The Singapore Exchange is actively pursuing listings from more Chinese and Southeast Asian companies to reverse a decade-long trend where delistings have outnumbered new listings. The bourse is pinning its hopes on a new dual-listing arrangement with Nasdaq to inject fresh momentum into its long-sluggish IPO market.
Pol de Win, SGX's Global Head of Sales and Origination, stated in an interview on Thursday that the dual-listing mechanism with Nasdaq, expected to launch around mid-year, should attract more high-growth enterprises. "The pipeline is healthier than six months ago," said the executive, who joined SGX from Goldman Sachs in 2021, adding, "We are seeing new deals entering the pipeline at a faster pace."
Early signs of a market recovery are emerging. Data compiled by Bloomberg shows total fundraising in Singapore climbed to $1.9 billion in 2025, reaching a six-year high. Intellectual property data provider Patsnap is reportedly considering a dual listing in Hong Kong and Singapore, while units of a real estate investment trust under Boustead Singapore are also planning a listing in Singapore as early as March.
SGX's first-half financial results, released on Thursday, fell short of analyst expectations, causing its shares to decline by up to 1.7% during the trading day. For the six months ended December 31, net profit increased by 0.8% year-on-year to S$342.7 million, while the average daily value of securities trading rose 20% to S$1.51 billion.
Fundraising Scale Rises to Six-Year High The Singapore market is showing signs of recovery. Total IPO fundraising reached $1.9 billion in 2025, the highest level since 2019. This performance is attributed to increased activity across multiple sectors.
Pol de Win revealed that SGX is building a healthy pipeline of potential IPO candidates in traditional sectors like real estate as well as in technology. The dual-listing mechanism with Nasdaq is expected to attract companies that would not have previously considered Singapore as a listing destination.
The Singapore government is also taking measures to boost market activity, planning to invest S$5 billion (approximately $3.9 billion) in purchasing local stocks to reinforce the equity market's recovery.
Challenge of More Delistings Than Listings for Over a Decade Persists SGX continues to face significant structural challenges. For over ten years, the number of companies delisting from the exchange has annually exceeded the number of new listings, highlighting deeper issues with the market's appeal.
The newly introduced measures are aimed at reversing this long-term trend. Beyond the cooperation with Nasdaq, the exchange is actively cultivating corporate resources from China and Southeast Asia to broaden its base of potential listings. Pol de Win commented, "Looking at the current supply of companies, many are from higher-growth and new economy sectors."
In the competitive landscape of Asian exchanges vying for IPOs, Singapore has lagged behind regional rivals such as India. While Asian equity listings have boomed over the past year, SGX has not fully benefited. This competitive pressure is driving SGX to accelerate reforms, leveraging the Nasdaq partnership to enhance its appeal to high-growth companies and focusing on technology and new economy sectors as a differentiated strategy to navigate regional competition.