SGX and HKEX in three charts 

[SINGAPORE] Singapore’s market is weathering a listing draught but the scene at a neighbouring rival bourse up north is quite a different picture. 

The Hong Kong stock exchange is on fire, with the southern Chinese territory fast on track to becoming the world’s leading initial public offering (IPO) fundraising venue in 2025.

Close to 100 companies could raise as much as HK$220 billion (S$35.7 billion) there, acording to PricewaterhouseCoopers.

The Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX) has also enjoyed a bumper crop of 149 IPO applications year to date as at May, almost double from the year-ago period.

But on the Singapore Exchange (SGX), delistings continue to outpace IPOs.

Six months into 2025, the Catalist debut of automotive group Vin’s Holdings and mainboard listing of software services provider Info-Tech Systems, coupled with a stream of privatisations, takes the year’s tally to two IPOs versus nine delistings. At least seven more firms are set to exit.

But while things looks dismal, revival could be on the horizon.

For one, a review group formed by Singapore’s central bank is proposing schemes to resuscitate the local stock market – including fund manager incentives, a shift towards a more disclosure-based regime and changes to simplify the listing process.

The prospect of real estate investment trust (Reit) listings is also promising – with Japanese telecom giant NTT seeking to raise US$864 million in a Singapore IPO for a data centre Reit and French property asset manager Praemia Reim weighing a healthcare Reit. 

Beyond Reits, more fresh listings look to be on the way. Interior fit-out business Lum Chang Creations lodged its preliminary prospectus for the Catalist board on Jun 23 and design-and-build specialist Dezign Format Group followed suit one week later.

Chinese corporates’ heightened interest in Singapore listings could boost the local bourse as well. As a raging trade war spurs such firms to diversify away from the US, at least five from mainland China or Hong Kong are reportedly eyeing IPOs, dual listings, or share placements in Singapore over the next year or so. 

Although these developments bode well for Singapore’s stock market, some market watchers do not expect the city state to close its listing gap with Hong Kong anytime soon – due to factors including its stricter listing requirements and relatively conservative investor base.

Others think that Singapore’s political stability, geopolitical neutrality as well as the international recognition and shorter time to market it offers compared to venues with longer IPO queues make it an appealing listing destination.

While it remains to be seen if Singapore’s equities market will get the turnaround it hopes for, The Business Times looks at how SGX and HKEX compares – in three charts.