Singapore Exchange Q4 profit up 24 pct, to focus on boosting listings

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Singapore Exchange Ltd (SGX) reported a 24 percent rise in its quarterly net profit to the highest in two years and said it would focus on tackling the weak environment for new listings of companies.

"We are conscious of the challenges ahead and the need to address new listings activity and work with our stakeholders towards our common goal of a more liquid and higher-quality securities market," Loh Boon Chye, who started as the new CEO this month, said in a statement on Wednesday.

SGX's net profit in the quarter ending June rose to S$96.2 million ($70.5 million), up from S$77.4 million a year ago. The quarterly profit was the highest since the quarter ending March 2013. Full-year profit increased 9 percent to S$348.6 million, in line with the average estimate of analysts, as per Thomson Reuters data.

Veteran banker Boon Chye, who joined SGX from Bank of America Merrill Lynch, is faced with the task of improving securities trading volumes and liquidity at the bourse.

($1 = 1.3640 Singapore dollars)

(Reporting by Anshuman Daga; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)