Singapore (VNA) - A new 75 million SGD (about 58 million USD) grant will belaunched in February 2019 to help companies raise funds on Singapore’s stockmarket and develop the city-state into an enterprise financing hub.
Thereare three components to the three-year initiative, known as the Grant forEquity Market Singapore. The first part is a listing grant that will defray upto 70 percent of the cost of an initial public offering (IPO) in Singapore, upto one million SGD. Companies will be eligible for different tiers of thelisting grant based on the nature of their market sector and their size.
Thesecond component will be a research talent development grant that will co-fundthe salaries of stock research analysts, to help encourage such talent andenhance research coverage in Singapore, particularly of listed mid- and small-capcompanies. The grant will fund up to 70 percent of the salary of a freshgraduate hire and up to 50 percent of that of a re-employed, experienced hire.
Thelast one is a research initiative grant, to fund crowd-sourced initiatives thataim to improve Singapore’s equity research ecosystem. Examples of suchinitiatives could include innovative ways to distribute research anddisseminate enterprise information to investors.
TheMonetary Authority of Singapore’s Assistant Managing Director Ng Yao Loong saidthat Singapore has been working to enhance its private and public markets sothat domestic and international growth enterprises are able to access differenttypes of capital best suited to their needs.
Thenew grant will help strengthen Singapore’s position as the go-to venue in Asiafor enterprises seeking growth financing.–VNA