Singapore posts strongest IPO performance since 2019 with over $2 billion raised: Deloitte

SINGAPORE – Singapore recorded its strongest initial public offering (IPO) performance in six years, setting the stage for an even more positive pipeline in 2026, according to professional services firm Deloitte.

In its report released on Nov 18, Deloitte also noted a shift in the sizes of IPOs and sector dynamics, with the South-east Asian market placing more emphasis on fewer but larger deals.

Singapore recorded nine deals raising US$1.6 billion (S$2.08 billion) in the first 10½ months of 2025 – its highest proceeds since 2019’s US$2.26 billion.

In contrast, there were only four listings in 2024 and six in 2023, which raised US$34 million and US$35 million in proceeds, respectively.

The strong performance in 2025 was largely driven by two blockbuster real estate investment trust (Reit) listings – NTT DC Reit’s US$773 million and Centurion Accommodation Reit’s S$771.1 million IPOs – thanks to a lower interest rate environment and improved market sentiments on the back of regulatory and market reforms.

Singapore also raised the highest proceeds from its IPOs among South-east Asian countries, amid a rebound in the region’s capital markets, according to the report.

Malaysia came in second with around US$1.12 billion raised from 48 deals, while Vietnam was ranked third with US$1 billion raised from just two deals in the financial services sector.

In total, there were 102 IPOs across six bourses as at Nov 15, a 25 per cent drop from 2024. But the total proceeds surged by 51.4 per cent from US$3.7 billion to US$5.6 billion, driven by higher-value listings in the real estate, financial services and consumer sectors.

The average IPO deal size in South-east Asia also more than doubled from US$27 million in 2024 to US$55 million in 2025, and there were 11 IPOs with market capitalisation exceeding US$1 billion.

This marks a sharp reversal from 2022 to 2024, when both funds raised and market capitalisation fell across the region.

The contrast between fewer deals but larger deal values in 2025 shows that investors were concentrating on companies with stronger fundamentals and resilience as the market enters a recovery phase, Deloitte said.

It added that the regional market has remained resilient in the face of geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainties, bolstered by regulatory reforms, sectoral diversification and growing investor confidence.

Investor appetite will remain healthy in 2026, sustained by the continued emergence of new market opportunities, Deloitte said.

“While large listings are picking up, sentiments are still relatively cautious with listing aspirants monitoring the capital markets for favourable timing and valuations, leading to smaller, more strategic offering sizes,” said Ms Tay Hwee Ling, capital markets services leader at Deloitte South-east Asia.

Private equity will also continue to play a significant role in IPO deals. It contributed to a 54 per cent increase in proceeds raised in 2025 despite fewer deals, and a number of portfolio companies are already targeting IPO readiness in 2026.

The Deloitte report also showed that 27 South-east Asian companies across various sectors launched their IPOs in the US in 2025, an 80 per cent increase from 2024, but most of them fared poorly post-listing.

In response to a question from The Straits Times on how this would affect companies’ listing plans, Ms Tay said that in the past, firms would prefer to list in the US where they believed they could get higher valuations.

But in the last two years, investors in the South-east Asian market have become more educated as they understand companies’ fundamentals better, she said.

This shift is one reason why companies such as

Malaysian digital media platform Foodie Media

have chosen to list on the local bourses, as rising investor sophistication in the region is making local and even unconventional listings more attractive.

Companies are not bound by any one exchange, and can consider cross-border, dual and secondary listings as options while building on their fundamentals in their local stronghold, she said.

Ms Tay also noted that Singapore’s pipeline of upcoming IPOs could feature cross-border listings, including other South-east Asian companies eyeing a listing here, as the market anticipates further pro-business reforms to be announced by the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s Equities Market Review Group.

While the signs are positive for 2026, she cautioned that the post-listing performance of newly listed companies is critical too.

“IPO is not a point of time, it is a journey,” she said. “Companies need to continue to keep up whatever they promised in the prospectus, deliver good returns and strengthen investor confidence. This helps the whole ecosystem.”