Amid much hand-wringing, the IPO scene is seemingly picking up, finally, with exchange officials projecting nearly 30 in total this year, which means 25 more to go.
Various reports have listed names such as data centre operator DayOne, potentially raising some US$5 billion ($6.3 billion) via a Nasdaq-Singapore dual listing; AirTrunk, another data centre REIT, with backing from Blackstone; the REIT spin-off from Thai hospitality giant Minor International; JD Property, a REIT to be spun off China’s e-commerce platform JD.com; Temasek-backed Foundation Healthcare, as well as other homegrown companies.
Unfortunately, thus far, the recent big IPOs hardly inspire — and the worry is that these potential new listings that are supposed to be in the pipeline will get cold feet. Quantity isn’t a quality if lacklustre post-IPO trading becomes an accepted norm.
Investors here are already used to managing expectations: they do not yearn for the first-day doubling kind of IPO pop often seen on other exchanges. Yet neither should they expect the first day to close below water either.
See also: What Kwek Leng Peck’s return could mean for CDL
UltraGreen.ai, which came to market just before 2025, sells a market-leading product, boasts handsome operating margins, and has a board stacked with notable names from business and healthcare. This stock enjoyed bullish sell-side coverage right from the start. Yet, its share price is now trading below the issue price of US$1.45.
UI Boustead REIT, another recent big listing backed by Boustead Singapore, probably the oldest company in Singapore, was sold at 88 cents each. It ended its first day 8.5% below water and has dipped even lower since.
And of course, JustCo Holdings, the co-working operator, was the most recent eyebrow-raiser. Despite a long list of investors and backers, the likes of GIC, Frasers Property, BlackRock and Tecity Asset Management, its share price sank right away to end the first day at more than 17% lower than the offering price of 94 cents.
See also: Is Singtel keen on M1? It does not really matter
Besides the usual spiel of raising funds for growth, there are other reasons companies want to list, and at what kind of valuation. One can imagine the to-and-fro between founders asking for more, versus their bankers hoping for something more digestible.
Similarly, there are several reasons why investors, including institutional names, take part in a new listing. Perhaps, subscribing for some shares at market price is but part of some other broader understanding beyond what retail investors will know.
In a sense, at this phase of the market where trading activity is growing, and everyone is looking for ideas, investors must not neglect existing listcos that may have been forgotten while everyone else fawns over the new listings.
Various fund managers, especially those who have received government funding under the Equities Market Development Programme (EQDP), have been actively looking — and investing via placements and other secondary transactions. With murmurs that the industry is looking at another tranche on top of the $6.5 billion already announced, there is potentially more impetus along these lines.
In the past year or so, due to the injection of new external funding, EQDP or otherwise, numerous previously forgotten stocks are making a comeback. These names include iX Biopharma, Q&M Dental Group, Addvalue Technologies, Mencast Holdings, Raffles Education, Trek 2000 International and Totm Technologies.
There are a few common threads: they had their moments in the sun years ago but were then weighed down by market challenges or disputes with other parties, which caused them to drop out of favour.
Nonetheless, the people leading those companies held on and pushed on and are now writing new growth stories, which have been illuminated when external investors put in new money. Instead of just casting the spotlight on debutantes trying to find their feet while wearing ill-fitting gowns, these well-aged entities deserve more attention.
