The Monetary Authority of Singapore and Singapore Exchange Regulation both gave their word of advice with regards to the market activities triggered by the now infamous GameStop retail trading saga in the U.S.
The two regulators noted investor interest in Singapore related to the recent retail trading activities in the U.S. – coined by some as the Reddit rally or the 'meme stock' rally following the popular belief that netizens mobilized on online forums to create a short squeeze against hedge funds.
«MAS and SGX RegCo have noted investor interest in Singapore in recent activities in US markets relating to stocks such as GameStop, AMC Entertainment Holdings, and BlackBerry,» according to a statement.
«Discussions in online websites and platforms suggest the possibilities for similar speculative activities in the Singapore stock market.»
Online Incitement
While some believe that the short squeeze which hit renowned hedge funds worldwide was caused by an organic, activist investor movement, others suggest that this may be merely a tactical play by yet another group of hedge funds.
Renowned activist short-seller and Muddy Waters CEO Carson Block recently raised questions in a «Bloomberg» report about «what constitutes coordination» amongst hedge funds and whether or not «they crossed the line».
«[P]erpetrators may [benefit through ‘pump and dump’ activities] by setting up positions in certain securities,» the MAS and SGX RegCo's statement added. «They then use social media chat groups to incite investors to buy these securities in a manner similar to how individual investors collectively pushed up certain share prices in the US.»
