Australia’s delisting wave puts public-market pressures in Asia, including Singapore, into focus
Regulatory costs and cheap private capital push companies away from public listings, says NSX’s chief
The Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) experienced a wave of delistings, as four of its top 200 constituents removed themselves from the bourse and several other multibillion-dollar companies moved towards going private in August, according to NSX's CEO Max Cunningham. Cunningham highlighted that this trend is not exclusive to Australia and is a global phenomenon affecting public markets in Asia and beyond, including Singapore, the UK, Canada, and the US.
The shift in landscape is prompting NSX to explore new opportunities in markets like South-east Asia, New Zealand, and Canada for listings, while also considering Singapore as a venue for recapitalizing its business and tapping capital flows from across Asia and North America. The CEO attributed the shift to macroeconomic conditions, interest rates, and the availability of abundant private capital, which gives companies alternative routes to fund growth without going public.
Cunningham noted that regulation has become more prohibitive, along with the rise of passive investing through exchange-traded funds, adding pressure on public listings. NSX aims to address these challenges by offering a more affordable entry path for small and mid-cap companies, with lower listing hurdles compared to ASX. The alternative exchange is targeting mining, technology, and life-sciences companies, with a particular focus on Canada, New Zealand, and South-east Asia.
Written by urgent.news from The Business Times - Companies & Markets's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
