Corporate governance gripes may fade if chronic undervaluation of stocks is addressed

THIS column received a lot of feedback when it said three weeks ago that Singapore is losing listings because the market has performed poorly, and many stocks are trading at low valuations.

Nobody disagreed, of course. The weak long-term performance of the Straits Times Index is obvious, and the trend of Singapore companies, large and small, choosing to list overseas continues to make headlines – and even drew a question in Parliament last month.

Yet, readers of this column had varying theories on why Singapore stocks have not delivered better returns, and differing views on what it may take to restore the vibrancy of the local market.