The group’s priorities include deeper engagement with stakeholders and strengthening market foundation
[SINGAPORE] Stepping up outreach and communication will be among the key priorities of the newly formed Equity Market Implementation Committee (EMIC) as it oversees the measures to revive Singapore’s equities market.
This includes deeper engagement with retail and institutional investors, prospective issuers, listing advisers and brokers.
“This will be supported by enhanced investor education efforts to communicate the evolving value proposition of Singapore’s equities market, and to improve investor understanding of new-economy sectors and business models to attract such listings,” a Singapore Exchange (SGX) spokesperson told The Business Times.
Jointly led by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and SGX, the formation of the committee was announced in November 2025 when the Equities Market Review Group unveiled its final recommendations to strengthen Singapore’s equities market.
Its mandate is to oversee the effective and timely implementation of the review group’s recommendations, which are organised around three key pillars – supply, demand and connectivity/trading.
The committee’s 12 members, drawn from across the capital markets ecosystem, were unveiled last week in a LinkedIn post.
Beyond implementation, the committee will serve as a platform for industry stakeholders to provide feedback on the rollout of the measures, while monitoring market responses and addressing issues that emerge during implementation, SGX said.
MAS and SGX will engage committee members regularly, with formal meetings scheduled at least twice a year or more frequently when required.
Updates will be provided as initiatives are rolled out and milestones are achieved, while meeting discussions may be shared publicly where appropriate, noted the SGX spokesperson.
“In the first six months, we will be closely monitoring more progress (and) also be seeing what else needs to be done,” said EMIC member Clifford Lee, who is also managing director and global head of investment banking at DBS, and served on the Equities Market Review Group.
He told BT that the committee will also raise awareness of the measures not only in Singapore but across the region.
Another focus area for the review group will be to strengthen market foundation. This includes completing the review of the market-making ecosystem and enhancing capabilities to support trading liquidity, particularly for small and mid-cap stocks.
Advancing the “Value Unlock” agenda is another priority. This involves encouraging listed companies, including at the board level, to strengthen investor relations and articulate their value-creation strategies more clearly and consistently.
“Just at the start of the race”
Besides these priorities, the review group will continue building on early momentum generated under the demand pillar where the Equity Market Development Programme (EQDP) helped channel additional capital into Singapore’s stock market. A third batch of EQDP fund managers will be announced in the second half of this year.
Asked how the committee would assess its effectiveness, DBS’ Lee said key indicators include activity in the primary market, such as the number of initial public offerings as well as trading liquidity measured by SGX’s average daily turnover.
“We are just at the start of the race, and we have already seen good traction last year,” he added.
Lee pointed to growing activity in the small and mid-cap segment, which suggest that measures including the EQDP are beginning to have a positive impact.
Earlier this month, SGX reported that robust trading activity and sustained investor participation across all market segments had lifted securities market turnover value by 70 per cent year on year to S$45.8 billion in May 2026.
Overall, SDAV (securities daily average value) climbed 79 per cent from a year earlier to S$2.4 billion, the highest level since October 2007.
“We are encouraged by the broad market improvements,” said the SGX spokesperson, noting that momentum among stocks that are not in the Straits Times Index has continued to accelerate.
SDAV for these counters rose 22 per cent month on month in May, and was more than three times the figure in May 2025. Institutional investors were also net buyers of these stocks for a third consecutive month.
The development comes as Singapore has overtaken its regional peers to become South-east Asia’s largest stock market by market capitalisation.
“We are trying to make the Singapore stock exchange relevant in Asia to Asian issuers, not just Singapore issuers, and to global issuers,” Lee said.
He added that more companies with international operations could choose to list in Singapore over time, citing NTT DC Reit as an example of an issuer with a global footprint.
The EMIC members are:
- Clifford Lee, managing director and global head of investment banking at DBS Bank
- Andy Tai, head of investment banking, Southeast Asia at Goldman Sachs
- Rohit Sipahimalani, chief information officer at Temasek
- Kok Ping Soon, CEO at Singapore Business Federation
- Jenny Sofian, chairman at Investment Management Association of Singapore and CEO at Fullerton Fund Management
- Geoffrey Yeo, assistant managing director (capabilities, product & policy) at Enterprise Singapore
- Luke Lim, deputy chairman at Securities Association of Singapore and managing director at Phillip Securities
- David Gerald, founder, president and CEO at Securities Investors Association (Singapore)
- Shane Chesson, vice-chairman at Singapore Venture & Private Capital Association and founding partner at Openspace Capital
- Tan Tze Gay, partner and head of equity capital markets at Allen & Gledhill
- Sharon Lau, partner at Latham & Watkins
- Mah Kah Loon, senior advisor at EY Corporate Finance
A SGX spokesperson said the committee’s composition “reflects a balance of industry expertise across asset managers and investors, intermediaries, and market operators to ensure effective implementation and alignment with ecosystem needs”.
Members were selected for their close proximity to market activity and their on-the-ground insights, enabling the committee to focus on practical issues and respond quickly to evolving market conditions, the spokesperson added.