Enhancing S'pore's value proposition to investors

Review group to focus on this and other areas as it takes steps to strengthen equities market

- Sue-Ann Tan

Having a pipeline of quality listings, enhancing investor participation and re-evaluating regulations are some ideas that resulted from a review group aiming to strengthen the equities market in Singapore.

In assessing its options, the group will also focus on Singapore's strengths as well as its value proposition to investors and companies seeking to list here.

The updates from the ongoing review were announced by group chair Chee Hong Tat on Sept 16 at the launch of a corporate governance event held by the Securities Investors Association (Singapore), or Sias.

Mr Chee, who is also Second Minister for Finance and deputy chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), cautioned that it is not "an easy task" to revitalise the equities market, given the global headwinds faced by other exchanges and the rising competition in this space.

However, he noted that the review group is ready to step out of its comfort zone and take calculated risks to turn things around.

"Although we have identified some ideas from our engagements with industry stakeholders, it is not a given that all these measures will succeed. But we are prepared to make changes and try new ideas," he said.

The equities market review group was set up by the MAS and it was announced by Mr Chee on Aug 2. Its objective is to develop an equities market that provides an attractive venue for local and regional enterprises to access funding and support for their innovation and expansion plans.