GOVERNMENT MEASURES
The Singapore government has taken steps to boost the local stock market’s appeal.
Two funds – namely the S$1.5 billion Anchor Fund @ 65 and S$500 million EDBI Growth IPO Fund – were established in 2022 to support high-growth firms to raise capital through public listings here.
Fund managers do so by advising companies on the listing requirements of SGX, as well as facilitating engagements with investment banks and market makers, said a spokesperson from the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI).
Thus far, these funds have invested in nine companies to date, Mr Chee said in Parliament last week.
Asked if this number achieves any initial targets set and whether the funds have been effective in rejuvenating the local stock market, MTI would only say that the last two years have been “more challenging for equity markets globally” with a decline in IPO activities amid the high interest rate environment.
The equity markets in Singapore and the region have been similarly affected, the spokesperson said.
MTI did not respond to additional questions from CNA for details about the nine companies that received support and whether other investments are in the works.
Meanwhile, there are also schemes to help defray listing costs and fund research coverage of SGX-listed firms.
As part of the Grant for Equity Market Singapore (GEMS) scheme launched in 2019, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) provides grant amounts of up to S$2 million that help offset listing-related expenses.
As of May, this grant has supported a total of 46 listings from sectors ranging from new technology, media, healthcare to information technology, an MAS spokesperson said.
Ten of these were mainboard listings, such as Nanofilm Technologies and Digital Core REIT. The remaining 36, including newly listed SAM Holdings, are listed on the Catalist board.
Also under GEMS, a research development grant has supported more than 10 research houses which hired 38 research analysts as of end-2023.
These research houses have produced over 900 research reports covering more than 130 SGX-listed companies, with information they contain providing insights for retail investors and helping better decision making, MAS said.
“The GEMS grant funding is one of the factors that potential IPO aspirants take into account in considering a listing on our equities market,” the central bank spokesperson told CNA.
“MAS will review new ideas and proposals to improve our equities market and support business growth and will continue to work with industry stakeholders on this goal.”
On its part, SGX introduced new rules in 2021 to permit the listing of special purpose acquisition companies, or SPACs, on the mainboard and more recently, a Thailand-Singapore Depository Receipt was launched to broaden access to capital and markets.
It also started a market maker and liquidity provider programme in 2014 to boost trading volumes. The market operator declined to reveal specifics of this programme, citing confidentiality.
SGX also declined to comment on other questions posed by CNA for this article, such as whether it is reviewing its existing initiatives to boost performance.