Singapore’s equity reforms may boost IPO activity

Is the Singapore stock market finally seeing a glimmer of hope at this juncture? With new measures including tax incentives announced by the MAS Review Group in February, analysts are predicting public listings in Singapore to increase by as much as 50% this year.

Our Managing Partner & Head of Audit & Assurance APAC, Rick Chan, and Partner and Head of Capital Markets, Ooi Chee Keong collectively shared their expert perspectives with Singapore Business Review in an interview, shedding light on the impact of these new measures on the market, while highlighting other plausible initiatives to further revitalise the market respectively.

Chee Keong noted that with the new measures, companies from the financial services, technology, green energy, healthcare and biotechnology sectors may be attracted to list on the Singapore Exchange (SGX). He further elaborated that the stock market reforms would benefit both institutional and retail investors, where big investors would have more capital to deploy, while small ones would stand to gain more investment opportunities with potentially better returns.

Touching base on the potential measures to further improve public listings, Rick explained that the stock market should require IPO applicants to provide detailed forecasts and scalability plans to enhance valuations and attract more investors.

"Companies should articulate their growth strategies, including market expansion plans, product development roadmaps, and potential mergers or acquisitions," he added.

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