The Straits Times reported Tuesday that Singapore will move review of prospective issuers’ listing documents to Singapore Exchange Regulation (SGX RegCo) from Jan. 4, 2027, consolidating two steps in the application process.
SGX RegCo will cover applications for the Singapore Exchange’s Mainboard and Global Listing Board (GLB). Issuers will submit a prospectus and listing application through its electronic portal. The regulator has set a target of six to eight weeks for complete applications; the portal will also track documents and carry regulatory correspondence.
Before the change, companies took suitability questions to SGX RegCo, while the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) reviewed their listing documents separately. MAS will retain authority to grant exemptions from prospectus disclosure requirements and continue overseeing SGX RegCo’s regulatory responsibilities.
The change follows recommendations from a review group on easing the process of bringing companies to Singapore’s public markets. Law firms and issue managers who responded to a consultation backed the combined route, pointing to fewer regulatory handoffs and potential gains in efficiency and competitiveness. Some also urged SGX RegCo to keep consulting market participants and draw on practitioners’ expertise. The consultation closed Nov. 29, 2025.
SGX RegCo plans to broaden the pool of people eligible to join its board, bringing a wider range of industry experience into oversight. It will also dissolve the Listings Advisory Committee, created before SGX RegCo existed to perform the exchange’s oversight role outside its commercial arm. SGX RegCo said independent judgment by its board would continue to guide regulatory decisions.
The GLB allows eligible companies valued at $2 billion or more to list on the Singapore Exchange and NASDAQ at the same time using one set of offering documents, The Straits Times reported. Robson Lee, a director at Kennedys Law, said one review channel may reduce delays for companies seeking a listing. He said valuations and liquidity after an offering would shape Singapore’s appeal to issuers.
SGX RegCo will seek further comments from market participants as it rolls out the new arrangement, scheduled to start Jan. 4, 2027.
