Singapore government will fund the local stock market

On Friday, the Singapore government announced a program of actions to attract high-growth companies in the region to place on the local stock market.

For real estate investment trusts (REITs), Singapore is a favorite destination placed on the list. However, the city-state struggled to attract some of the initial public offerings from the tech sector. 

In an exclusive interview, the chief executive of the Singapore Exchange, Loh Boon Chye, told CNBC that their technology companies like Nanofilm come fully. He added that they would soon see more companies on the list. 

Nanofilm Technologies International produces protective coating materials for televisions and smartphones. The company made its trading debut last year, and it was the first main non-REIT IPO.

New initiatives

On Friday, Singapore’s government declared its plans to invest with Temasek (a state investment firm) in a couple of funds to help different companies increase capital through public listings in the city-state.

The fund will start with the first tranche of 1.6 billion Singapore dollars, equal to $1.2 billion.

Here are other initiative announcements:

The investment unit of the Economic Development Board of Singapore plans to create a new fund to invest in companies while working on an ultimate listing in Singapore. The starting budget of the fund will be 500 million Singapore dollars.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (the financial regulator) intends to increase its donations to support companies paying the cost of listings.

Singapore Exchange, the exchange operator, will support high-growth companies to allocate funds privately before a public listing.   

In a speech, Gan Kim Yong, Singapore’s Minister for Trade and Industry, said that the initiatives they are announcing today could not make any magic. He added that they would support their public equity market while making SGX a compelling option for creative growth companies exploring a public listing.