Seldom does a single person become so synonymous with an industry in a single country as Ang Swee Tian. Ang retired as president of Singapore Exchange at the end of 2005 after 22 years at the organization and its predecessor Simex. He led the exchange all the way from its launch to its current status as one of the leading derivatives exchanges in Asia. It was under his quiet yet effective leadership that Simex launched its Mutual Offset System with Chicago Mercantile Exchange in 1984, one of the earliest and most successful exchange linkages in the history of the derivatives industry. As head of the exchange, he played a central role during the Barings crisis and succeeded un preserving the integrity of the exchange’s markets. Ang always recognized that his exchange needed a global vision in order to grow beyond the boundaries of its home market in Singapore. He was instrumental in the launch of the Nikkei 225 and MSCI Taiwan futures contracts and encouraged firms from all points of the globe to join the exchange and participate in trading its products.
