Sell a large block off the screen.
A privately-negotiated sale of a substantial SGX-listed position — placed with an identified buyer, at a controlled price, with minimal market impact and the cross sequenced around your own counsel's filings.
A negotiated sale, not a sequence of clicks.
A block trade is a privately-negotiated, off-screen sale of a large parcel of SGX-listed shares, matched with a buyer at an agreed price and crossed away from the continuous order book — what the market also calls a married deal or a crossing — then settled through The Central Depository (CDP).
When a substantial holder works a sizeable line through the open order book, two things happen. The price slips as the book absorbs successive sell orders, and the very act of selling signals intent to the rest of the market — often inviting front-running and a wider re-rating of the counter. The realised price is rarely the screen price you started from.
A block trade sidesteps both. The position is shown discreetly to a known, qualified buyer; the price is fixed by negotiation; and the trade crosses in a single, reported transaction rather than bleeding into the tape over hours or days.
- 01Minimal market impact. One agreed price for the whole block, instead of a falling average as the screen absorbs the flow.
- 02Controlled signalling. The intention to sell is contained within a small, qualified group rather than broadcast to the order book.
- 03Certainty of completion. A committed buyer and a fixed size, settled through CDP on an agreed date.
When you genuinely want to part with the position.
A block trade is for the holder who wants out — cleanly, quietly, and on a price they have agreed in advance.
Sometimes the objective is not liquidity against a position you intend to keep — it is to reduce or exit it. To diversify away from a single concentrated counter, to fund an estate or a succession plan, to settle among family shareholders, or simply to crystallise value built over years. In those cases a block trade is the right instrument, and a sale is the point.
Where the goal is instead to raise capital while keeping ownership, dividends, and the upside intact, the keep-ownership alternative is a stock loan. We are equally placed to arrange either, and we will say plainly which one fits the objective in front of us.
On-screen sale versus negotiated block trade.
Both routes ultimately sell the line. Only one is built to move size without moving the price against you. The table sets the two side by side.
| Consideration | Negotiated block trade | Working it on the screen |
|---|---|---|
| Price impact | One agreed price for the whole block | A falling average as the book absorbs the flow |
| Signalling | Contained within a small, qualified group | Broadcast to the order book; invites front-running |
| Speed of completion | A single cross on an agreed date | Bleeds into the tape over hours or days |
| Certainty of size | A committed buyer for a fixed line | Depends on the depth available each session |
| Disclosure | Sequenced with your own counsel before the cross | Reactive, as filings are triggered along the way |
| Best suited to | Large, concentrated, or illiquid lines | Small parcels well within daily liquidity |
The larger the line relative to the counter's free float and average daily traded value, the stronger the case for crossing it off-market rather than working it on the screen.
How a Singapore block actually crosses.
A block trade is an exercise in matching the right buyer to the right line at the right moment, then reporting and settling it correctly through the depository.
- 01Sourcing the counterparty. We approach the natural buyers for the line — domestic and regional institutions, funds with a mandate for the name, and strategics seeking a stake — discreetly and on a need-to-know basis.
- 02Price discovery. Pricing is anchored to the prevailing screen, then negotiated to a premium or, more commonly, a discount that reflects size, free float, and the buyer's appetite.
- 03Crossing off-market. The trade is executed away from the continuous order book in a single transaction, then reported as the rules require.
- 04Settlement & sequencing. Settlement runs through The Central Depository (CDP); timing and sequencing are arranged around disclosure, closed periods, and the buyer's process.
The cross sequenced around your counsel's filings.
Signalling risk is managed deliberately, and the execution is sequenced so that any filings your own Singapore counsel must make can be made in good order. Any disclosure or regulatory obligations are a matter for your own Singapore legal counsel, engaged in parallel; we act as arranger and introducer and do not provide legal or regulatory advice.
- 01Signalling risk. The position is shown only to qualified buyers under confidentiality, limiting any read-through to the screen before the trade is reported.
- 02Your counsel, in parallel. Where the size of a holding or a change in it may carry reporting or take-over consequences, those are matters for the Singapore counsel you engage. We do not advise on them.
- 03Sequenced execution. We time and sequence the cross and its settlement around your counsel's process, so that filings can be made in order rather than reactively.
- 04Arranger, not adviser. Our role is to source the buyer, discover the price, and arrange the cross. Legal and regulatory advice remains with your own counsel.
This is high-level orientation, not legal advice. Any disclosure or regulatory obligations are a matter for your own Singapore legal counsel, engaged in parallel; we act as arranger and introducer and do not provide legal or regulatory advice.
Staged or syndicated when the line is large.
Blocks are arranged for positions valued from SGD 5M+ upward, with no defined upper bound. The larger the line relative to the float, the more the execution is shaped around it.
Single cross
For a contained line and an identified buyer, the whole block crosses in one reported off-market transaction at an agreed price.
One buyer · one priceStaged or syndicated
Larger blocks may be placed over time, or split across more than one buyer, to manage price impact and keep disclosure orderly through each step.
Sequenced placementA clear path, run with discretion.
Five stages from first conversation to a settled cross. A principal is involved at every stage.
Enquiry
The high-level details of the position and your objective, shared through a secure channel.
Indicative pricing
A read on achievable price against the screen, given the size, free float, and liquidity of the counter.
Buyer process
Discreet sounding and engagement of qualified buyers under confidentiality.
Documentation
Sale terms, confirmations, and disclosure filings prepared with Singapore counsel.
Crossing & settlement
The block is crossed off-market and settled through The Central Depository (CDP) on the agreed date.
Block trades, in plain terms.
01What is a block trade on SGX?
02How is the block trade price set?
03Should I do a block trade or a stock loan?
04Will a block trade have to be disclosed in Singapore?
05What block sizes do you arrange?
Have a line you are ready to place?
Tell us the counter and the size. A senior principal will reply with an indicative read — usually within one business day.