Fund managers welcome MAS' $5b boost for market

Move seen as signal of Govt's commitment to foster a robust financial ecosystem

- Sue-Ann Tan

Fund managers welcomed the news of a new $5 billion programme by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) to boost the Singapore stock market, but said they would still have to look at liquidity and fundamentals, especially those of smaller stocks outside the Straits Times Index (STI).

They added that the move, announced after the market closed on Feb 21, is a step in the right direction.

The Singapore Exchange (SGX) also saw its shares reach a morning high of $13.70 on Feb 24, up from its Feb 21 close of $12.80.

The counter ended 3.9 per cent higher, at $13.30, on Feb 24.

MAS surprised the market when it launched a $5 billion programme where the funds will be channelled to selected Singapore fund managers to invest in Singapore stocks.

Regulations will also be streamlined to make the listing process more efficient, and to be more focused and facilitative of listings, MAS said.

These were among the first set of measures recommended by the review group set up in August 2024 to strengthen the stock market.

Mr Lee Kian Soon, chief executive of Astral Asset Management, said the $5 billion programme has attracted some level of interest in the asset management sector, and that fund managers are looking forward to the details of the programme.

He added that as an Asian mid-and small-cap specialist, the company prefers stocks outside the STI.

He said the MAS programme should have a fixed allocation on stocks outside the STI, as that is the part of the market that is most in need of liquidity.

CGS International analysts Lock Mun Yee and Lim Siew Khee said: "We welcome the liquidity boost and measures to 'value up' Singapore equities, and boost shareholder returns."