Companies must push for greater transparency on intangible assets

INVESTMENTS in “intangible” or non-physical assets soared during the pandemic – from hawker stalls setting up online shopfronts to biotech firms filing vaccine patents. With the rise of the knowledge economy, intangibles make up more than 90 per cent of the value among S&P 500 companies.

Yet, this group of assets remains poorly understood and presented to stakeholders. This needs to change.

Singapore has made a significant step forward in this regard. On Monday (Sep 4), a new framework was launched to provide companies with more guidance on how to identify and communicate the value of their intangible assets. It is touted to be among the first of such frameworks globally.