IPOs and Public Listed Entities
Companies develop, grow and seek for a perpetual existence even after the founders retire. To accelerate a business’s growth strategies and sustain its continuity in the challenging environment, the route of public listing is considered one of the favourable options.
The Singapore Exchange offers Mainboard and Catalist listing to eligible domestic and foreign companies.
Admission to Mainboard listing requires the fulfillment of one of these three criteria:
- Minimum consolidated pre-tax profit of S$30 million for the latest financial year; or
- Profitable in the latest financial year, and has a market capitalisation of not less than S$150 million based on the issue price and post-invitation issued share capital; or
- Operating revenue in the latest completed financial year and a market capitalisation of not less than S$300 million based on the issue price and post-invitation issued share capital.
and a public float of 25% with a minimum of 500 shareholders. Companies must also confirm that they have sufficient working capital for the present requirements and for at least 12 months after listing.
Catalist is the sponsor-supervised market of SGX, of which the admission and continuing listing of companies are overseen by the approved Sponsors. As compared to Mainboard, admission criteria for Catalist companies are less stringent as evidenced by the absence of profit track record or minimum market capitalisation. Public shareholding requirement is set at minimum 15% with a minimum of 200 shareholders.
Strong Track Records
CLA Global TS has established a strong track record in IPO work since its commencement in the early 2000s. In 2009, we assisted in 5 successful IPO launches out of a total of 25 IPOs in that year. We were the Reporting Accountant for the first listing on Catalist, Mencast Holdings Ltd, in 2008. Since then, our firm has been serving more than 70 public listed clients in various industries from oil & gas, marine, construction, engineering, electronics, telecommunications to food & beverage and waste management.
The process of raising capital from the public capital markets and the preparation for listing require the expertise of qualified professionals. In this regard, we are pleased to offer our professional services in the following areas:
- Financial diagnosis to identify areas of improvement and assess for IPO readiness
- Advise on corporate restructuring and reorganisation and any tax implications
- Review of accounting and internal controls with recommendations provided
- Assist in Pre-IPO funding or sourcing of investors
- Assist in shortlisting of professional advisors
- Assist in compilation of information into the Prospectus which includes historical financial analysis and profit projections
Reporting Auditors
- Audit the listing group in compliance with the SGX listing requirements and the International Financial Reporting Standards
- Review and prepare the Compilation Report on the listing group for the periods under review
- Review profit forecasts of the listing group and issue of comfort letter
- Review computations of financials required in the Prospectus
- Review of working capital requirements and issue of comfort letters
