SINGAPORE’s initial public offering (IPO) scene is set to liven up this year, with analyst forecasts falling anywhere between four and 10 listings on the local bourse.
This comes after a subdued market in recent years, where delistings have outpaced new listings on the local bourse, with more Singapore companies choosing to list on global exchanges.
Elaine Tan, senior manager of deals intelligence at LSEG, noted that the Singapore IPO market faced significant challenges last year, “marked by historic lows due to poor liquidity and valuations”.
“This was driven by local issuers choosing to list on other global exchanges like the US,” she said.
In Singapore, a total of 20 companies delisted from the Singapore Exchange (SGX) last year, with just four new entrants to the Catalist board. The four listings raised a total of S$45.9 million, below the S$46.9 million raised by six IPOs in 2023, and a sharp decline from the other preceding years.
Market watchers are, however, hopeful for a turnaround in 2025.
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RHB Singapore’s head of equity research Shekhar Jaiswal said: “While it is tough to have full knowledge of all potential IPOs in the pipeline, our financial forecasts factor in at least four to five IPOs (in the current year).”
In a recent report, Thilan Wickramasinghe, head of equity research at Maybank Securities, raised his forecast for the number of IPOs in 2025 to 10, from his previous estimate of six.
Both Jaiswal and Wickramasinghe are anticipating an IPO pipeline spanning real estate investment trusts (Reits), healthcare and new economy candidates.
At the recent earnings briefing, Pol de Win, head of global sales and origination at SGX, said that the bourse has seen issuers becoming more active, and hopes to see more listings this year.
He noted that companies in SGX’s “sweet spot” could include those with market caps ranging from S$200 million and S$300 million, up to S$3 billion to S$5 billion, and they are increasingly interested in listing in the region. They include those that are new economy, tech-related and high-growth in nature, as well as “good quality” Reits with a sizeable issuance, and consumer and healthcare companies.
Bloomberg previously reported that French property asset manager Praemia REIM is considering listing a healthcare Reit that might raise several hundred million US dollars in Singapore.
Japan-based Nippon Telegraph and Telephone is also said to be considering listing a global data centre Reit in Singapore that could raise as much as US$1 billion from the first-time share sale.
Immersive entertainment group Neon, which is backed by Temasek’s 65 Equity Partners, is also reported to be considering a Singapore IPO that could raise as much as S$500 million.
These listings could potentially take place this year.
Upbeat outlook
SGX chief executive officer Loh Boon Chye said at the bourse’s earnings briefing: “We observe improved momentum. There are deals that are being worked on by advisers, by banks, together with the issuers.”
DBS is said to have several listings lined up for the Singapore market, including some potential blockbusters with valuations of US$1 billion.
The bank is in talks with IPO candidates that were earlier keen on a US listing but are now reconsidering Singapore, said Clifford Lee, global head of investment banking at DBS, in an interview with Bloomberg.
He said: “We are having discussions with clients to get them listed in Thailand, Indonesia and many are considering listing in Singapore… They are waiting for the initiatives by the Singapore taskforce to address low trading volumes and valuations.”
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) set up an equities market review group in August last year to revive the local market. In its first set of measures announced on Feb 13, it has proposed to introduce tax incentives to spur more listings and investments in the local equities market.
It also aims to encourage the launch and growth of funds with substantial investment in local equities. A fuller update on these measures will be provided on Feb 21.
The group will also continue to work on the next set of measures to foster longer-term development and sustainable growth of Singapore’s equities market. These will be presented in the second half of this year.
Maybank is “optimistic” that MAS’ equity market review could “revive volumes”.
Tan also pointed out that anticipated interest rate cuts and key initiatives by the review group could offer potential drive for growth.
“Although geopolitical tensions and economic uncertainties may continue to pose challenges, companies planning to launch listings in Singapore later this year could significantly boost the IPO market after last year’s subdued activity.”
