Listed companies have to walk the talk for SGX’s Value Unlock programme to succeed

[SINGAPORE] If the current vibrancy brought on by the successive announcements from the Equity Market Development Programme (EQDP) is to be sustained, companies will be required to engage more with investors.

The Value Unlock programme by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Singapore Exchange (SGX), announced in November 2025, aims to boost engagement. S$30 million will be allocated to fund grants to build competencies in corporate strategy, capital optimisation and investor relations.

As part of the programme, initiatives will be introduced to assist companies to communicate their strategy via media and outreach events.

This is where some SGX-listed companies fall short. While all listed companies have an investor relations contact, not that many have an accompanying media contact, or a way for media or investment publications to contact the company.

This reluctance to engage with the media has also been seen in recent listings, where some companies have declined to be interviewed prior to or even after their initial public offerings. There are also large companies that only hold an analysts’ briefing for their results but not one for media.

While some might argue that analyst reports have sufficient financial detail for a company to tell its story, this will breed a situation of less transparency for investors in general.

Equity analysts are usually guaranteed the attention of any company executive, which allows them to ask questions more easily than a retail investor.

The media can be seen as a proxy of retail investors who are looking to understand the company.

Rather than assuming that the media only poses difficult questions and does not help the business, listed companies should use media to explain their business model in a more interesting way that resonates with its investors.

The media plays a crucial role in helping investors understand the company. From enhancing investors’ understanding of a company’s business model to highlighting potential areas of concern, the media can complement analysts in reaching out to investors.

A well-written narrative about a company’s plans and strategic focus for the coming year can help in piquing investor interest.

On the other hand, limiting the media’s access may backfire on the company, cutting off an important avenue of investor engagement.

Newsflow and regular updates serve to generate excitement in a market, breaking down announcements and news into digestible and understandable stories about a company.

A good mix of transparency and engagement will be needed to keep the momentum going in the Singapore market.

Succeeding amid the EQDP will require companies to walk the talk in their outreach to investors.