Date: June 5, 2010
Mr JY Pillay, Chairman, Singapore Exchange
Mr Liew Mun Leong, President & CEO, CapitaLand
Mr Tan Chok Kian, Chairman, SIAS
Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen.
Welcome to AICE 2010.
Thank you for coming. As you know, for the past 11 years, SIAS has been championing the cause of retail investors in Singapore. We ensure that their rights are protected, and more importantly, we educate investors and provide them with the tools to invest wisely. We also push companies towards higher standards of corporate governance. This has been no small task for a small organization like SIAS.
To stay relevant in today’s investing climate, investors need to be continually updated on the latest products and developments. SIAS too needs to continually evolve and stay relevant to the needs of investors. This year alone, we have launched BizDaily, a free daily e-newsletter for our members which brings the latest news on company developments and financial news. We have also revamped Singapore Investor, our e-magazine with videos and daily news updates on the Singapore market. I am also pleased to announce the launch of our Beginner’s Guide to Investing – an online guide which assists all investors in understanding the products and associated risks. This will be updated periodically with new products and feature articles.
This year’s Asian Investor’s Conference and Exhibition is even larger than the one last year. We have 45 exhibitors and 63 seminars and we are expecting between 20 – 25,000 visitors this weekend.
The theme for AICE 2010, “Deepening Investment Knowledge for Sound Wealth Creation,” is timely. The stimulus packages in place last year and the tightening monetary policy saw investors exiting the market. But just as the “bull” started to pick up momentum in April this year, the Greek crisis came, causing markets to fall in May as fears of contagion grew. Now another fear to erupt is that of war between North and South Korea. As if this is not enough, there are also other worries for investors, arising from the rising Yen, the property bubble in China, the oil leak and the list goes on. Although, Singapore has been achieving strong growth, the recent global events have made it difficult for small investors to make clear decisions on their investments.
The objective for SIAS to organize AICE therefore is several fold;
Firstly, it is an industry effort with participation from brokers, issuers, financial institutions, products of various asset classes from listed companies, REITs, ETFs, FX, CFDs, unit trust and property.
Secondly, AICE also provides investors with good mid-year update on the markets and performance of the various asset classes, and how to cope with and take advantage of the current market volatility.
Thirdly, but not lastly, it gives investors insights into understanding the different investment products and strategies to help them plan and structure their investment portfolios. We believe that investors should always invest with knowledge and with proper long term objectives and make necessary mid-term adjustments along the way. AICE is therefore a one-stop investor education fair.
I am confident that investors will take home timely knowledge and strategies that they need to help them build their wealth.
I would like to thank SGX for their strong support of this event. Our Gold sponsors, CapitaLand and World Gold Council, and Our Silver Sponsors, Phillip Securities and Great Eastern and all other participating exhibitors, speakers, and staff for making this event possible.
Finally, a special thank you to our Guest of Honor, Mr J Y Pillay, for gracing this event and for his continual support.
