The lesson from markets such as Japan and South Korea is clear: value-up is a multi-year journey, not a one-off initiative. It requires structural change at both the policy and company level, enforced by market incentives and benchmarks that hold management accountable. Encouragingly, a wave of corporate actions in recent months suggests that Singapore Inc is beginning to take this seriously.
Singapore's capital markets are at a turning point. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) Review Group has delivered a suite of policy reforms designed to reinvigorate the equity market — reforms aimed at tackling liquidity gaps, attracting broader investor participation, and strengthening the governance and transparency of listed companies.
But for this early momentum to be sustained, policy alone is not enough. Listed corporates themselves must embrace the ethos of value-up: unlocking value through bold restructuring, sharper capital allocation, and governance reforms that align with global best practices. Without this corporate-led follow-through, Singapore risks seeing a burst of enthusiasm fizzle into inertia.
