Bridging the gap in South-east Asia’s capital markets

SOUTH-EAST Asia is flourishing with some of the world’s fastest-growing economies and a dynamic startup ecosystem. Despite Singapore’s thriving startup scene, however, finding sustainable capital or public equity can be challenging.

Last year, Singapore led the region in startup investments with a total of US$6.1 billion, even amid a global downturn in funding. In a challenging period for public listings globally, South-east Asia’s initial public offering (IPO) markets raised a combined US$5.8 billion last year, of which only US$35 million came from Singapore. This gap, in comparison to the US startup funding and IPO markets, is stark and concerning.

Over the past two decades, Granite Asia has catalysed 29 companies to create a combined market capitalisation of US$548 billion at their IPOs. This remarkable capital leverage is something we aspire to build in this region.