Singapore IPO proceeds plummeted 20% to US$408m

Small-cap listings dominated the market amidst uncertainty and trade tensions.

The number of Singapore initial public offerings (IPO) YTD plunged by 30% to seven, bringing their proceeds down as well by 20% to US$408m, EY revealed.

According to its global IPO report, despite the dramatic changes, Singapore still has the third highest number of proceeds in Asia. It followed Indonesia’s US$688m and Ho Chi Minh’s US$2.5b.

On a quarterly basis, the number of IPOs in Q2 were down 60% from last year but up 33% from Q1 to four. Proceeds plummeted by 79% from last year to US$700m.

Also read: Singapore IPOs hit by trade tensions

EY noted that IPOs in Singapore, as well as other parts of the region like Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Malaysia, have predominantly been small-cap listings. “This is a trend we expect to continue in H2 2018 as geopolitical uncertainty, trade tensions, and macroeconomic conditions continue to dampen IPO activity,” it said.

Meanwhile, the listing of Sasseur REIT has been considered the third largest IPO in terms of proceeds at US$305m. The other top two largest IPOs in Asia so far are Vinhomes JSC (US$1.3b) and Techcombank (U$923m).

Meanwhile, there were eight IPOs from Singapore that were outside their home country, second largest in record next to Mainland China (16).

Max Loh, EY Asean and Singapore managing partner, Ernst & Young LLP, commented, “There have been no major developments since Q1 and the Asean IPO market whilst active, with a slight increase vis-à-vis Q1, has not stirred with any major activity in Q2. IPO activity has been driven mostly by entrepreneurial companies coming to market, although there were two significant deals of note on Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange."