SINGAPORE (THE BUSINESS TIMES) - With the strike of a digital gong and virtual confetti streaming down screens, Hong Kong-headquartered financial institution AMTD International on Wednesday (April 8) became the first company to debut via an online listing ceremony on the Singapore bourse.
The listing took place a day after Singapore's nationwide "circuit breaker" - which lasts till May 4 - started, as part of the government's efforts to curb the further spread of the novel coronavirus.
The Singapore Exchange (SGX) hosted a live stream of the maiden digital listing ceremony on its Facebook page, featuring speeches from key personnel and a five-second countdown to the market open.
AMTD International, which is a subsidiary of Hong Kong financial-services firm AMTD Group, made its trading debut on SGX's mainboard at S$13.95 on Wednesday, about 8.9 per cent higher than the counter's closing price of US$9 (S$12.81) on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) overnight. It is also the first company to be dual-listed on the NYSE and the SGX.
As at 3.56pm, the counter was trading at S$14.25 on the Singapore bourse, 2.2 per cent above its opening price.
AMTD International operates in three business lines of investment banking, asset management and strategic investment. The company was listed on the NYSE on Aug 5, 2019 and has a market cap of over US$2 billion there, after its US$200 million initial public offering in the US.
Mr Calvin Choi, chairman and chief executive officer of AMTD Group and AMTD International, said the listing marks its official entrance into the Singapore market and domiciles its strategic hub for the company's expansion to the rest of South-east Asia.
Added Mr Choi: "In the future, we have many more plans into Singapore. We are committed especially to bringing our ecosystems into Singapore, but most importantly developing our local ecosystem partners, supporting the local financial industry development, fintech innovations power and beyond."
Mi Finance chairman Hong Feng, who is also co-founder and senior vice-president of Xiaomi Corporation, said: "Xiaomi is a owner-shareholder and long-term partner to AMTD... We're looking forward to working together in Singapore in the years to come."
Earlier this month, S&P Global reported that AMTD International plans to list about 23.9 million ordinary shares on the Singapore bourse, and that the secondary listing will allow the firm to tap new capital resources in Singapore.
In addition, a consortium comprising AMTD Group, SP Group, Xiaomi Finance and Funding Societies, is gunning for a digital wholesale bank licence in Singapore. The digital wholesale bank licence - which allows the successful licensee to serve small and medium-sized enterprises and other non-retail segments - requires a capital requirement of S$100 million and allows foreign entities to take a majority stake.
In early January, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) announced it had received a total of 21 digital bank applications. Fourteen were for the digital wholesale bank licences, and seven for the digital full bank licences.
MAS will issue up to five digital banking licences by June this year - up to two full-bank licences that permit retail banking, and up to three for wholesale banking. The new digital banks are expected to start their operations by the middle of 2021.
Separately, AMTD Group has rolled out a fintech leadership programme in collaboration with Xiaomi, Singapore Management University and the National University of Singapore. The group has been the grand sponsor to the Singapore Fintech Festival for three consecutive years since 2017.
In March this year, the digital arm of AMTD Group, AMTD Digital, also agreed to acquire a controlling stake in Singapore insurtech PolicyPal for an undisclosed sum.
