Catalist stocks’ poor performance highlights structural issues, market problems

Many have performed poorly since listing, with prices tumbling on the first day of trade and often seeing little to no trading volumes as a result

AMID a dearth of new mainboard listings on the Singapore Exchange (SGX), initial public offering (IPO) activity on the local bourse has been propped up by a handful of Catalist listings over the last two years. But the majority of these new entrants have struggled to find their footing.

The poor showing from these recently listed Catalist companies, however, will not be an easy issue to solve. For starters, industry watchers are divided on the reasons for these counters’ underperformance.

While some believe the subdued post-listing performance exposes gaps in the structure of SGX’s junior board, others say the issues stem from low valuations and are more of a market problem.

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