IT MUST be hard for Singapore investors to watch the budding bidding war for Australia-listed AusNet Services without a tinge of sour grapes.

After all, the energy infrastructure company, which owns gas and power distribution grids in Victoria as well as all the state's transmission lines, had a secondary listing on the Singapore Exchange (SGX) for a good 16 years. It opted for a voluntary delisting in mid-2018.

AusNet had then said it wanted to cut administrative costs, simplify its processes and drive efficiency - all of which were in keeping with the "best interests of AusNet Services as a whole".