Stefanie Yuen Thio quoted in Lianhe Zaobao: “Companies unlikely to list due to patriotic reasons”

Joint managing partner Stefanie Yuen Thio was interviewed by journalist Marcus Han Poh Tin of Lianhe Zaobao on August 24, 2022 on the patriotic listings plea by the Singapore Exchange (SGX). 

Her quote was used in the headline of the article, where she commented that listings need to make commercial sense and that companies are unlikely to list in Singapore out of patriotism. The article also featured comments from Tham Tuck Seng, Capital Markets Leader, PwC Singapore on the advantages for companies to be listed on domestic exchanges and regional investor interest.

Stefanie said she was aware that the SGX works very hard at promoting itself as an advantageous listing venue, but has never heard any member of SGX suggest patriotism to local companies as a reason for listing. She added, “It would be sensible for listed companies to take into account the stability of our nation, how we have remained pro-business through the pandemic and our wide ranging geopolitical friendships, when deciding on a listing.”

She pointed out that the main complaint about an SGX listing has been that the valuation here is not as attractive as other exchanges with historically deeper capital pools. But having more large listings here would naturally boost liquidity and improve our valuations.

“The tensions between China and the US, the instability in HK, as well as China’s continued zero Covid policy all make Singapore a naturally attractive alternative listing venue.”

She added that a lot of family wealth has already made its way out here. It makes sense to site their investments in public companies in Singapore also.