Forex Trading Singapore

(MENAFN- Daily Forex) By: DailyForex.com

Singapore has a well-established, if not especially long, history as a solid offshore financial center. For a long time, it has been the largest Forex trading center by volume in the entire Asia-Pacific region , and according to the Monetary Authority of Singapore, it is the third largest such center in the world , after London and New York. It is widely considered to be well regulated, by the Singapore Monetary Authority .

A look at Singapore's history as a nation gives plenty of clues as to how it arrived at such a strong position. Ruled by Britain as a colony from 1826 to 1963, and suffering a very harsh Japanese occupation from 1942 to 1945, Singapore gained independence as part of Malaysia in 1963. A mostly Chinese island a midst a Malay and Muslim majority , strong political differences led quickly to turmoil, armed intervention by neighboring Indonesia, political strife, rocketing food prices, and race riots, culminating in the expulsion of Singapore from Malaysia in 1965. The newly independent nation found itself in a very difficult position: a small ethnic and religious minority sandwiched between potentially hostile Indonesia and Malaysia, with massive unemployment, a serious housing shortage, and a near-total lack of any natural resources, except its deep-water harbor.

Singapore's leader during the final years of its membership of the Malay Federation, Lee Kuan Yew, was not initially in favor of independence, but once Singapore was expelled from Malaysia by the rest of the component states, he set Singapore on a difficult course, albeit one that was widely accepted as necessary by its long-suffering population. One of the keystones of Singapore's long-term prosperity was its recognition that in the absence of natural resources, its people and reputation were its prime assets. Singapore invested very heavily in education, with Prime Minister Yew stating that he wanted 'to develop Singapore's only available natural resource, its people. Singapore had inherited an education system built largely by the British colonial authorities, but its government and people decided not to tear it up from the roots and to rebuild from scratch, as some other newly independent nations did, so Singapore's educational system enjoyed a solid foundation from the get-go. Moreover, with bilingualism enshrining English as a language of instruction, Singapore was well-placed to attract international business while English became even more entrenched as the global language of business. Two of the top 75 global universities are based in Singapore, even though the city-state has a population of only 5 million.

Another recurring theme within Singapore's political values system is meritocracy: anyone with ability and dedication is encouraged to rise as far as they can within the country's educational system, thanks to a program of generous scholarships, which are also available to students who wish to study at premier institutions of higher education outside Singapore. Another contribution to the success of Singapore's education system is an elevated level of respect for professional teachers and educators, and in deed as well as word: teachers' salaries are above the national median amount. The most talented teachers are promoted quickly. It is also not an accident that the Singaporean education system has typically stressed science, technology, engineering and mathematics as its primary topics, as these are all skills that are in high demand globally and have helped make the Singaporean workforce one of the most highly educated in the world.

We've already noted how the government of Singapore had no axe to grind about its colonial past and was happy to leave the English language and education system in a place where it could develop organically. No less importantly, the same could be said for the 'common law legal system which was another legacy of British rule. This legal system is typically regarded as business and company-friendly, as well as being very well understood in most of the world's advanced economies. It has been an aspect of Singapore's popularity as an offshore financial venue.

The political stability of Singapore is another crucial factor in its success as an offshore center. It might best be characterized as a democracy with an authoritarian streak, although most observers agree it is becoming less authoritarian and more democratic. In any case, the stability and continuity has allowed companies to feel very comfortable about locating there and planning for a long-term future. Singapore also has an unusually 'clean reputation, with its government placing a strong emphasis on taking ruthless measures against any hint of corruption, although critics have alleged that the country is run by a de-facto political cartel which takes major decisions in an opaque manner.

With a high percentage of educated citizens and a stable, reliable government, it is easy to see why Forex traders have high confidence in relying upon banking regulation in Singapore after all, large investors and banks do, so why shouldn't the retail sector too?

As at the time of writing, there are currently nine retail Forex brokers authorized by the Singapore Monetary Authority based in Singapore. In alphabetical order, they are:

CMC Markets Singapore Pte. Ltd.

IG Markets Singapore

KGI World

Maybank Kim Eng Securities Pte. Ltd.

OANDA Singapore

OCBC Securities Private Limited

Phillip Futures Singapore

Saxo Capital Markets Singapore

UTRADE FX

You can be sure they are all well-regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore. Some of these brokerages (such as IG Markets and CMC Markets) are large, global brokers that happen to maintain regulation in Singapore in order to better serve the local population. Others, such as OCBC Securities Private Limited are smaller, primarily local brokerages that focus mostly, if not exclusively, on serving Singapore's traders. Both global and local Forex brokers in Singapore have their advantages and disadvantages depending upon what you are looking for. There are also many other brokers regulated outside of Singapore that serve the country's traders which may be good options for some Singapore Forex traders depending on their specific needs.

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