At last are we seeing signs of a strategic move from the London Stock Exchange? The logic for a possible merger with another major exchange is clear and frankly one that should have been executed some years ago. Thus the opportunity for a merger with a vibrant Singapore exchange has to be welcomed. Will we see then the London & Singapore Stock Exchange (LSSE)?
If the LSE wants to be seen as a vital exchange with a dynamic future ahead of it, then it has to move away from being seen as just a listing of larger, usually mineral and extraction listed companies, into something more dynamic. You have to search hard to find a tech company in the FTSE indices - and even AIM has become somewhat moribund, with an increasingly less than dynamic reputation.

Time then for some oriental heat to be injected - it should be especially welcome from a very well regulated market and economy like Singapore. London should lose some of her pride and pomp and do what we do best when overseas - adapt and change.

Singapore is not just a small nation state little larger than the Isle of Wight, but rather a dynamic entrepôt, for not just traditional trade, but increasingly for regional and international Financial Services. The British may have founded the original colony of Singapore out of a marshy mosquito infested island, but the Singaporeans have developed one of the most exciting and reliable economies in the world. There is a lot we must learn from them.