SGX to end 2-year hiatus for Chinese listings: Bloomberg

Expect IPOs in 2015.

For two years, Chinese companies were prevented from listing on the SGX after a flurry of Chinese companies known as the S-chips listed in Singapore in 2007 IPOs dried up as debt defaults and accounting scandals saw stocks from FerroChina Ltd. to Sino Techfibre Ltd. delisted or suspended.

SGX is forecasting an end to a two-year hiatus for Chinese listings after regulators made it easier for companies from Asia’s biggest economy to sell shares in the city-state, a report by Bloomberg says.

According to Bloomberg, SGX expects some initial public offerings from Chinese companies in 2015, Lawrence Wong, head of listings at the exchange operator, said in an interview on Sept. 17. The last was Sincap Group Ltd. in June 2012. SGX and the China Securities Regulatory Commission signed a deal in November that allows mainland companies to list on the Southeast Asian bourse without having to incorporate an overseas holding company.

“China has been on our radar for a long time,” Wong said. “The arrangement with CSRC allows Chinese companies incorporated in China to list in Singapore directly. This is very significant. In the past, it was very difficult for mainland companies to do so.”

View the full report here.