Hong Kong, of course, continues to attract blockbuster IPOs. However, Singapore is no slouch as a safe-haven market, where valuations remain undemanding, earnings are growing, and the currency is stable. Furthermore, Singapore is continuing to play to its strength as a choice location for companies with an apparent Asean angle, or for REITs, as shown by the recent listing of NTT DC REIT.
On his last couple of trips to Hong Kong, Ng Yao Loong, head of equities at Singapore Exchange Group (SGX), could sense a significant change. As recently as a year ago, investors based in this much larger financial market to the north, whose various metrics have pulled significantly ahead of Singapore’s, would not have been too bothered.
According to Ng, these investors, from both the buy and sell sides, are starting to take notice of the market reforms being implemented, which have helped drive the Straits Times Index (STI) to new record levels.
To be sure, these Hong Kong-based investors are not about to start tripping over one another to rush to invest in Singapore-listed stocks. They are seeking data points, such as the number of initial public offerings (IPO) and liquidity levels, to form an opinion on whether the Singapore market is indeed turning the corner and is ready for the next wave. “They were prepared to give us at least the benefit of the doubt that this is serious, that there’s alignment within the Singapore ecosystem among the different parties, that this is a real concerted effort to revive the vibrancy of our stock market,” says Ng in an interview with The Edge Singapore.
