Singapore will announce more measures next month to support listed companies to boost shareholder value and actively engage investors on their business plans.
This will include government grants, Chee Hong Tat, deputy chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore, said at an event held by the city-state’s largest bank, DBS Group Holdings Ltd.
The remarks came after Chee unveiled plans for a “value unlock” package in September and urged Singapore companies to deliver greater shareholder value. This mirrors what authorities in markets including Japan, Korea and Thailand are doing to push listed firms to improve governance and returns.
Singapore has already unveiled a range of measures to increase participation in stock trading, and a government-led review group has said it continues to look for more ways. The city-state is on track to make the second batch of fund manager appointments later this year, under a S$5 billion ($3.85 billion) Equity Market Development Programme. The batch is expected to include a mix of global, regional and local managers, according to Chee, who’s also the country’s national development minister.
Singapore’s benchmark equity gauge is trading near record highs, in line with many global markets. Turnover is increasing along with early signs of a revival in initial public offerings following the government initiatives.
Chee said authorities had worked closely with the industry to come up with proposals that could enhance the liquidity and competitiveness of Singapore’s equities market. “We decided not to go for quick fixes, such as asking GIC or Temasek to pump-prime the market by mandating them to invest a certain amount in local equities,” he said, referring to Singapore’s two state investment giants.
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Speaking at the same event, the chief executive officer of DBS said Singapore must raise its ambitions and take more risks to strengthen its position as a global financial hub. Tan Su Shan called for companies to seek more avenues to diversify supply chains.
“Do we have it in us to take those risks while we defend our stability, defend our rule of law, defend the fact that we are a rule-based, strong, resilient country with stable government,” Tan said. “I think we can.”