Stefanie Yuen Thio was interviewed by The Business Times as one of the capital markets industry experts weighing in on the “Value Unlock” programme initiated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Singapore Exchange, for an article that appeared on page 2 of the newspaper. The programme comprises $30 million in funding across two grants from MAS’ Financial Sector Development Fund, designed to build corporate capabilities in strategy, capital optimisation and investor relations.

Stefanie, who heads the firm’s Transactions practice, revealed that there has been rising interest from IPO aspirants amid increased activity in Singapore’s stock markets, and that in order to sustain this momentum, it is necessary to help good-quality companies raise their game in related skills such as investor relations – and this is where the new “Value Unlock” initiative comes in. She also pointed out that many companies perform well operationally but struggle to communicate effectively with the market, and hence do not receive the investor interest their performance deserves, as they do not focus enough on upskilling, strategic planning and succession management.

She stressed that training and support have to be of high quality, especially at this early stage, as investor relations is more than drafting template announcements; it also involves clearly explaining business strategies and demonstrating progress over time. She hopes to see well-planned and well-executed workshops by best-in-class trainers help smaller companies bridge this gap.