Singapore's equity capital market proceeds crashed 30.1% to $6.73b YTD

IPO proceeds plunged 83.9%.

Singaporean companies tapping into the equity capital markets (ECM) raised $6.73 (US$4.89b) YTD which is 30.1% lower compared to the annual period in 2017 of $9.61b (US$7b), according to data from Refinitv, Thomson Reuters’ financial and risk business arm.

In Q4, Singapore ECM activity declined 15.4% QoQ from $1.21b (US$881.2m) in Q3 to $1.02b (US$745.5m). In YoY terms, proceeds plummeted 79.1% from the strong $3.16b (US$2.3b) seen in Q4 2017.

“Initial public offerings (IPOs) by Singaporean companies in domestic and overseas stock markets raised $947.34m (US$689.9m) so far this year, down 83.9% in proceeds compared to 2017m and witnessed the lowest annual period in terms of proceeds since 2015,” Refinitiv said in a statement.

Also read: Singapore IPO proceeds plummet 85% to $715m

One the other hand, follow-on offerings from Singaporean issuers raised $4.81b (US$3.5b) in proceeds which is a 39.2% increase from 2017. Follow-on offerings accounted for 70.8% of Singapore ECM, according to Refinitiv, whilst IPOs captured 14.1% market share in terms of proceeds.

According to Refinitv data, digital entertainment platform Sea Ltd raised $686.57m (US$500m) from a five-year convertible bond in June, making it the largest Singapore equity offering in 2018. It is followed by OUE Commercial REIT’s $587.5m (US$426.4m) rights offering in October to finance a planned acquisition.

The real estate industry accounted for a majority of the Lion City’s ECM activity with 77.4% market share worth $5.22b (US$3.8b) in proceeds which is an 8.2% increase from 2017.

“Nine out of the top 10 deals this year were REITS issuance, led by OUE Commercial REIT, Frasers Logistics & Industrial Trust and Ascendas REIT follow-on offerings, and Sasseur REIT’s $433.37m (US$315.6m) IPO,” Refinitiv said in a statement.

Also read: Equity capital market activity hits two-year high at US$3.8b YTD

The media & entertainment and industrial sectors followed behind in with 10.2% and 4.7% market share, respectively.

Meanwhile, underwriting fees for equity assistance by Singaporean companies fell 37.9% YoY to $144.04m (US$104.9m), data showed. DBS Group led the fee rankings for Singapore equity issuance with $36.25m (US$26.4m) in estimated fee revenue, accounting for 25.2% of the wallet share YTD in 2018. Goldman Sachs and Citi rounded up the top three for equity fee underwriting with 12% and 10.6% wallet share, respectively.

Singapore ECM underwriting rankings saw a similar trend with, with DBS Group leading the pack with 23.2% market share (US$1.1b) in related proceeds, followed by Goldman Sachs (13.6%) and Citi (10.8%).

“Singapore-listed equity offerings which are combined IPOs and follow-on offerings listed in Singapore’s stock exchanges totaled US$4.9b YTD, a 16.2% decline in proceeds compared to 2017,” Refinitiv said in a statement. “South Korean messaging app operator Kakao Corp has raised US$1b from the sale of global depository receipts in the Singapore Exchange (SGX).”