You’d think that one of Southeast Asia’s most advanced startup ecosystems would be churning out homegrown IPOs like tech hubs in the US or Hong Kong. After all, Singapore has unicorns, world-class universities, deep government support and a global reputation as a financial centre.
Yet somehow, despite all this, very few Singaporean startups choose to list on the Singapore Exchange (SGX) when they go public. In fact, many don’t list at all.
It’s one of those paradoxes that makes you wonder what’s really going on here?
A Shrinking IPO Market at Home
The numbers don’t lie; Singapore’s IPO activity has been declining for years.
At one point, the SGX hosted healthy waves of listings, but today, that pipeline’s looking increasingly thin. According to the Financial Coconut, by 2024, the exchange saw just four IPOs raising barely US$30 million – a far cry from peak years when more companies went public with far larger capital raises. And the thing is, this isn’t just a blip – it’s a trend that’s been unfolding for over a decade, and it’s not slowing down.
Meanwhile, regional neighbours like Malaysia and Indonesia have far more vibrant IPO markets in terms of the number of listings and funds raised. And of course, then there’s the allure of global giants listing in the US or Hong Kong, where valuations and investor appetite are simply on a different scale.
Is Liquidity the Market’s Achilles’ Heel?
If startups are going to IPO, they need deep, willing markets for their shares, and according to experts, this is where SGX falters. Trading volumes are relatively low compared to exchanges like Nasdaq or HKEX (the Hong Kong Exchange), making it harder for listed companies to enjoy active trading after debut. Thin liquidity ends up suppressing valuations and turns off institutional investors – these are the very players startups dream of attracting.
That dynamic creates a sort of feedback loop: fewer listings lead to lower trading activity, which scares off buyers, which in turn discourages more companies from listing. It’s the stock market chicken-and-egg problem writ large.
Rules That Don’t Understand Growth
Traditional listing criteria don’t help either. For years, SGX’s Mainboard required things like profitability thresholds or sustained revenue before acceptance. According to experts, that’s a recipe for excluding high-growth, pre-profit tech startups – the very kind that define modern innovation.
By contrast, US markets, for example, allow companies to list without the same profit track record, which appeals to tech founders who prioritise growth over immediate earnings. Basically, it’s just a whole lot easier.
Even efforts to ease some requirements or enhance the junior board, Catalist, haven’t fully moved the needle just yet. There’s a lingering perception that SGX is more comfortable with dividend-paying blue chips or REITs than riskier tech growth companies.
Valuations and Where the Money Really Is
Let’s be honest, valuations matter. A listing isn’t just about going public – it’s about raising significant capital and rewarding early investors. Singapore’s market often hands out lower price-to-earnings multiples compared with Nasdaq or Hong Kong. And those deeper pools of global capital, especially from institutional investors who are willing to bet on rapid growth, simply aren’t as active here.
So, if a snowball of interest isn’t building at home, it’s only logical that founders will look abroad. Grab went to NASDAQ, Sea Limited chose NYSE and many others have set their sights on larger markets with more analysts, more demand and more appetite for speculative growth stories. If the opportunities are better elsewhere, something needs to change at home.
Culture and Appetite for Risk
There’s also a softer, more cultural element at play too. Singapore’s investment culture has traditionally favoured stability, dividends and long-term savings over venture-like risk and volatility. Retail investors in Singapore tend to be cautious, and that can skew market behaviour against the types of speculative bets that make tech IPOs exciting.
Meanwhile, founders themselves, nurtured in an ecosystem that prizes resilience and sound fundamentals, may feel less comfortable flaunting high volatility in a local listing. Or, perhaps they simply decide that a foreign listing gives them credibility and visibility they wouldn’t otherwise get.
Is the Tide Turning?
The good news is that it’s not all doom and gloom. Regulators and market operators are aware of the problem and actively trying to fix it, even though they haven’t quite managed just yet. Singapore and Nasdaq have agreed on a joint listing board to make dual listings between SGX and Nasdaq easier – a potential a bridge for companies that want access to deeper capital while keeping a home footprint.
There’s also a sizeable pipeline of companies preparing for IPOs, and regulators have introduced incentives like listing rebates and simplified regimes to make SGX more attractive.
But still, bridging perception with reality will require more than just incentives – it needs a shift in investor mindset, more flexible rules that understand modern growth models and maybe a bit of narrative magic that convinces founders that going public at home is not a compromise, but a strategic choice.
So, Why So Few IPOs at Home?
In the end, it’s a coming together of structural, cultural and economic factors. Singapore’s startup ecosystem might be thriving in many respects, but its capital markets haven’t yet evolved in line with the needs of fast-growth companies.
And until they do, the answer to “Why don’t Singapore startups IPO at home?” remains as much about where the money wants to be as where the companies want to go.
