SINGAPORE Law and Practice Contributed by: Kenneth Pereire and Lin YingXin, KGP Legal LLC
Global Financial Industry Globally, financial markets broadly agree on key listing standards that align with the regulatory frameworks of exchanges around the world. These standards typically include the following. • Financial performance – demonstrating profit - ability and strong financial health. • Corporate governance – adhering to strong governance frameworks that promote accountability. • Listing fees – ensuring that the costs associ - ated with listing align with the company’s scale and market standing. • Liquidity of shares – companies must have sufficient share liquidity to ensure ease of trading. • Size of firm – the size is generally determined through income levels and market capitalisa - tion, ensuring that only companies of suffi - cient scale can list on prominent exchanges. Additional Standards • ESG disclosures – companies are increasingly expected to disclose ESG factors in line with global reporting frameworks, reflecting the growing importance of sustainability in listing decisions. • Transparency and fairness – in line with global best practices, the SGX prioritises fairness and transparency in the listing process, ensuring that potential investors have access to sufficient information before investing. 6.5 Order Handling Rules In Singapore, the MAS requires marketplaces and trading platforms to implement best execu - tion procedures, ensuring optimal outcomes for client orders based on factors like speed, price and execution likelihood. Capital markets inter - mediaries must monitor compliance and dis - close their best execution practices to clients,
intermediary. By enforcing these robust require - ments, Singapore preserves its position as a leading global financial hub while addressing the risks associated with rapidly evolving digital assets and platforms. 6.4 Listing Standards Listing standards in Singapore are overseen by the SGX and are divided into Mainboard and Catalist, each with distinct requirements for dif - ferent types of companies. Mainboard For Mainboard, companies must meet stricter financial thresholds and governance standards. The key requirements include the following. • Profitability – a company must demonstrate a minimum consolidated pre-tax profit of at least SGD30 million for the latest financial year with an operating track record of at least three years. • Market capitalisation – alternatively, a compa - ny can be profitable in the latest financial year and have a market capitalisation of at least SGD150 million, also with at least three years of operating track record. • Revenue – if not meeting profitability thresh - olds, the company must have operating rev - enue in the latest financial year and a market capitalisation of at least SGD300 million. Catalist For Catalist, the standards are more flexible, focusing primarily on corporate governance without imposing strict quantitative thresholds. However, companies must still adhere to gov - ernance standards that ensure transparency and accountability.
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