MAS to launch $75m grant for Equity Market Singapore

It aims to boost Singapore’s role as an enterprise financing hub.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) is set to launch a new $75m grant for Equity Market Singapore (GEMS) on 14 February in its efforts to enhance Singapore’s role as Asia’s centre for capital raising and enterprise financing, an announcement by minister for finance and MAS board member Heng Swee Keat at the UBS Wealth Insights conference revealed.

GEMS will be a three-year initiative that aims to help enterprises raise capital through Singapore’s equity market and will have three components including a listing grant, research talent development, and research initiatives grant.

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“Singapore has been working to enhance our private and public markets so that domestic and international growth enterprises are able to access different types of capital best suited to their needs,” MAS’ assistant managing director Ng Yao Loong said in a statement. “Results from our private market initiatives and bond grant schemes have been encouraging.”

The listing grant will include listings of local and foreign enterprises to further encourage eligible enterprises across a range of sectors to list on the Singapore Exchange (SGX). Enterprises in the new technology sector with a minimum market capitalisation of $300m will be entitled to a grant capped at $1m and a co-funding of 70% of its listing expenses, whilst enterprises from high growth sectors can receive a grant capped at $500,000 and co-funding of 20% on listing expenses.

Enterprises from all sectors with no minimum market capitalisation can receive listing grants capped at $200,000 and co-funding of 20% for eligible listing expenses, the announcement stated.

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Meanwhile, the research talent development grant is designed to groom a pipeline of equity research analysts and retain experienced research talent in an effort to push research coverage primarily of listed mid and small-cap enterprises, MAS highlighted. The grant will co-fund 70% of the salaries for fresh graduates hired as equity research analysts, and 50% of salaries for re-employed experienced equity research analysts.

The proposed research initiatives grant on the other hand aims to propel the development of Singapore’s equity research ecosystem through initiatives including the publication of industry or sector primers and the distribution of enterprise information to investors.