Southeast Asian exchanges exploded with activity in 2017. More than 150 companies went public and raised about 8.9 billion US dollars, a 40 percent increase from 2016.

“If you look at growth, 40 percent more fund raised compare to last year is no mean feat,” Ernest Kan, deputy managing partner, Markets at Deloitte Singapore said.

In a review of the Southeast Asia’s IPO market from 2014 to 2017, Deloitte noted that the amount of funds raised was the highest in four years thanks to strong GDP growth in the region.

Kan noted the economy in Southeast Asia has been buoyant. Malaysia and Indonesia achieved close to 5 percent GDP growth in 2017. The Philippines scored 6.9 percent GDP growth. Thailand’s GDP advanced about 4 percent, while Singapore is likely gain above 3 percent.  

Looking into 2018, Kan expressed optimism for Southeast Asia’s capital markets. “Against a healthy global backdrop and resilient domestic demand that supports growth with Southeast Asia’s GDP forecasted at 5.1 percent - way exceeding the Global GDP forecast of 2.7 percent, we can expect the markets to remain dynamic and attractive to investors,” said Kan.

The outstanding performance in 2017 was led by several blockbuster listings. Singapore-listed NetLink NBN Trust, the broadband unit of Singapore Telecommunications, took the top spot in Southeast Asia with 1.7 billion dollars raised in July, creating the largest IPO in Singapore since 2011. Malaysia’s Lotte Chemical Titan raised the second highest amount, although its share prices have dropped significantly since its IPO in July. Thailand’s Gulf Energy Development raised 733 million dollars in December, making it Thailand’s biggest corporate IPO in more than a decade.

The Singapore Exchange had 25 IPO deals in 2017. The total amount of funds raised at 3.8 billion dollars – more than double the amount raised in 2016 – making Singapore the most active IPO market in Southeast Asia. The SGX managed to attract companies as far as the US and Europe to list on its key Real Estate Investment Trust sector. Looking ahead, the SGX is expected to see another healthy year of listings in 2018.

“The general positive expectations globally of economic growth, of stability post the 19th Congress in China is giving a lot of investors confidence,” said Chew Sutat, Head of Equities & Fixed Income at Singapore Exchange. 

“Singapore Exchange as really the most international exchange in Asia, offering the capital platforms of debt, equity for Asian regional companies accessible to global investors, we have certainly very good expectations that the first quarter and hopefully the rest of the year will be exciting and even more so than the last year,” Sutat added.