The Business Times
business-time-50

Why identifying and valuing intangible assets is good for business

Uncover their hidden value to unlock growth, attract investment and access financing

Summarise
google-preferred-sourceAdd BT as a preferred source
    • In today’s economy, intellectual property, including patents, trademarks and copyrights, often generate more value than physical assets such as buildings or machinery, making them critical to business performance and long-term growth.
    • In today’s economy, intellectual property, including patents, trademarks and copyrights, often generate more value than physical assets such as buildings or machinery, making them critical to business performance and long-term growth. ILLUSTRATION: PIXABAY

    Tan Kong Hwee

    Published Tue, Aug 26, 2025 · 07:00 AM

    IN DECEMBER 2024, Swedish private equity firm EQT Private Capital Asia completed an all-cash acquisition of PropertyGuru, valuing the company at around US$1.1 billion – a 52 per cent premium over its stock price. Analysts attributed this premium to the strength of its intangible assets (IA), including a proprietary real estate technology platform, brand recognition across South-east Asia, and network effects stemming from marketplace scale.

    Many enterprises first see the value of their IA during mergers and acquisitions (M&A). Unsurprisingly, these assets contribute to higher valuations. Yet businesses often overlook the potential of IA and how they can be leveraged.

    Identifying IA is an important first step, but assessing and valuing them will allow enterprises to fully understand and unlock their potential. This understanding is increasingly critical for business growth.

    Intellectual propertyintangible assetsBusiness

    TRENDING NOW

    Traffic through the strait has been resuming but with interruptions, and there is still little clarity over a permanent solution for passages through the chokepoint.

    Qatari LNG ship struck in Strait of Hormuz, testing US talks

    This comes after a Citi note on Tuesday that lifted target prices for all Singapore banks, with a leading preference and “buy” call for DBS.

    DBS, OCBC and UOB shares hit all-time highs as sentiment improves

    Aster deputy CEO Andre Khor, citing the age of the “polycrisis”, says: “It’s very important to be agile, to be focused on execution… We don’t know all the answers but we keep going forward.”

    ‘Baptism of fire’: Andre Khor on leading Singapore refiner Aster through an energy crisis

    Singapore ranks as the world’s most expensive city for cars and placed third globally for residential property.

    Singapore retains top spot as most expensive city for HNWIs, with five Apac cities in global top 10

    Latest T-bills Treasury Bills Results & Interest NewsLatest SSB Singapore Savings Bonds NewsLatest COE Certificate of Entitlement News
    Latest Johor-Singapore SEZ NewsLatest BTO Build To Order & Sales of Balance NewsLatest STI Straits Times Index NewsLatest SGX Dividends, Share Price NewsLatest Bonds Market NewsLatest Singapore Stocks To Buy NewsLatest Singapore Economy News
    View More