Monetary Authority of Singapore outlines IPO investor guides and forthcoming corporate governance proposals

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) outlined plans to support SIAS in developing initial public offering (IPO) guides and detailed the priorities for forthcoming corporate governance proposals in remarks at an awards event recognising contributions to Singapore’s capital markets. The measures complement ongoing efforts to improve equity market liquidity and attract listings by strengthening investor information and board accountability. Average daily trading volumes exceed SGD 2 billion, more than 40% above 2025 levels. The IPO guides will distil key information from public offer documents and highlight matters warranting closer consideration. They will not recommend whether an IPO is a good or bad investment or replace investors’ own risk assessments. MAS is also reviewing regulations to identify ways to support more independent IPO research, following enhancements to the Grant for Equity Market Singapore research grant scheme last year. Further support for SIAS will cover investor education, engagement and recourse, with scope for the organisation to help retail investors organise and pursue their interests collectively. The Corporate Governance Advisory Committee’s ongoing review of the Code of Corporate Governance has identified three priorities for public consultation: clarifying expectations while retaining the comply-or-explain model, improving board quality and independence, and strengthening boards’ focus on strategic, long-term shareholder value. This develops the governance review MAS previously highlighted alongside proposals on executive remuneration disclosures. Separately, MAS and SGX RegCo plan to issue consultation responses soon on consolidating listing reviews under SGX RegCo, targeting implementation in January 2027 so prospective issuers would deal with a single regulator on IPO applications.