Baltic Exchange has agreed to extend talks with the Singapore Exchange (SGX) for two months in order for the south-east Asian bourse to finalise its acquisition terms.

Both sides said on Tuesday that “good progress” has been made in consultations and that the extra time allows dialogue to continue before the final terms of the purchase are agreed.

London’s Baltic Exchange handles the trading and settlement of physical and derivative shipping contracts.

It's home to the Baltic Dry Index, which measures the cost of shipping huge quantities of coal, ore, grain and other dry commodities across the world.

SGX wants to build links with London to extend Singapore’s position as a global maritime hub. The city state is the world’s second busiest port by tonnage.

The groups cautioned that there was no assurance the talks would lead to a definitive agreement.