Singapore Listings Remain Scarce Despite Strong Equities Performance Singapore’s stock market achieved its strongest performance since 2009 in 2025, with the Straits Times index of the top 30 companies listed on the Singapore Exchange (SGX) rising 23 percent. The index crossed the 5,000 mark for the first time in February, coinciding with Prime Minister Lawrence Wong’s pledge of incentives to support the stock market. Despite this growth, Singapore continues to struggle with attracting new listings, a challenge that has persisted for decades. The government, along with the Singapore Exchange and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), has implemented various initiatives to boost IPO activity. These efforts include streamlining the IPO process, offering financial incentives, and establishing a dual-listing agreement with Nasdaq to allow companies to list on both exchanges simultaneously. However, the number of initial public offerings (IPOs) remains low compared to regional rivals. In 2025, Singapore recorded just 16 IPOs, a modest increase from six in 2024, but far below Hong Kong’s 119 IPOs during the same period. The scarcity of new listings is compounded by a higher rate of delistings and mergers. Private equity firms have been actively acquiring public companies, and smaller businesses are increasingly going private. This trend has led to a 20-year low in the number of listed companies, which fell to 605 in October. Additionally, many of Singapore’s high-growth companies have opted to list overseas, particularly in the United States, where deeper capital pools are available. One notable example is Grab, the super app that originated in Malaysia but is headquartered in Singapore. Grab went public on the Nasdaq in 2021 via the largest U.S.#nasdaq #singapore_exchange #monetary_authority_of_singapore #prime_minister_lawrence_wong #grab
