UPDATE 2-Switch to new Singapore index frustrates traders

(Adds comments from SGX CEO)

By Kevin Lim

SINGAPORE Jan 10 (Reuters) - Singapore switched to a new benchmark stock index .FTSTI on Thursday, but many stockbrokers were left frustrated without real-time quotes on their screens, traders said.

Singapore Exchange (SGXL.SI), together with partners FTSE Group and Singapore Press Holdings (SPRM.SI), on Thursday launched a slimmer 30-stock Straits Times Index and 18 other new indexes, including one tracking China shares listed in the city-state.

But traders using GL Trade, the system that is being rolled in to replace the Singapore Exchange's SESOP trading terminals, told Reuters that their screens could not display the latest index readings in real time, hindering their ability to follow the stock market and advise clients.

"It is not a technical issue," said Richard Zhu, GL Trade's deputy managing director in Singapore. "SGX's member (firms) have to give their written endorsement to GL Trade so that they can have the new STI on their screen. No members have given their agreement yet," he told Reuters.

"As soon as we have their endorsement, we will invest on development so that the system will be able to display STI indices," he added.

According to sources familiar with the discussions, the impasse was due to GL Trade, a Paris-based financial services firm, wanting to pass on the development and running costs to traders. The stockbroking firms were, however, reluctant to incur additional charges.

The problems affected mainly remisiers, who cater mostly to retail investors and earn a commission on trades. These traders generally do not have personal use of news and data terminals such as those provided by Reuters RTR.L and Bloomberg, unlike institutional dealers.

"I can't take decisive action if I have positions in Singapore," said a trader with a local broking firm. "It's a major blindspot."

A Singapore Exchange spokesman said SGX and its partners are providing traders with live quotes for free and that the broking firms could also provide the information on their Web sites.

Hsieh Fu Hua, SGX's chief executive, said the new indexes follow a "globally recognised methodology" used by FTSE, which would make them more popular with international investors.

"We expect that the revamped STI and new indices will stimulate the development of more index-related products, spurring greater trading on our exchange and creating a more vibrant Singapore securities market." (Additional reporting by Chua Baizhen and Melanie Lee, editing by Louise Ireland/Neil Chatterjee)