• Total IPO market capitalisation recorded more than $50 billion
• Number of IPOs up 26%; Over $11 billion raised in 39 IPOs
• Record number of 277 bond listings amounting to $140 billion in notional value
• SGX strengthens its role as the preferred listing gateway to Asia
Singapore Exchange (SGX), Asia’s most international listing venue, recorded
a five-fold jump in its IPO market capitalisation for 2010 compared to the year before. SGX
welcomed 39 new IPOs in 2010 (29 IPOs in 2009), on the Mainboard and Catalist, raising a total
of $11 billion and expanded the market capitalisation by $51 billion ($10.4 billion in year 2009),
bringing the total market capitalisation of the Exchange to $ 902 billion.
Active Fund Raising
“The 39 IPOs have further strengthened our listing position as the Asian Gateway. Our sector
strengths in maritime and offshore, REITs and property trusts, resources and commodities,
resonate well with many companies seeking expansion into Asia. In particular, the number of
large listings from Asia and Europe expanded the breadth and depth of our marketplace, and
reflects efficiency of our capital market. We will continue to enhance our attractiveness as a
capital-raising venue for global companies in Asia,” said Mr Lawrence Wong, Head of Listings,
Singapore Exchange.
Some of the high-profile IPOs in 2010 include home-grown airline TigerAirways, leading
European offshore designer and shipbuilder - STV OSV Holdings, the world’s largest real estate
IPO - Global Logistic Properties, the world’s largest Shari’ah compliant REIT - Sabana Shari’ah
REIT, one of the world’s largest palm oil processors - Mewah International, and China’s leading
companies such as Xinren Aluminum Holdings and China Minzhong Food. The year also saw
the secondary listings of Prudential Plc and Golden Ocean Group adding $29 billion to our market
capitalisation.
Secondary capital raising activities continued to be active in 2010 with listed companies raising
about $ 6 billion.
As at end 2010, SGX has a total of 782 listed companies of which 321 companies were from
overseas, hailing from Greater China, Japan, Korea, Southeast Asia, Australia, India and
Europe. These accounted for more than 40% of our listed companies, and about 47% of the
capitalisation of the market.
Record Year for International Bond Listings
SGX is also recognised as Asia's leading listing venue for international bonds. As at end of 2010,
over 1300 bonds, with more than $500 billion notional value, were listed on SGX. In 2010 alone,
SGX recorded a total of 277 bond listings amounting to $140 billion in notional value. These bond listings have drawn greater market participation from various pools of investors and added
to the attractiveness of the Singapore capital market.
As part of the ongoing efforts to improve liquidity and efficiency of its bond market, SGX
streamlined its bond listing process to a fast turnaround time of 48 hours for wholesale bond
listings and 2 weeks for retail bond listings. SGX introduced initiatives to attract liquidity providers
for its market, and rolled out investor education programmes for the retail segment. The
oversubscription of recent retail bond issues attest to the strong demand from individual investors
for fixed income securities in Singapore market.
Sectoral Strengths
SGX’s key sectors of maritime & offshore, natural resources, and REITs and property trusts were
also boosted with additional listings.
With Singapore as a global leading offshore and maritime hub, SGX’s capital market has
attracted 35 maritime and offshore listed companies with combined market capitalisation of $ 61
billion.
SGX’s vibrant REIT market is home to 22 REITs and 3 property trusts with a combined market
capitalisation of $38 billion. In addition, SGX has 42 real estate companies with total market
capitalisation of $95 billion.
The SGX commodities and resource sector comprises 17 companies with a total market
capitalisation of $ 79 billion. This includes Wilmar International Limited, which is the largest listed
global processor and mechandiser of palm and lauric oils, with a market capitalisation of $ 36
billion (end 2010).
Initiatives
On 22 October 2010, SGX launched the quotation and trading of 19 Asian Depositary Receipts
(ADRs) on its GlobalQuote board, in collaboration with NASDAQ-OMX. For the first time,
investors can trade these ADRs of major Chinese companies in the Asian time zone. SGX will
continue to add to its suite of ADRs to offer customers broader investment opportunities.
With effect from 1 January 2011, SGX rule changes made permanent the shortened time-tomarket
to for secondary fund-raising for its listed companies. These measures were first
introduced in 2009 as temporary actions to assist companies to raise capital efficiently.
SGX appointed Mrs Paulina McGroarty as Head of Europe, Middle East and Russia to reach out
to companies from these regions that seek to tap the Asian capital markets.
Commitment to Corporate Governance Practice
SGX’s continued commitment and efforts in raising corporate governance standards was
acknowledged by the industry. In the 2010 study by CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets (CLSA) and the
Asian Corporate Governance Association (ACGA), Singapore attained the top position for
corporate governance in Asia. In the same study, SGX was commended for taking leadership
during the financial crisis on heightened vigilance in higher-risk areas, actively enforcing its rules
and taking the appropriate regulatory actions.
SGX will continue to benchmark against global developments and enhance our practices, where
appropriate, to uphold investor confidence in Singapore as a financial hub, and in SGX as the
Asian Gateway.