Going green now comes in the form of electronic statements for investors issued by all nine retail securities brokers in Singapore and the Central Depository (CDP).

The brokers, who are members of the Securities Association of Singapore (SAS), and the CDP will give electronic statements to customers, starting from the fourth quarter of this year.

In a joint statement released by the Singapore Exchange and SAS yesterday, SAS chairman Lim Kok Ann said: "Securities firms view this as a positive move, keeping with technology gives customers easy access to their electronic records."

Customers of retail brokers will be able to view their account statements and contracts online.

They will also get to view, print or save their records online for up to three months, when brokers switch to electronic contracts.

Investors will be notified via e-mail or SMS from their brokers, and via e-mail from CDP when their electronic statements are ready. The electronic statements and notification alerts will come at no cost.

If investors still want physical copies, they may send a request to their brokers or the CDP, any time.

CDP account holders who have registered for the CDP Internet Service - used to update particulars, for instance - will be able to access their account statements for the past 24 months, and confirmation notes for the past 60 days. This starts from the second quarter of next year. This updates the current service where they access electronic monthly account statements for the past three months.

Those already receiving electronic statements will stop getting physical copies of the statements.

Retail investors who have not signed up for Internet trading accounts or the CDP Internet service will still get hard-copy statements.

Mr David Gerald, president and chief executive of Securities Investors Association of Singapore, said they are "pleased that the CDP and the nine local retail brokers are progressing with changing consumer behaviour, and we welcome the promotion of e-statements".