The Monetary Authority of Singapore has received "a good response" from fund managers eyeing a piece of the $5 billion fund to help revive the local market by investing in smaller local stocks that tend to enjoy lower liquidity than the blue-chip index counters.
The Equity Market Development Programme, or EQDP, was first announced on Feb 21 as part of a broader set of measures to make the Singapore market more vibrant.
"MAS has received a good response from global and regional asset managers. These managers have submitted proposed strategies for the EQDP.
"We aim to shortlist suitable strategies by the third quarter of 2025,” says MAS' spokesperson in response to queries.
In recent days, a couple of financial institutions have alluded to progress made in dishing out this $5 billion as they put forward lists of possible local mid-caps that are of potential interest.
"We believe mandates will be handed out by the end of the year, and deployment into Singapore equities will soon follow," says Morgan Stanley in a May 22 note, where it raised the target for MSCI Singapore by 13%, citing possible upside from the measures.
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On the same day, DBS Group Research, citing "market chatter", says that MAS is "close to shortlisting" investment managers to allocate the funds.
