Lack of big-name IPOs, penny stock crash hurt SGX

Singapore

A DEARTH of big-name share listings of overseas firms and a multi-billion-dollar penny-stock crash have hampered the growth ambitions of Singapore's stock exchange as Asian rivals flourish, analysts said.

Singapore Exchange Limited (SGX), the sole stock market operator in the city-state, on April 23 reported that net profits slumped 22.4 per cent year-on-year in March, as total securities trading volume fell 47 per cent in the same period.

That, market observers said, highlights the bourse's main problem - soft volumes, which make it less attractive for f…