Dear reader, the initial measures to boost the Singapore stock markets were released today.
As a recap, a review group led by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) was formed last year with the aim to rejuvenate the stock markets.
The initial measures announced include tax incentives to to attract more enterprises and fund managers to list in Singapore. There will also be options aimed to help local enterprises gain easier access to growth capital here.
Following the announcement of the measures, Singapore Stock Market (SGX) shares were down by 5.86% at this time in writing. I read online that a segment of the market was disappointed at the initial measures announced and this could have contributed to the decline in SGX share price.
To be frank, I was quite surprised to learn of the initial measures. To me, it seems a bit anti-climax to learn that after months of waiting from the review group, composed of distinguished members, the initial measures seem to be quite ordinary measures.
But on further thinking, having these measures of tax incentives and proposed easier access to growth capital announced by the distinguished review group is excellent in terms of positioning to the world: that Singapore is serious and sincere for business to tap on our local market to grow their businesses.
I believe the next tranches of measures could be more specific ones of interest to investing community and so let us stay tune!