Singapore Exchange shares post steepest drop since 2008 on end of MSCI licence

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Shares in bourse operator Singapore Exchange Ltd <SGXL.SI> suffered their steepest daily fall in more than a decade after the company said its profit would be hit when a licence to offer a suite of regional equity derivatives ends in February 2021.

Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd <0388.HK> will instead host trade in the contracts, which are tied to MSCI Inc's <MSCI.N> indexes and licensed from MSCI.

Singapore Exchange estimates a potential 10-15% hit to next year's profit as a result. Shares fell 10% on Wednesday to a two-month low when a trading halt was lifted. If sustained, it would be the steepest daily percentage fall since 2008, though the price is roughly steady year to date.

(Reporting by Tom Westbrook; Editing by Himani Sarkar)