The previous Scheme which ended in December 2005 saw participation from 187 SGX-listed companies and 12 qualified research firms, and attracted more than 36,000 registered users, averaging 50,000 downloads per month.
This Scheme will continue to tap the S$7.5 million SGX-MAS Market Development Fund to subsidise participants of the Scheme. With the subsidy, each participating listed company will pay a nominal annual fee of S$8,000 and will be assigned at least two qualified research firms. Each participating research firm will cover a minimum of 15 listed companies. To help defray the costs of providing independent research coverage, the research firm will receive an annual grant of S$75,000 for every 15 stocks covered.
Research firms will be required to produce an initiation of coverage report within six months of allocation (only in first year of coverage), one update report, and two results reports, corresponding to the half- and full-year results announcements by the listed company, within a year. The research reports reflect independent views on the companies assigned to the firm. All participating research firms will continue to be subject to the same regulations by existing governing agencies.
All SGX-listed companies and qualified research firms are invited to participate in the Scheme from today. The list of participating listed companies and research firms will be announced when responses have been received and collated.
Mr Gan Seow Ann, Senior Executive Vice President and Head of Markets Group at SGX said, "Since its launch in 2003, the Scheme has attracted strong interest from our market participants. Extending the Scheme will allow more listed companies to raise their profile, and offer investors ease of access to value-added information. This is part of our continued efforts to enhance the investors' ability to make informed investment decisions and to develop a vibrant marketplace."
