​​​​​​​​​Market Manipulation in Singapore

• Analysis of announcements data from 2011-2016 suggests any potential instances of manipulation to be isolated incidents, not part of a broader phenomenon

• Research report recommends areas in which regulators may wish to strengthen oversight

WHAT IS MARKET MANIPULATION?

• Market Manipulation is defined as the deliberate creation of a false market in publicly traded securities with the aim of profiteering

• The study did not segregate types of manipulation; it is all-encompassing including illicit activities such as insider trading and ‘front-running’​

REPORT FINDINGS

• No evidence of broad-based manipulation around company announcements on Singapore Exchange (SGX) between Jan 2011 and Dec 2016

• Observed potential instances of manipulation around company announcements on SGX are standalone events and not part of a broader phenomenon

• Demonstrates that regulatory measures have been effective in preventing broad-based market manipulation

• Recommend certain announcement categories and sectors in which regulators may wish to strengthen oversight​

METHODOLOGY

• CFA Singapore and CRISIL analyzed publicly available data to determine the presence of market manipulation

• Conducted at the overall market level by looking at announcement categories and sectors, specific subset levels such as market capitalization, listing board and domicile (S-Chips or non S-Chips) groups

• Announcements were custom-categorized for more granular analysis: 4 SGX categories and 60 sub-categories re-grouped under 15 custom categories and 106 sub-categories. The study was done across three forms of returns and for multiple cumulative holding periods, pre- and post-announcement.

• Visual inspection of price and volume performance around announcements used to identify the right methodology and key parameters to be adopted for a more formal study

• Hypothesis testing, a validation study, and robustness checks (stress tests) were conducted to ensure the stability of findings