February 1999 to 31st December 2018, by any person who is not resident in Singapore and who carries on any operation in Singapore through a PE in Singapore but where the funds used by that person to acquire the QDS are not obtained from the Singapore operations.
• Any amount payable from any Islamic debt securities which are QDS issued between 1st January 2005 to 31st December 2018 to any person (a) who is not resident and does not have any PE in Singapore or (b) who is not resident and who carries on any operation in Singapore through a PE in Singapore but where the funds used by that person to acquire the QDS are not obtained from the Singapore operations.
• Discount derived from QDS with tenure of one year or less issued between 27th February 2004 to 16th February 2006 by any person (a) who is not resident and does not have any PE in Singapore or (b) who is not resident and who carries on any operation in Singapore through a PE in Singapore but where the funds used by that person to acquire the QDS are not obtained from the Singapore operations.
• Discount derived from QDS issued between 17th February 2006 to 31st December 2018 by any person (a) who is not resident and does not have any PE in Singapore or (b) who is not resident and who carries on any operation in Singapore through a PE in Singapore but where the funds used by that person to acquire the QDS are not obtained from the Singapore operations.

NB: As announced in Singapore Budget 2013, the existing Qualifying Debt Securities (QDS) and QDS Plus schemes that are also due for expiry in December 2013 will be extended for another 5 years to 31 December 2018 and for debt securities issued during the period of 1 January 2014 to 31 December 2018, the compliance requirements for issuers will be eased.

The above exemption are subject to certain conditions, such as not more than 50% of the issued QDS are beneficially held or funded, directly or indirectly, at any time of the life of the issue by related parties of the issuer of the those securities, etc.

QDS scheme also exempts all investors from income tax on qualifying income derived from QDS (excluding Singapore government securities) that are:

• Debt securities issued between 16th February 2008 and 31st December 2018 with a tenure of at least 10 years; and

Islamic bonds or sukuks issued between 16th February 2008 and 31st December 2018, subject to certain conditions

Please see above information.

Not applicable for non-resident investors.

Singapore has comprehensive tax treaties or Double Taxation Treaties (DTTs) that are in force.

The list of the countries can be found at: https://www.iras.gov.sg/irashome/Quick-Links/International-Tax/

For registration of physical certificates charges are as follows:
Stamp Duty:

• No Change in Beneficial Owner (NCBO) - No stamp duty is applicable.
• Change in Beneficial Owner (CBO) - 0.2% of market value of shares based on the previous day's SGX closing price plus 7% GST. Certificate Fees: S$2.00 + 7% GST per certificate (for cancellation of existing certificate and issuance of new ones).No Change in Beneficial Owner (NCBO) - No stamp duty is applicable.
• Change in Beneficial Owner (CBO) - 0.2% of market value of shares based on the previous day's SGX closing price plus 7% GST.
• Certificate fee: S$2.00 + 7% GST per certificate (for cancellation of existing certificate and issuance of new ones).

Any sale or buy request for unwanted rights, odd lots and fractional entitlements sent via RBC Investor Services will be subject to a 8% Goods and Services Tax (GST). These transactions normally relate to clients exceptionally instructing RBC Investor Services to dispose of such entitlements. 

The 8% GST is zero-rated for non-resident investors on:

• settlements
• collection of dividends and rights allocations
• immobilisation of securities
• issuance of new shares and redemptions

However, it may be applicable for the custody of physical certificates.

GST rate increased from 7% to 8% on January 1, 2023, and from 8% to 9% on January 1, 2024.

Singapore Holiday Calendar

• Singapore Stock Exchange/ Central Depository (Pte) LTD sgx.com
• Ministry of Finance mof.gov.sg
• Monetary Authority of Singapore mas.gov.sg
• Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore www.iras.gov.sg