CEO Letter - May 2019

By: , May 2019

Dear Colleagues,

Welcome to the May issue of Focus.

Our first Executive Profile of the month is Datuk Umar Swift, Chief Executive Officer, Bursa Malaysia. His inspirational article urges us to create connections “across a wider group of parties…that they may reach deeper into our society and deliver the kind of value that continues to build for generations.”

We are delighted to welcome José Antonio Martínez, Chief Executive Officer, Bolsa de Santiago who gives us an overview of how the Chilean exchange is tackling two big industry topics: sustainability and technology, using innovation as the cornerstone of its strategy.

ESG is firmly on the agenda across our global membership, and the most recent exchange to announce its path towards a sustainable financial future is Bermuda Stock Exchange (BSX). Greg Wojciechowski, Chief Executive Officer of the BSX explains more about its ESG initiative that aims to empower sustainable and responsible growth for its member companies, listings, and the wider community. Shyrose Osman, Vice President, Head of Corporate Communications, Dubai Financial Market (DFM) updates us on the various initiatives DFM is undertaking on ESG issues, including its ESG workshop series and its Sustainability Committee.

Adena Friedman, President & Chief Executive Officer, Nasdaq writes about the firm's new blueprint - TotalMarkets: Blueprint for a Better Tomorrow - which focuses on the market structure that supports the trading of public companies, offering five objectives for regulatory market reform.

We hear - via an article and a video - from Jim Hraska, Managing Director & General Manager, FICC, DTCC, who discusses the success of the DTCC’s Sponsored DVP Repo Service, the impact of expansion, and benefits for the industry.

We are always really delighted to feature stories about how our members are giving back to the societies in which they operate. This month we feature a piece about the Singapore Exchange (SGX) Bull Charge Charity Golf tournament which brought together corporates to raise $770,000 for various local charities.

We are pleased to welcome an article from Bassam Abu Abbas, Acting Chief Executive Officer, Amman Stock Exchange who firmly believes that financial education is becoming ever more critical, not only for investment purposes but also for improving day-to-day financial understanding.

We continue the financial literacy theme as Hussain M. Al Abdulla, Director, Marketing and Communications, Qatar Stock Exchange writes about the exchange’s inaugural competition for universities and business colleges in Qatar, designed to improve the financial literacy of its student population. Under the title 'Market Liquidity at Qatar Stock Exchange' this year’s competition called on students to identify and discuss factors affecting stock market liquidity, a key issue impacting markets across the world.

And finally, the 8th edition of Global Money Week (GMW) took place at the end of March 2019 with over 50 exchanges welcoming children and young people as part of the ‘Ring Around the World’ initiative, which gave them valuable opportunities to learn about the work of exchanges worldwide. The campaign is designed to inspire children and young people to learn about money matters, livelihoods, and entrepreneurship.

This month, the WFE Research & Statistics team’s monthly insights piece examines trends in equity options and futures volumes over the January to April 2019 period versus the same period in 2018. You can also find our latest monthly dashboard and market statistics data.

The next WFE IOMA Clearing & Derivatives conference will be in March 2020 (25-27), graciously hosted by the Malta Stock Exchange. It will be the 37th edition of the meeting. See you there.

But before that we are really looking forward to the bi-annual WFE Technology Conference, which is just one month away (30 June - 2 July, Umeå, Sweden) with partner Umeå University. The packed agenda will leave you feeling inspired and energised as we try to unpick the big tech issues of today. We’ll be looking at topics such as the human’s guide to machine intelligence, the future of cyber resilience, and which fintech firms are likely to change the face of capital markets. A brave new world indeed.

And finally, we will soon be opening registration for the 59th General Assembly & Annual Meeting (Singapore, 8-10 October 2019). Please look out for more details and information over the summer.

Safe travels to Sweden.