Climbing a wall of worry

While 2021 brought hope that vaccines and other potential treatments against Covid-19 might finally help global economies gain their footing, reality was far rockier. From supply chain disruptions to new Covid-19 variants, markets worldwide, including the Straits Times Index (STI), grappled with uncertainties amid an uneven recovery across different sectors.

Overall, the index still posted a decent year of growth, putting on 9.8 per cent. And while there were comparatively few listings on the Singapore Exchange (SGX), the introduction of special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) listings and a renewed drive by Temasek-linked venture capital funds to encourage the listing of new-economy businesses could see that change in 2022.