From regulatory cleanups to multi-billion-dollar real estate plays, the stock market isn’t standing still this week.
Singapore’s IPO market is officially back in growth mode, with the Singapore Exchange (SGX) targeting an ambitious 30 listings this year – even as the regulator sets a firm expiration date on zombie companies that fail to resume trading.
Beyond our shores, Chinese investors are scrambling after Beijing handed down a massive US$330 million crackdown on unauthorized cross-border trading.
Back home, some of the region’s biggest property tycoons are eyeing a piece of the CBD, circling a potential S$2.3 billion deal for One Raffles Place.
Here are the top stories shaping your portfolio this week.
SGX RegCo imposes three-year limit on cure period for suspended companies
Singapore Exchange Regulation (SGX RegCo), the independent regulatory arm of Singapore Exchange (SGX: S68), has introduced a firm three-year deadline for suspended companies to resolve the issues that triggered their trading halt.
Failure to demonstrate sufficient progress within that window will result in delisting.
The directive follows SGX RegCo’s latest half-yearly report on long-suspended issuers.
As at 31 December 2025, there were 39 companies whose shares had been halted for 12 months or more.
Of these, 16 are exploring a return to trading, five are undergoing court-supervised restructuring, 10 are being wound up, and eight have been served with delisting notices.
The rule also applies retroactively.
Companies already suspended beyond the three-year mark will be required to present concrete plans for resuming trading, alongside evidence of meaningful progress.
SGX RegCo CEO Tan Boon Gin noted that the regulator’s own analysis shows companies with a genuine prospect of recovery tend to reach substantive resolution within three years, and that trading suspensions undermine the market’s fundamental role of facilitating price discovery and liquidity.
Singapore’s IPO market gathers pace as SGX targets nearly 30 listings in 2026
Singapore’s initial public offering market is building momentum, with SGX on track for close to 30 new listings in 2026.
The pipeline marks a significant acceleration from the four IPOs recorded in 2024 and follows a strong 2025 in which listings on the bourse raised approximately US$2.15 billion, the highest since 2017.
SGX welcomed 15 new equity listings in the six months to December 2025, triple the five recorded in the prior-year period, and flagged a pipeline it described as the strongest in years.
Interest from Chinese companies is adding further impetus, with at least five mainland and Hong Kong firms reportedly planning IPOs, dual listings, or share placements on SGX over the next 12 to 18 months as they seek to expand in Southeast Asia amid US–China trade tensions.
Underpinning the revival are a suite of reforms led by the Monetary Authority of Singapore, including the upcoming SGX–Nasdaq Global Listing Board, which will allow companies to dual-list using a single set of documents when it goes live by mid-2026.
China traders rush for the exit after cross-border flow crackdown
Chinese investors scrambled to find alternative ways to buy and sell overseas equities after Beijing launched its most forceful crackdown on illicit cross-border stock trading to date.
The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) slapped more than US$330 million in combined fines on Futu Holdings Limited (NASDAQ: FUTU), UP Fintech Holding’s Tiger Brokers (NASDAQ: TIGR), and Longbridge Securities for operating on the mainland without a licence.
The surprise move triggered swift market reactions.
The Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index slumped 2.2%, while Futu saw more than a quarter of its market value wiped out.
According to Citic Securities, the crackdown could affect up to HK$250 billion (approximately US$32 billion) in Hong Kong-linked assets.
An estimated US$1.04 trillion of so-called hot money flowed out of China in 2025, the largest annual outflow since Bloomberg Intelligence began tracking the data in 2006.
Under the new measures, overseas institutions will be banned from marketing securities-related products to onshore investors, and non-compliant accounts must be liquidated within two years.
One Raffles Place attracts interest from IOI Properties, CapitaLand Investment and property tycoons
One Raffles Place, the landmark office complex in the heart of Singapore’s central business district, is attracting interest from multiple suitors as it is marketed for more than S$2.3 billion (US$1.8 billion), according to people familiar with the matter.
Interested parties reportedly include Singapore father-and-son property tycoons Raj Kumar and Kishin RK, Malaysian developer IOI Properties Group, and Singapore asset manager CapitaLand Investment Limited (SGX: 9CI).
OUE REIT (SGX: TS0U), backed by the Indonesian Riady family, controls an 81.54% interest in the property, which comprises two office towers and a retail mall with 65,309 square metres of lettable space.
However, challenges remain.
The substantial asking price makes it difficult for a single buyer to take on, and much of the complex dates back to the 1980s, meaning additional capital outlay for redevelopment may be required.
A sale at the indicated price would mark Singapore’s biggest office property transaction since 2017.
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