Leon Lim was interviewed in Asian Legal Business, in an article on Singapore IPOs and proposed measures to boost stock market (p. 7). Leon is quoted saying that the announced MAS incentives seek to address both the demand-side of the equation by increasing investor interest in SGX listed equities, and supply-side issues by attracting companies and fund managers to tap Singapore’s equities market for capital raising needs.

On the demand side, while the S$5 billion Equity Market Development Programme has been positively received, Leon expressed concern that benefits might be concentrated among banks, REITs and blue-chip stocks, which do not suffer the same liquidity and valuation issues as the small and mid-caps stocks. On the supply side, he noted that the Grant for Equity Market Singapore, which was introduced in 2021 and pre-dates the Review Group, hasn’t led to a marked increase in the number of IPOs on the Singapore stock exchange, which suggests that the problem is not the cost of an IPO.

Further, Leon expressed support for the regulatory changes recommended by the MAS review group, saying that while the current regulatory approach is purported to be a disclosure based regime (where caveat emptor is supposed to be the operating principle), in practice, there continues to be a patriarchal impetus to protect the public, especially retail investors. He believes that, looking ahead, the additional measures expected in late 2025 aim to uplift the shareholder engagement capabilities of issuers and strengthen investor protection by enhancing investor recourse avenues.