Retail investors trading more intensively in new listings: SGX chief

A flurry of retail investor activity has greeted new listings on the Singapore Exchange (SGX) from July, as efforts to revitalise the local bourse appear to have turned a corner.

- Tay Hong Yi Correspondent

Retail participation on the SGX reached a three-year high, with the positive trajectory continuing into the first quarter of the 2026 financial year, said SGX Group chief executive Loh Boon Chye on Oct 9.

There were nine new listings in the quarter, raising over $2.2 billion.

“Retail participation in our new listings has trended above the market average, which shows the growing traction and interest that our new listings are generating among retail investors.”

Mr Loh was speaking at the 26th annual general meeting (AGM) of the group at Marina Bay Sands Expo and Convention Centre, which over 300 shareholders turned up for.

In the first quarter, the highest growth was observed in the smalland mid-cap counters, with securities daily average value more than doubling from the same time a year ago, which Mr Loh said reflects broader market participation.

He said the group expects more listings for the rest of 2025, noting that four companies had announced their plans to list in the past two weeks.

He noted that securities daily average value on the SGX grew the most in Asean, with turnover up 27 per cent year on year, in the 2025 financial year.

Mr Loh also reiterated a target of 6 per cent to 8 per cent compounded annual growth rate in revenue, excluding treasury income, over the medium term.

The group, he said, has three strategic areas of focus — scaling its foreign exchange business, broadening and deepening its derivatives franchise, and accelerating the growth of its securities business.