MAS Places S$1.45 Billion With Five Asset Managers Under Equities Programme

The asset-manager appointments are the distribution side of the plan. MAS expects the five firms to use their international networks to draw investment into Singapore equities. Their reach is the proposed route to more participation, rather than evidence that additional investors have already arrived.

The separate S$20 million GEMS Market Making Grant addresses trading conditions. It initially covers around 80 eligible small and mid-cap stocks, alongside newly listed stocks, with support running to December 31, 2028. MAS wants narrower buying and selling price gaps, lower trading costs and better price discovery.

These measures can be understood together without treating them as the same intervention. One directs money through investment managers. The other supports the process of trading shares. An investor’s interest in a company and the ease of buying or selling its shares are different parts of the market experience.

Total programme allocations now stand at S$5.4 billion across 14 managers, against a S$6.5 billion programme. That records progress in assigning capital. It does not yet demonstrate the intended improvements in participation or trading. The announcement sets out the resources and mechanisms; their effects still need to be assessed separately.