Inside MAS Episode 4: Revitalising Singapore's Equity Market

Why It Matters

The reforms aim to unlock capital for Singapore’s fast‑growing companies, strengthening the city‑state’s financial ecosystem and enhancing its competitiveness in the global market.

Key Takeaways

• MAS launches $5 billion EQDP to boost small‑cap liquidity.
• Holistic reforms target listings, demand, regulation, and connectivity.
• GEMS enhancements expand research coverage to private and mid‑cap firms.
• Value‑Unlock program offers grants, events, and networking for listed firms.
• Stakeholder collaboration drives ecosystem‑wide approach to revitalize market.

Summary

The Inside MAS podcast episode focuses on Singapore’s equity‑market revitalisation, detailing a sweeping reform agenda launched by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) in late 2024. The programme aims to transform a historically sluggish market into a vibrant financing hub for startups, mid‑caps and established firms, positioning Singapore as a regional capital‑raising centre.

MAS identified four strategic levers – simplifying listings, expanding demand and liquidity, adopting a pro‑enterprise regulatory stance, and enhancing global connectivity. These measures respond to global capital concentration in a few markets and a six‑fold rise in local private‑equity and venture‑capital assets, now exceeding $700 billion. A cross‑sector review group, chaired by senior ministers and comprising public agencies and industry associations, crafted a holistic, ecosystem‑wide plan rather than a single “magic bullet.”

Key initiatives include the $5 billion Equity Market Development Programme (EQDP), which has already allocated roughly $4 billion to nine active managers after attracting interest from over 100 asset managers worldwide. GEMS research support is being expanded and digitised to cover private‑to‑public company journeys, while the Value‑Unlock programme provides grants, investor events, and community platforms such as the SID Chairperson’s Guild to help listed firms articulate their stories and improve shareholder engagement.

If successful, these reforms should deepen the IPO pipeline, broaden the investor base, and stimulate ancillary sectors—asset management, investment banking, wealth management, and professional services—thereby generating jobs and reinforcing Singapore’s status as a leading financial hub.

Original Description

Singapore’s equity market hasn’t always been as vibrant as we would have liked. So what is MAS doing to revitalise it, and why does it matter to businesses and investors?

In this episode of Inside MAS, Casie Eng, Deputy Director (Financial Centre Development Department) speaks with Gillian Tan, Assistant Managing Director (Development & International Group), and Kee Rui Xiong, Executive Director (Corporate Finance & Disclosures Department), about efforts to strengthen Singapore’s equity market.

From the Equity Market Development Programme (EQDP) to enhancements to the Grant for Equity Market Singapore (GEMS), the “Value Unlock” programme, and the SGX-Nasdaq Global Listing Board, discover how these measures work together to build momentum across the ecosystem.

🎧 In this episode, you’ll learn:

02:11 - Why MAS carried out one of its biggest equity market reviews in years

09:26 - How EQDP is crowding in private capital and strengthening liquidity

12:54 - How the GEMS enhancements are expanding research coverage from private companies through to the post-IPO stage

15:09 - What the “Value Unlock” Programme means for listed companies

17:36 - How the Global Listing Board enables more seamless dual listings

21:08 - How these initiatives work together to create a “flywheel” effect

📌 Subscribe for more episodes of Inside MAS, where we explore the work of Singapore’s central bank and its impact on people, businesses, and the economy.

#InsideMAS #MAS #EquityMarket #SGX #SingaporeEquities

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