Daily Briefing: SGX suffers another futures trading delay; Singapore-Hong Kong Fintech rivalry gets a new twist

And here's what is legal and what isn't in Singapore's online betting.

Less than six months after Singapore Exchange Ltd.’s chief executive officer apologized for a trading halt, Southeast Asia’s biggest bourse suffered a disruption to some of its most popular products. Futures on the Nikkei 225 Stock Average, which usually open at 7:30 a.m. local time, didn’t start trading on Thursday until about 10:15 a.m., according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The delay also affected India’s Nifty 50 Index Futures and iron ore contracts, Bloomberg data show. While the exchange gave little information publicly, it said a specific issue relating to the expiring December Nikkei contract was the cause. Get to know the full story here.

Tax benefits, government help and easy access to regional markets led Joe Seunghyun Cho to choose Singapore as the headquarters for his six financial technology companies, rather than base them in the rival hub of Hong Kong or his native South Korea. “We are quite impressed by government agencies here,” said Cho, whose Marvelstone Group is developing a mobile payments platform and invests in other fintech firms. Singapore authorities introduced him to tax advantages and connected his firm to potential partners. Read more here.

But before you start rejoicing that you can now build your retirement nest egg online in a single night, be aware that if you “accidentally” participate in illegal gambling, you’re liable to a fine of up to $5,000, 6 months of jail or both. Ouch. So what’s legal and what’s not? Click here to find out.

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