MAS appoints first 3 asset managers to inject initial S$1.1 billion into Singapore equities
A combined initial sum of S$1.1 billion will be set aside for the three asset managers under the Equity Market Development Programme, which was first announced by the equities market review group in February.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), which leads the review group, said on Monday (Jul 21) that the three managers were selected based on a range of factors.
These include the alignment of their proposed fund strategies with the programme's objectives, the strength of the proposals to attract third-party capital such as foreign funds, as well as their commitment to contribute to the growth of asset management and research capabilities in Singapore.
The fund strategies also have a clear focus on improving liquidity and broadening participation in Singapore equities, with significant allocation to small and mid-cap stocks, said MAS.
More than 100 global, regional and local asset managers had indicated their interest in the programme, which is open to local and international managers as well as new and existing funds.
BT in your inbox
Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox.
Sign Up
Sign Up
The regulator said it is currently reviewing the remaining submissions from asset managers and will announce the names of those who are selected in the fourth quarter of 2025.
More funding for research
Separately, MAS will also set aside S$50 million until 2028 for the Grant for Equity Market Singapore (Gems) Scheme to strengthen research on equities.
Based on the Research Development Grant under Gems, each research report will receive an additional S$1,000. A further S$1,000 will be provided if the report is an initiation of research coverage or covers pre-initial public offering stage and newly listed companies.
The listing grant under Gems, which defrays listing costs for issuers, will be expanded to cover Singapore Depository Receipts and foreign Depository Receipts with underlying Singapore stocks. Under the new funding sleeve, each Depository Receipt issuance will receive S$40,000.
The overall funding per primarily listed exchange-traded fund (ETF) will go up from S$100,000 to S$250,000. A new funding sleeve will also support cross-listed and feeder ETFs at S$180,000 for each listing.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
2 hours ago
- Straits Times
US jury deadlocks on Tornado Cash founder's money laundering charge
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox NEW YORK, August 6 - A U.S. jury deadlocked on Wednesday on money laundering and sanctions evasion charges against the founder of Tornado Cash, a firm that makes cryptocurrency transactions harder to track. The jury in Manhattan federal court could not reach a verdict on charges Roman Storm conspired to launder the proceeds of hacks, including by a sanctioned North Korean government-backed group. But the jury found him guilty of the less serious charge of conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business. He faces up to five years in prison when he is sentenced by U.S. District Judge Katherine Failla at a later date. The money laundering and sanctions evasion conspiracy charges each carried possible 20-year sentences. Storm was arrested in 2023 on charges that the so-called mixer he founded helped hide more than $1 billion, including hundreds of millions of dollars for Pyongyang-backed hacking group Lazarus Group, which is blacklisted by the U.S. Treasury over its alleged financial support of North Korea. Storm, 36, had pleaded not guilty to all three felony charges he faced. In his closing argument on July 30 after a two-week trial in Manhattan federal court, defense lawyer David Patton said even though Tornado Cash's privacy tools may have been useful to criminals, Storm's intent was not to help conceal illicit funds. "There is nothing unlawful about the software that he built," Patton said. "The evidence here shows that Roman very much did not want hackers and scammers to use Tornado Cash." Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore MRT track issue causes 5-hour delay; Jeffrey Siow says 'we can and will do better' Singapore ST Explains: What is a track point fault and why does it cause lengthy train disruptions? Singapore Three people taken to hospital after fire in Punggol executive condominium Singapore Elderly man found dead in SingPost Centre stairwell could have been in confused state: Coroner Singapore 81 primary schools to hold ballot for Phase 2C of Primary 1 registration Singapore S'pore and Indonesia have discussed jointly developing military training facilities: Chan Chun Sing Singapore Two workers died after being hit by flying gas cylinders in separate incidents in 2025 Sport Young Lions and distance runner Soh Rui Yong out of SEA Games contingent Prosecutor Benjamin Gianforti said Storm had been informed multiple times between 2020 and 2022 that Tornado Cash was helping criminals hide dirty money, but kept running the business out of greed. Gianforti said Tornado Cash's emphasis on user privacy was a "cover story." "The real money wasn't in protecting privacy for regular folks, it was in providing privacy for big time crypto criminals," Gianforti said. "Hackers were his best customers." Tornado Cash had itself been sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury under then-President Joe Biden's Democratic administration over its alleged support of North Korea. The Treasury lifted those sanctions in March, two months into Republican President Donald Trump's administration, saying it had reviewed legal and policy issues raised by the sanctions within "evolving technology and legal environments." Last year, one of Tornado Cash's developers, Alexey Pertsev, was sentenced to five years and four months in prison in the Netherlands for money laundering. REUTERS
Business Times
14 hours ago
- Business Times
UOBKH portfolio of alpha picks beats STI in July; new top choices for Singapore, Malaysia named
[SINGAPORE] The UOB Kay Hian (UOBKH) alpha picks portfolio surpassed the Straits Times Index (STI) in July despite the latter hitting record highs , said an analyst report on Monday (Aug 4). The alpha picks portfolio had gains of 17.7 per cent month on month on an equal-weighted basis, or 6 per cent on a market capitalisation-weighted basis. This was in comparison to a 5.3 per cent month-on-month increase for the STI in both respects. Positive news about the S$5 billion capital injection by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) backed the strong performance of the portfolio, said UOBKH. 'With 10 out of 14 stocks in our portfolio being non-index stocks, we remain well-positioned for MAS' S$5 billion capital injection,' the report indicated. The STI experienced gains in the latter half of July, driven less by the original Aug 1 tariff deadline and more by the better-than-expected US economic data that boosted investor optimism, added UOBKH. The alpha picks portfolio performance was driven by jumps in iFast, Frencken Group and China Sunsine Chemical Holdings. There were no underperformers in July. A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU Friday, 8.30 am Asean Business Business insights centering on South-east Asia's fast-growing economies. Sign Up Sign Up New Singapore picks for August Three new small to mid-cap stocks – Hong Leong Asia, Marco Polo Marine and CSE Global – were added to the Singapore alpha picks portfolio for August. Hong Leong Asia was added due to tailwinds in the construction sector, while Marco Polo Marine was included because it is set to benefit from high charter rates and vessel utilisation in the second half of the year, said UOBKH. CSE Global was added due to a robust and growing orderbook. The pair of iFast and Sheng Siong were removed, marking profits of 40.7 per cent and 19.3 per cent, respectively. August's portfolio has been adjusted in preparation of the MAS cash injection, which is set to lift undervalued, small-cap stocks. UOBKH's Singapore alpha picks portfolio for August thus comprises PropNex, DFI Retail, ComfortDelGro, Hong Leong Asia, Marco Polo Marine, CSE Global, China Sunsine Chemical Holdings, Food Empire Holdings, Frencken Group, Valuetronics Holdings, UMS Integration, CapitaLand Ascendas Real Estate Investment Trust, OCBC and CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust. New Malaysia picks for August The Malaysia alpha picks outperformed the Kuala Lumpur Composite Index (KLCI), gaining 5.6 per cent as the KLCI fell 1.3 per cent in July. The construction, building materials and property sectors were the biggest winners. Only Zetrix AI and Duopharma Biotech saw negative returns at minus 7.4 per cent and minus 1.5 per cent, respectively. The utilities, banking and healthcare sectors experienced the largest drops. RHB Bank is a new addition to the portfolio, with UOBKH stating that the defensive and high-yielding bank should pare back some of its year-to-date losses. It replaces Duopharma Biotech, which UOBKH said lacks near-term catalysts. The August picks are calibrated to outperform anticipated events such as a 'summer lull', triggered by the poor US non-farm payroll data on Aug 1. Meanwhile, the portfolio is set to take advantage of Malaysia's recently struck trade deal with the US, where imports from the South-east Asian country will be charged a 19 per cent tariff . UOBKH's August Malaysia alpha picks portfolio thus comprises Coraza Integrated Technology, Eco World Development, Gamuda, Hume Cement Industries, IJM Corp, Inari Amertron, RHB Bank and Zetrix AI.
Business Times
15 hours ago
- Business Times
The evolving role of listed company directors
Singapore is on a mission to revitalise its capital markets. A high-level working group chaired by Minister for National Development Chee Hong Tat has been set up, and a slew of measures have been rolled out. Most recently, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) placed S$1.1 billion into the hands of an initial three fund managers to invest in Singapore Exchange-listed stocks, with an additional S$3.9 billion to come. It has further committed S$50 million to support equity research and reinvigorate the listed product ecosystem. Other initiatives have been announced, including to boost investors' recourse against errant boards and management. In tandem, the Code of Corporate Governance is being refreshed. At the same time, high drama has played out on Singapore's corporate stage. The battle for control of the boardroom in family-controlled City Developments Limited kept the business community glued to the news for weeks. The liquidators' claim against Goh Jin Hian, a non-executive director in a company defrauded by the executive management who had absconded, raised alarm in the independent director community. A collective sigh of relief was heaved in boardrooms when the Appellate Court reversed much of the High Court decision, clarifying that the role of a director is to be sentinel, not sleuth. These cases engendered some soul-searching into the nature of directors' duties in Singapore. Regulatory and shareholder demands on directors are clearly increasing. Concurrently, the issues that the boards of today are required to oversee are expanding in number and complexity. A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU Friday, 12.30 pm ESG Insights An exclusive weekly report on the latest environmental, social and governance issues. Sign Up Sign Up It is high time to re-examine the role of directors in listed companies. Directors' expanded duties The Companies Act requires directors to manage the business of the company, and to act in its best interests, honestly and with reasonable diligence. In law school, undergrads are taught that the interest of the company is that of the shareholders when the company is solvent, and its creditors when it is not. But the business landscape has changed. Additional 'stakeholders' have sprung up. Environment, social and governance (ESG), charitable endeavours and environmentally friendly business practices may not directly improve the bottom line for shareholders, but are becoming metrics against which the company's directors are measured. Now layer on the fact that the world has become more complex. While directors previously focused mainly on financial, legal and operational concerns, they must now grapple with serious emerging issues such as climate change, sustainability and cybersecurity, which require specialist expertise beyond the average lawyer or accountant. More shareholder activism also increases the risk of directors being sued. In this evolving operating environment, what is the new role of the listed company director? I suggest that directors' obligations fall broadly into two baskets. Risk management First comes risk management. This is the traditional understanding of the board role, and the aspect that the Companies Act and common law have articulated in detail. Into this basket falls managing legal, financial and business risks, all well understood by the business community. But the range of risks facing companies has expanded significantly. ESG reporting is now mandated by listing rules and is a key metric used by institutional investors to evaluate a company, before they plough in capital. Under this broad umbrella, climate change, diversity in hiring policies and sustainable business practices have become hard deliverables. Compliance is another growing area of risk, with more global scrutiny on anti-money laundering, anti-bribery and regulatory compliance. And those are just the newly added risks facing boards today. Directors also have to consider emerging risks. The rise of artificial intelligence (AI), the acceleration of digital disruption and increasing instances of cyberattacks make technology-associated risks a concern. Beyond these, the modern listed company director must also stay on top of geopolitical and societal developments to consider their likely future impact on the company and the industry in which it operates. Value creation The second basket – that of director as value creator – is less commonly recognised. 'Value creation' sounds like a waffly, intangible mission, but is an increasingly critical one. Previously, the equation was simple. It was for management and the controlling shareholders to build the business. If the business did well, profits would go up and public investors would pile in. In today's world, listed companies navigate more complex terrain. Profitability is no longer the only game in town. A small/medium business may be money-making but if there is scant research coverage, retail investors will not know about it, especially if it is not in a sexy sector. Investor relations skills are thus crucial to put the company on investors' radar screens. Also important is understanding the metrics that institutional investors use to assess potential buy orders, in order to effectively position your business to greater advantage. While profitability is still important, nowadays investors – especially the more sophisticated ones who can write larger cheques – consider a wider range of factors. Among them, ESG performance, growth potential and market penetration. Boards also have to provide oversight on strategy and long-term sustainability. Keeping abreast of technological advancements and even changing societal expectations will be key performance indicators. Nor can stakeholder and brand management be ignored. Companies may get punished for unethical decision-making or delayed disclosures. The crisis management response that data platform company Astronomer swung into when its chief executive and its human resource head were caught canoodling at a Coldplay concert – hiring Hollywood star Gwyneth Paltrow to front a disaster recovery publicity campaign – showed the need for a smart, substantive and speedy reaction. Reinventing the Singapore listed company director Singapore boards need to understand the expanded purview of their roles, and move beyond traditional risk management. They also need equipping. Diversity targets, net-zero aspirations and external communications are new and varied challenges. Courses should be structured to prepare them for the new iteration of their role. These could include baseline skills for small/medium companies such as investor relationship management and presentation skills. More established companies would need help in forward-looking training, for example understanding the complexities of ESG compliance to implement effective change and not just produce a virtue-signalling Sustainability Report. Capacity-building related to AI adoption to unlock productivity savings and to manage cyber risks is also needed. We are on track to improve our capital market. Market sentiment has improved since the MAS announcements. But government capital to shore up the stock market is not sustainable. To attract big foreign money, small and medium Singapore companies will need to embrace a broader definition of corporate governance, and ultimately reinvent the board to be future-ready. The writer is joint managing partner, TSMP Law Corp
