SINGAPORE - The Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEx) and the Singapore Exchange (SGX) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on Wednesday to boost their cooperation in "several areas of common interest."

SGX Chief Executive Officer Magnus Bocker, who signed the MoU with HKEx Chief Executive Officer Charles Li, said the potential areas of cooperation are mainly the internationalization of the Chinese yuan, including the joint product development; collaboration on the regulatory issues as well as the technology development.

The two bourses, which share a lot of common interests as both are based in a small and open economy, may also work closely in relation to extraterritorial market infrastructure regulation, particularly their impact on Asia, senior management of SGX said.

Bocker said the two exchanges share a lot of common interests in jointly growing the regional market, including the still nascent derivatives market of Asia.