Metech turns to crowdfunding amid funding gap

Singapore

METECH International, an electronic-waste management company, is marketing a S$2 million crowdsourced bond, the first of its kind in Singapore.

The Catalist-listed recycling company is selling so-called listed company, or listco, bonds on Singapore-based crowdfunding platform FundedHere, which is hosting the securities in collaboration with the Singapore Exchange (SGX) and under licence from the Monetary Authority of Singapore.

The offer introduces an alternative to Singapore's much-maligned high-yield bond market, where a series of recent defaults have spooked investors.

"Due to high operating costs, traditional financial institutions lack the incentive to lend to…