Drawing secondary listings to SGX may not move the needle much, but every little bit helps
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) proposes aligning disclosure requirements with baseline international disclosure standards, which are already commonly adopted by most established markets, including Singapore.
Specifically, these include the International Disclosure Standards for Cross-Border Offerings and Initial Listings by Foreign Issuers, as issued by the International Organization of Securities Commissions (Iosco).
In essence, these standards allow issuers who already have primary listings elsewhere to use the same prospectuses with minimal adaptation for their secondary listing on the Singapore Exchange (SGX) – a change which simplifies disclosure requirements.
Market players are in favour of the proposal, saying it will attract more companies from varied sectors, thus offering more choice to investors.
An SGX spokesperson reiterates the point: 'As an international listing venue, our role is to provide companies with seamless and broad access to capital at every stage of their growth.'
BT in your inbox
Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox.
Sign Up
Sign Up
For companies with international operations – especially those active in South-east Asia and the broader region – a secondary listing in Singapore offers a compelling opportunity to tap into the deep pools of global capital here, to broaden and diversify their investor base, and to elevate their visibility in a trusted financial hub, SGX added.
The spokesperson noted: 'We have been actively engaging companies and see growing interest from firms looking to use Singapore as a launchpad to expand their global and regional presence.'
Market sources say that sizeable firms in the tech, healthcare and new-energy sectors are eyeing Singapore as a possible destination for a secondary listing. Their market capitalisation ranges from over S$700 million to over S$1 billion.
At these market capitalisation amounts, the new joiners would be on par with the likes of steel fabricator BRC Asia and property and hotel player OUE, in terms of market sizes.
Clifford Lee, DBS' global head of investment banking, said these listings help 'diversify our equity market beyond the local bank-Reit core, to include growth areas like technology and healthcare.'
He noted that 'this could trigger a flywheel effect, under which fund managers are incentivised to develop Singapore market strategies, thus boosting trading volumes and, as a result, attracting more listings. Dual-listed stocks allow Asian investors to deal in Singapore hours and Singapore dollars, reducing foreign exchange and time-zone friction, further unlocking regional liquidity pools'.
The SGX spokesperson told The Business Times that there is a good pipeline of issuers looking at secondary listings on SGX. 'We are also in active discussion with many potential listing aspirants on their listing plans on SGX.'
For companies eyeing a secondary listing in an alternative market, the proposed rule changes are likely to give them a nudge in the right direction.
At the moment, the number of secondary listings – 28 – is a small fraction of the approximately 600 listings on SGX's mainboard and Catalist.
But they do have name recognition. Among the 28 are several long-time secondary listings, including DFI Retail, Hongkong Land, Mandarin Oriental and Jardine Matheson, all of which are part of Hong Kong's Jardine Group.
There are also relatively new – but well-known – names such as the New York Stock Exchange-listed Nio, a Chinese manufacturer of premium smart electric vehicles, and private healthcare service provider IHH Healthcare.
To James Leong, the chief executive officer of trading firm Grasshopper Asia, a company which opts for a secondary listing can 'gain access to new capital pools, increase brand recognition and generally increase liquidity and visibility for the stock. For the market, it provides interesting new products that investors may lack'.
One of the recent secondary listings on SGX is PC Partner Group, which has its primary listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. It joined SGX's mainboard last November.
The global computer electronics player relocated its headquarters to Singapore 'to support and manage the group's continued business growth in South-east Asia and other regions', which points to Singapore's ability to attract capital.
The group added that it plans to leverage Singapore's advantages as a global hub of innovation and technology and to expand into the region.
Whether more such companies will follow in PC Partners' path is the question, notwithstanding reports that some interested candidates are waiting in the wings.
Grasshopper's Leong said: 'While there are definitely companies that would be interested, the decisions are typically contingent on costs and other opportunities – that is, can other markets offer the same value?'
He notes that there are many who are still heading to Nasdaq or the New York Stock Exchange, 'because of the probability of higher valuations that are possible and the immense liquidity in US markets'.
But the US market is not meant for the faint-hearted, with the many companies there clamouring for investor attention.
Given the turmoil in the markets caused by the chop-and-change strategy of US President Donald Trump, it is possible that many candidates in the region may rethink their plans and look closer to home instead.
If Singapore can capture a few more listings, be they secondary or primary listings, it cannot hurt. Every little bit helps in creating a more vibrant marketplace for investors.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
13 hours ago
- Straits Times
Top things to eat in Jakarta, an unexpected foodie city
JAKARTA – Indonesia's capital is better known for being an economic hub with traffic congestion than a destination for foodies. But for those in the know, its food scene remains underrated compared with other South-east Asian cities such as Singapore or Bangkok . In March, Jakarta took 10th place in online publication Time Out's 2025 list of 20 Best Cities For Food. Other Asian cities that made the list include Bangkok, Shanghai and Mumbai.
Business Times
15 hours ago
- Business Times
Trump tariffs leave costly China supply question unanswered
[BEIJING] US President Donald Trump's recent flurry of trade deals have given Asian exporters some clarity on tariffs, but missing are key details on how to avoid punitive rates that target China's supply chains. Trump unveiled tariffs of 20 per cent for Vietnam and 19 per cent for Indonesia and the Philippines, signalling that those are the levels the US will likely settle on for most of South-east Asia, a region that ships US$352 billion worth of goods annually to the US. He's also threatened to rocket rates up to 40 per cent for products deemed to be transshipped, or re-routed, through those countries, a move largely directed at curbing Chinese goods circumventing higher US tariffs. But still unclear to manufacturers is how the US will calculate and apply local-content requirements, key to how it will determine what constitutes transshipped goods. South-east Asian nations are highly reliant on Chinese components and raw materials, and US firms that source from the region would bear the extra tariff damage. That's left companies, investors and economists facing several unanswered questions about Trump's tariffs that appear aimed at squeezing out Chinese content, according to Deborah Elms, head of trade policy at the Hinrich Foundation in Singapore. 'Is that raw materials? All raw materials? Above a certain percentage?' she said. 'How about parts? What about labour or services? What about investment?' BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up In an agreement with Indonesia last week, the White House said the two countries would negotiate 'rules of origin' to ensure a third country would not benefit. The deal with Vietnam earlier this month outlined a higher 40 per cent tariff rate for transshipped goods. And Thai officials, who have yet to secure a deal, detailed that they likely need to boost local content in exports to the US. Missing details The Trump administration is not providing much clarity on the matter right now. US officials are still working out details with trading partners and looking at value-based local content requirements, to ensure exports are more than just assembled imported parts, according to a source familiar with the matter, who did not want to be identified discussing private talks. A senior Trump administration official also said this week that details on the approach to transhipment are expected to be released before Aug 1, the deadline for when higher US tariffs kick in. Some factories are already adjusting their supply chains to comply with rules that will require more locally-made components in production. Frank Deng, an executive at a Shanghai-based furniture exporter with operations in Vietnam, and which gets about 80 per cent of business from the US, said in an interview that his firm is making adjustments as authorities appear to be more strictly enforcing country-of-origin rules. Vietnam has always had specific local content requirements for manufacturers, Deng added, including that a maximum of 30 per cent of the volume of raw materials originates from China, and the value after production in Vietnam must be 40 per cent higher than the imported raw materials. 'We have been struggling to meet all the standards so that we can still stay in the game,' Deng said. 'But I guess that's the only way to survive now.' For most of South-east Asia, reducing the amount of Chinese-made components in manufacturing will require a complete overhaul of their supply chains. Estimates from Eurasia Group show that Chinese components make up about 60 to 70 per cent of exports from South-east Asia – primarily industrial inputs that go into manufacturing assembly. About 15 per cent of the region's exports now head to the US, up about four percentage points from 2018. Local content The US has become increasingly vigilant about China's ability to bypass US trade tariffs and other restrictions through third countries since Trump's first trade war in 2017. Thailand signalled its frustration over the lack of clarity for how much local content is needed in goods exported to the US to avert transhipment rates, but noted it will likely be much higher than a traditional measure of 40 per cent. 'From what we have heard, the required percentage could be significantly higher, perhaps 60 per cent, 70 per cent, or even 80 per cent,' Deputy Prime Minister Pichai Chunhavajira said on Jul 14. 'Emerging countries or new production bases are clearly at a disadvantage,' he said, as their manufacturing capabilities are still at an early stage and must rely on other countries for raw goods. Vietnam, Thailand and Malaysia have all taken steps this year to address Trump's concerns, increasing scrutiny of trade that passes through their ports, including new rule-of-origin policies that centralise processing and imposing harsh penalties on transshippers. Developing nations may still struggle to enforce Trump's rules or comply with the rules if it means going up against China, their largest trading partner and geopolitical partner. 'The reality is it's not enforceable at all,' said Dan Wang, China director at Eurasia Group. 'Chinese companies have all kinds of ways to get around it and those other countries have no incentive to enforce those measures, or capacity to collect the data and determine local content.' BLOOMBERG
Straits Times
19 hours ago
- Straits Times
Pakistan says it's close to US trade deal, Washington gives no timeline
WASHINGTON - Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said on Friday the United States and Pakistan were "very close" to a trade deal that could come within days, but comments from the U.S. after Dar met with Secretary of State Marco Rubio mentioned no timeline. "I think we are very close to finalizing a deal with U.S. Our teams have been here in Washington, discussing, having virtual meetings and a committee has been tasked by the prime minister to fine-tune now," Dar said in a discussion at the Atlantic Council think tank in Washington. "It's not going to be months, not even weeks, I would say (just) days," he said. Under U.S. President Donald Trump, Washington has attempted to renegotiate trade agreements with many countries that he threatened with tariffs over what he calls unfair trade relations. Many economists dispute Trump's characterization. The U.S. State Department and Pakistan's foreign ministry, in separate statements after Rubio's meeting with Dar, said the two stressed in their discussion the importance of expanding trade and ties in critical minerals and mining. A post by Rubio on X after the meeting and the State Department's statement mentioned no timeline for finalizing a trade deal. The Pakistan foreign ministry also said Dar "appreciated the pivotal role" by Trump and Rubio "in de-escalating tensions between Pakistan and India by facilitating a ceasefire." The State Department statement did not mention India. Trump has repeatedly taken credit for the India-Pakistan ceasefire he announced on social media on May 10 after Washington held talks with both sides. India disputes Trump's claims that the ceasefire resulted from his intervention and trade threats. India's position is that New Delhi and Islamabad must resolve problems directly with no outside involvement. An April 22 militant attack in India-administered Kashmir killed 26 men and sparked heavy fighting between the nuclear-armed Asian neighbors in the latest escalation of a decades-old rivalry. India struck Pakistan on May 7 and the two nations exchanged hostilities, killing dozens across three days. The ceasefire was declared on May 10. New Delhi blamed the April attack on Pakistan, which denied responsibility and called for a neutral investigation. Washington condemned the attack but did not blame Islamabad. REUTERS
