Dentons Rodyk

Singapore continues to attract capital flows as it is regarded as a safe, stable and “rules of law” based jurisdiction. However, this also means that investors and high net worth individuals are indeed seeking the ‘safer’ options and may not be prepared to take risks with their Singapore-placed funds. Hence the majority of these funds may not be deployed in entities which have a predominantly intangible asset based-balance sheet. This, coupled with the lower valuations for intangible asset-based entities in Singapore, will lead to difficulties in attracting potential listings for such entities on the SGX.

The recent launch of the SPACS regime by the SGX may provide some impetus and boost for this sector but its early days still. Leaving aside listings on the SGX, it is still very encouraging to note that more funds are being invested in several unlisted intangible assets-based entities in Singapore. The trend of increasing investments into intangible asset-based companies in Singapore will most likely continue into 2022, despite of (and possibly due to) the Covid-19 pandemic.