SINGAPORE - While the top listing destinations that issuers will consider beyond their home exchange in 2030 are New York, London and Hong Kong, interest in Singapore is on the rise, driven by an increasing focus on South-east Asian markets, a PwC survey has found.

The survey, conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit, polled 370 executives from companies across the globe for their views on the factors that are shaping the development of global equity capital markets. It follows up from a 2011 report.

When asked which exchanges they think issuers will consider beyond their home exchange in 2030 for an initial public offering, 15 per cent of respondents cited the Singapore Exchange (SGX). This is an increase from the 11 per cent of respondents who cited SGX when asked which exchanges issuers will consider now.

The 11 per cent also marked a five percentage point rise from the results of the same question in the 2011 survey, when executives were asked about current attractiveness of exchanges.

Overall, SGX ranked ninth for the 2030 prediction.

Tham Tuck Seng, capital markets leader at PwC Singapore, said: "We expect that SGX's reputation as the most international exchange will remain intact given its pro-business approach. Together with the country's stable political landscape, transparent regulatory environment and the relatively low volatility of the Singapore dollar, it gives companies good reasons to consider listing on the SGX."

The latest survey also highlighted the change in sentiment from 2011, when respondents predicted that the Shanghai Stock Exchange would lead by 2025, followed by New York Stock Exchange, the Indian exchanges and Brazil's Bovespa.

Ross Hunter, PwC Global IPO Centre leader, said that excessive optimism about emerging markets has been tempered by political and market realities. "Expectations are now for a more closely run race between developed and emerging markets exchanges," he added.

Liquidity remained the top priority (49 per cent) when choosing a listing location. There is also an increase in the focus on valuations (32 per cent) and concern about the costs of listing (29 per cent).

PwC anticipated that technology will continue to be a significant driver in the future of public companies. Increasing efforts by leading financial centres to win over technology and "new economy" companies will continue to intensify competition between the New York and China (mainland China and Hong Kong) exchanges in particular, said the audit firm.