Singapore’s billionaires should do more to list their businesses on SGX
Local business elite own many attractive businesses that are not listed here
LAST week, there was a raft of measures unveiled to spur equities market development here.
A S$5 billion equity market development programme is being launched, under which the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) will invest with selected fund managers that have capabilities to implement investment mandates with a strong focus on Singapore stocks.
Tax incentives were announced to draw companies with operations here and fund managers to tap Singapore’s equities market for their capital raising. Also, there is tax exemption on fund managers’ qualifying income derived from funds investing substantially in Singapore-listed equities. Other measures included an adjustment to the global investor programme to support more capital inflows into local-listed equities.
Meanwhile, MAS’ equities market review group will continue working on other measures to develop Singapore’s equities market.
Time will tell if the domestic equities market grows in vibrancy. Having a successful local equities market matters. Businesses will have a robust platform to raise capital, while individual investors can have good products to invest in to ensure financial adequacy when they retire. Good jobs will be created and so forth.
Perhaps, our wealthiest people such as those who feature in Forbes’ list of Singapore’s 50 richest can help the local equities market by doing more to list their businesses on the Singapore Exchange (SGX).
As it stands, tycoons such as Kwek Leng Beng, Kuok Khoon Hong, Chua Thian Poh, Lim Hock Chee and Zhong Sheng Jian have key businesses behind their wealth – City Developments Ltd , Wilmar International , Ho Bee Land , Sheng Siong Group and Yanlord Land, respectively – listed on the SGX.
Heirs of the late banking titan Wee Cho Yaw hold major stakes in several SGX-listed entities such as UOB , UOL Group and Haw Par Corporation .
Possibly, wealthy tycoons can do more to drive share price performance of listed groups that they are invested in by getting boards to proactively unlock value to benefit all investors.
Possible listing candidates
Crucially, our billionaires should step up to get a diverse array of businesses – where they have major ownership stakes in – listed here.
Take names who are in the top 10 of Forbes’ 2024 ranking of Singapore’s richest. Zhang Yong is Sichuan hot pot chain Haidilao’s founder and his wife Shu Peng is the co-founder. Possibly, Super Hi International, which is Hong Kong and Nasdaq-listed and operates Haidilao restaurants in international markets or the larger Hong Kong-listed Haidilao International, can list on the SGX.
Perhaps Goh Cheng Liang, who owns much of Tokyo-listed Nippon Paint, could get the paint manufacturing giant listed here. Or the Kwee family’s privately held Pontiac Land, which owns top commercial buildings and hotels here among others, can inject some of its properties into our public-listed space. Might the Ng family behind Far East Organization consider moving some of its Singapore commercial, industrial or medical properties into an SGX-listed entity?
Other businesses that Singapore’s super-rich can potentially list here include hotel plays such as H World Group, M&L Hospitality and Worldwide Hotels. Hong Kong and Nasdaq-listed H World, which operated nearly 11,000 hotels with more than one million rooms as at end-September 2024, is linked to Ji Qi. Michael Kum leads M&L which has hotels in Singapore, Australia, New Zealand and Europe. Choo Chong Ngen’s privately held Worldwide Hotels manages seven hotel brands with more than 41 properties in Singapore.
Tan Min Liang, Sam Goi, and siblings Keith and Kelvin Wong could possibly explore listing technology group Razer, Tee Yih Jia Food Manufacturing and fashion company Charles & Keith, respectively, on the SGX.
Forrest Li, who leads Singapore-headquartered and New York-listed consumer Internet group Sea, could possibly list Sea here.
Admittedly, concerns over whether a business gets a good valuation from an SGX listing can be a major obstacle to successful business owners listing their businesses on the local bourse.
Doing good
Nonetheless, many local business leaders care about far more than dollars and cents. They actively contribute to philanthropic causes and serve the community.
Sea’s Li contributes to football’s development in Singapore. Institutions such as universities, charities, museums and hospitals here also have gained greatly from the largesse of Singapore tycoons past and present.
Sure, a listing may not be needed today for a business to better access debt funding or its owner to enjoy the prestige associated with owning a listed entity.
Nevertheless, let us hope Singapore’s business elite do more to list their businesses here as part of serving the community, despite concerns if any over whether their businesses achieve optimal valuation.
After all, offering greater choice of quality Singapore-listed businesses will help Singapore residents who are seeking passive income streams and inflation hedges in their retirement years amid rising life expectancy.
If various stakeholders do their part, concerns that listing on SGX is sub-optimal will hopefully disappear over time as more locals gradually embrace investing in domestic equities.
While Singapore has much to celebrate on turning 60 later this year, rough seas lie ahead as trade gets disrupted, rivalry among big powers heats up and countries grow more inward looking.
Our business leaders help Singapore thrive by creating and supporting jobs as well as contributing to tax revenue here. Many also actively help the less privileged in the community.
Our business elite should let fellow Singaporeans share in their business success via investing in their businesses. Ultimately, complying with SGX listing rules and handling retail investors are a small price for our tycoons to list good businesses here so Singaporeans can partake in their success.
