Singapore tries to give its stock market a boost with a link to the NASDAQ

The bridge will likely appeal to Southeast Asian companies who want to draw on the U.S.’s deep capital market, yet still tap “strong brand recognition” in Southeast Asia, says Chan Yew Kiang, the ASEAN IPO leader at accounting firm EY.

Tay Hwee Ling, capital service markets leader of Deloitte Southeast Asia, adds that U.S. firms might also take the opportunity to extend their trading hours beyond the close of U.S. markets, as well as strengthen their presence in Southeast Asia. 

The partnership also broadens investment options for Asian investors looking to diversify amid geopolitical uncertainty, says Clifford Lee, global head of banking at DBS.

“With the Global Listing Board, companies can access the best of both worlds—U.S. market depth and Asian growth in a streamlined pathway,” an SGX spokesperson said. 

A boost to Singapore?

Singapore’s stock exchange has long suffered from low liquidity. Average daily turnover on the SGX is just $1.4 billion, compared to $29 billion on the HKEX. 

“China and Hong Kong have massive populations of active retail speculators who drive high daily turnover, while Singapore’s retail base is smaller, more conservative and prefers dividends and bonds,” says Glenn Thum, a research manager at Singapore-based stockbroker Philips Securities. “The higher liquidity and volumes in HKEX attract high-frequency traders, creating a cycle that boosts valuations and attracts more IPOs.”

Hong Kong also benefits from a steady pipeline of Chinese companies hoping to tap global investors by listing in the financial center. Exchanges in mainland China “benefit from the depth and breadth of the local investor base and market size,” says Chan of EY.

Then there’s the U.S., which offers deeper pools of capital than other Asian exchanges. That’s led several Southeast Asian companies, like ride-hailing firm Grab and e-commerce company Sea, to list in the U.S. instead of their home base of Southeast Asia. More recently, Filipino food conglomerate Jollibee Foods Corporation (JFC) announced that it would list its international business in the U.S. by 2027.

Singapore’s market is improving. In 2025, the SGX’s IPO proceeds also surged to its highest level since 2019, topping Southeast Asia’s IPO market. The turnover value of securities traded on the SGX in December climbed by 29% year-on-year. 

Still, Singapore’s IPOs are still much smaller than Hong Kong’s. Singapore’s largest IPO, NTT DC REIT, raised $773 million; by comparison, CATL’s secondary listing in Hong Kong raised over $5 billion.

Not a ‘silver bullet‘

But Thum of Philips Securities warns that the bridge isn’t a “silver bullet,” as companies will still face a local liquidity crunch unless U.S. investors really start trading during Singapore hours.

Also, only companies with a market capitalization greater than 2 billion Singapore dollars ($1.6 billion) qualify for the dual listing bridge, meaning only a small number of Southeast Asian businesses will qualify. For example, QAF Limited, a Singaporean food conglomerate housing bakery brands like Gardenia and Bonjour, has a market capitalization of approximately $546 million, which means it would not be able to file for a dual listing on the Nasdaq.

By comparison, the HKEX’s threshold for a secondary listing is just $385 million in market capitalization.