SGX sets up board of inquiry to probe power outage: DPM Tharman

SGX sets up board of inquiry to probe power outage: DPM Tharman

The power outage caused a halt in the trading of securities and derivatives for more than three hours on Wednesday afternoon (Nov 5).

SINGAPORE: A board of inquiry has been set up by the Singapore Exchange (SGX) to investigate the power outage which caused a halt in the trading of securities and derivatives for more than three hours on Wednesday afternoon (Nov 5).

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Tharman Shanmugaratnam said this on the sidelines of a free health screening event in Jurong on Sunday. Mr Tharman said SGX has appointed independent experts to look into several matters, including power supply and recovery processes.

Preliminary investigations showed that SGX's backup power supply, also known as the Uninterruptible Power Supply, did not kick in. Mr Tharman said this is one area the board of inquiry will investigate.

"This is equipment that had been tested, has gone through disaster recovery exercises, but something failed. Not just with regard to the primary power supply, but the backup system. So they have to get to the bottom of that," he said.

The inquiry team will comprise four Board directors who are all independent of management. It will be chaired by Mr Quah Wee Ghee, the Chairman of SGX's Risk Management Committee. The other three members are Mr Chew Choon Seng, Mr Kevin Kwok and Mr Lee Hsien Yang. SGX is required to submit a preliminary investigation report to the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) within two weeks of the Nov 5 incident.

Mr Tharman also said the board of inquiry will be looking into decision-making processes during a crisis. "Sometimes you need a setback like this to look at all your processes very thoroughly, because crises don't happen often, but you have got to have a tight system of SOPs so that you can make decisions quickly and understand the risks and make a judgment quickly in that circumstance."

Mr Tharman said Wednesday's incident "does not help" Singapore's reputation as a financial hub, even though similar incidents have occurred in financial centres overseas. "It doesn't matter what happens overseas. We've got to get it right here, and make sure our reputation is kept intact," he said.

He added that the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) will be monitoring investigations closely and will decide on any course of action at a later date.

Mr Tharman was speaking after touring the Community Health Day at SATA CommHealth Jurong East Medical Centre. Some 300 Jurong residents received free health screening on Sunday morning.

Those above the age of 50 had glaucoma and osteoporosis checks. In Singapore, glaucoma affects about 3 per cent of people aged over 50, and the risk increases with age. Given the ageing population, more people are expected to suffer from hip fractures.

During Sunday's event, participants also went for chest X-rays or had their blood pressure, blood glucose and cholesterol levels checked. SATA CommHealth provided these services as part of Community Health Day. This is the 12th time that Community Health Day is held in Singapore.

- CNA/nd/ir

- wong chee tat :)