SINGAPORE - The chief executive of the local bourse will be leaving at the end of June, the Singapore Exchange (SGX) said in a statement on Tuesday.

Mr Magnus Bocker has notified the exchange that he will not be seeking to extend his appointment beyond his current contract, which ends on June 30 this year.

He took the helm at the SGX slightly over five years ago, on Dec 1, 2009.

Mr Bocker said in a statement that was time for him to "take on new challenges", but did not elaborate on his plans.

The SGX said it is assessing internal and external candidates it has shortlisted to take over Mr Bocker.

Mr Bocker has been criticised recently by several remisiers, who blame him for lower retail trading activity. Some even launched a petition last year for him to step down.

The bourse also suffered two trading disruptions within a span of two months late last year, which earned it a rebuke from the Monetary Authority of Singapore.

After the second one, which happened in December, Mr Bocker had been asked whether he would resign.

He replied at that time: "We are building a stronger SGX. My job is to do that. I'm not giving up ... I've been working with exchanges for nearly 30 years and this is not the first time I've gone through this. We will come through."

On whether his contract would be renewed in June, he had said: "This is something between me and my board... I really appreciate working with the SGX. We have a phenomenal journey for this company, which I think is one of the most interesting exchange companies in the world."

SGX shares fell nine cents to $8.22 on Tuesday before the the bourse's announcement.