Singapore IPO proceeds climbed 28% to $6.22b

Thanks to these mega listings.

According to a release, Singapore has completed 26 new IPOs in 2013 raising S$6.22 billion proceeds, a 28 percent year-on-year increase when compared with 22 listings of S$4.86 billion proceeds recorded last year.

Nearly half of the proceeds raised this year were driven by 11 IPOs that were completed in the third quarter, which led to the year-to date listings outperforming the deal flow and volume of IPOs in the first three quarters of 2012.

“The abundant liquidity and positive investor sentiment have propelled Singapore’s IPO market in the past 12 months. It was a surprise to see a wave of IPO listings in this third quarter following a muted performance in the first two quarters.

Thanks to some of the mega listings, we are very encouraged by the significant growth of the market capitalisation for each IPO this year. 18 out of the 26 IPOs have a market capitalisation of above S$100 million compared to only 12 out of the 22 IPOs completed in 2012,” said Dr Ernest Kan, Chief of Operations for Clients & Markets at Deloitte Singapore.

“Another noteworthy point is that of the 18 IPOs with market capitalisation of above S$100 million, five of them were Catalist listings this year compared to none last year, marking a stellar showing of the Catalist platform,” added Dr Kan.

Interest in real estate counters remains high, dominating the market this year. Singapore’s competitive edge through its first-mover advantage position has established itself as a major Asian hub for REITs and business trust over the last decade.

“The two mega-listings of Mapletree Greater China Commercial Trust and SPH REIT have not only driven the increase in number of IPOs and proceeds raised this year but also raised the profile of Singapore as a listing destination, further boosting Singapore as the key financial hub in Southeast Asia,” remarked Dr Kan.

Companies in the real estate and energy and resources are taking a more global view of the markets and have been seen actively pursuing listing opportunities in Singapore. These two industries have emerged as the top performers this year with real estate topping the number of IPO rankings for 2013 at 42 percent and energy and resources ranking 19 percent.

Sharing the outlook for 2014, Dr Ernest Kan commented, “Overall we expect the Singapore IPO market to remain positive with our GDP anticipated to expand by up to 4.0 percent in 2014. We are confident that Catalist listings will continue to hold a steady presence in the Singapore capital market given its growing performance over the years.

Even as there remains the prospect of the eventual Quantitative Easing (QE) by the Fed, we believe our capital market will be resilient as it has grown stronger from the expansion of SGX’s global presence in establishing a strong international investor base and their active outreach to attract IPO candidates.”

On the global front, China is expected to lead the IPO market next year following the country’s decision to end a 15-month freeze on IPOs. This is expected to unleash at least US$11 billion of share sales in 2014.

“Singapore stands to benefit from this with the establishment of a direct listing framework between SGX and the Chinese Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) that will potentially attract more Chinese companies incorporated in China to consider a listing on SGX,” said Dr Kan.