The Singapore authorities added a further hurdle to London Stock Exchange Group's (LSE) planned US$27 billion (S$38 billion) purchase of Refinitiv, ruling that the combination with the data provider will reduce competition in the foreign-exchange market and requires a more in-depth review.

The Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCCS) said on Thursday that third-party feedback showed there are concerns about whether LSE's rivals in derivative clearing and index licensing will retain access to Refinitiv's WM/Reuters foreign exchange benchmarks at "fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms".

Singapore is the biggest foreign exchange market in Asia, and LSE's LCH business is a major player in clearing Asian currencies and interest rate swaps.

The city-state's move to scrutinise the deal in depth is a blow to LSE, which is also facing a drawn-out antitrust process in Europe.

The Singapore regulator said that there are six lines of business where LSE, Refinitiv, or both generate revenue from local customers, including trading services, clearing, index licensing, financial information products, regulatory reporting services and information technology. The regulator said that it was not clear whether the competition concerns could be easily resolved.

Singapore is host to 7.6 per cent of global forex trading, according to the Bank of International Settlements.

BLOOMBERG