Is Singapore ready for dual-class shares?
In the light of the Hong Kong bourse's recent decision, the Republic should grab the opportunity to take the plunge and forge ahead.
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ON OCT 6, Britain's Financial Times (FT) reported that the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEx) "scraps plan to woo Chinese tech groups with dual-class share rules". The Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong had announced that it will not support proposals to allow HKEx-listed companies to have dual-class shares.
This comes in the face of loud corporate clamouring for the listing rules to be relaxed. In September 2014, Alibaba Group launched its US$25 billion initial public offering in New York, setting a record for the biggest IPO in global corporate history.
At the time, it was reported that Jack Ma had considered HKEx as a listing venue but had finally decided in favour of the US partly because the Fragrant Harbour did not like the smell of dual-class structures.
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