SINGAPORE, December 12, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

The Board of Directors of the Singapore Mercantile Exchange ("SMX") is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Vaidyalingam Hariharan, currently serving as the interim CEO, as the Chief Executive Officer of SMX with effect from 12 December 2011. His appointment is for an initial term of three years.

"The Board is pleased to appoint Mr. Hariharan as the CEO of SMX. He has steered the exchange to a path of consistent growth through the transitional phase. We are confident that, with his vast experience of new exchange implementation in multiple Greenfield projects, he will be able to expand the reach of SMX into new product categories and markets," says Mr. Ang Swee Tian, Chairman of SMX.

In his six-month tenure as the interim CEO, Mr. Hariharan has been responsible for stabilising the operations of SMX and demonstrating tangible results both on the business and strategic fronts. He has instilled greater focus in the organisation through re-allocation of resources and responsibilities with a view to driving performance.

"I am happy that the Board has expressed confidence in my leadership and given me a mandate to lead this unique pan-Asian commodity derivatives and currencies exchange. In the short term, we aim to further consolidate our position and also introduce some Asia specific agri contracts which will enable to broaden market participation on SMX," says Mr. V Hariharan, CEO of SMX on his appointment.

Mr. Hariharan is a qualified technology and management professional with extensive experience in areas of technology development and conceptualization, exchange management, business strategy and international relations. He has immense knowledge in the field of exchanges, with previous stints at the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), National Stock Exchange of India Ltd. (NSE) and Multi Commodity Exchange of India Ltd. (MCX). Mr. Hariharan has been notably involved in MCX (5th largest Commodity Exchange in the world), and Indian Electricity Exchange (IEX - No. 1 Electricity Exchange of India), where he has been involved right from the inception as director on the board to implement these green-field Exchanges.

From December 2000, he has held pivotal roles within the Financial Technologies Group -- a leading provider of trading technology solutions and the creator of several exchange and support eco-system ventures across India, Middle East, Asia and Africa. Mr. V Hariharan has been director on the board of various exchanges and support companies including the boards of SMX and its wholly-owned subsidiary, SMX Clearing Corporation from the very beginning.

About Singapore Mercantile Exchange

Singapore Mercantile Exchange is a pan-Asian multi-product commodity and currency derivatives exchange situated in Singapore. It offers a comprehensive platform for trading a diversified basket of commodities including futures and options contracts on precious metals, base metals, agriculture commodities, energy, currencies and indices. SMX offers market participants the benefits of market transparency, time zone convenience, price discovery and benchmarking, price risk management and multiple connectivity options. Counterparty clearing and settlement risk is effectively managed through its clearing house, the Singapore Mercantile Exchange Clearing Corporation. The regulator of Singapore's financial markets -- the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) -- has granted SMX "Approved Exchange" status since 2010. SMX is backed by the world's leading creator of exchanges -- Financial Technologies (India) Limited -- which has successfully established 10 exchanges across India, Dubai, Singapore, Africa, Mauritius and Bahrain. SMX is a member of leading international derivatives industry associations, such as the Futures Industry Association (FIA), the Swiss Futures and Options Association (SFOA), the Association of Futures Markets (AFM) and the Futures and Options Association (FOA).

More information is available at http://www.smx.com.sg

For SMX media enquiries, please contact:

Hasmita Rajan
Corporate Communications
Tel: +65-6590-3754
Email: hasmita.rajan@smx.com.sg

SOURCE Singapore Mercantile Exchange