Raising the bar to 20¢ - boon or doom?

MACRO-ECONOMIC issues, economic pressures, constrained financial resources, shifting investor demands, the emergence of new risks and a host of other factors in different geographies have dampened appetite in the global capital market.

With the major US and European capital markets suffering sneezing spells, the Singapore capital market has caught a cold, with lacklustre interest and market values withered. The market capitalisation of SGX-listed companies has fallen in line with decreasing share values. From the start of this year up to end May, the Singapore Exchange has seen only three initial public offerings (IPOs), raising S$45 million, the lowest in the last six years.

Following a joint review which gave assurance that the securities market structure and practices are fundamentally sound and robust, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and SGX issued a joint consultation paper in February 2014, seeking public opinion on proposals to enhance Singapore's securities market.