Singapore beefs up rivalry with Hong Kong by picking 5 firms to boost equity market

Singapore’s central bank has selected five international asset managers to handle S$1.45 billion (US$1.3 billion) in locally focused equity strategies, making its latest effort to revive the city state’s stock market amid sharpening rivalry with regional financial hub Hong Kong.

Amundi, Franklin Templeton, HSBC Asset Management, M&G Investments and Natixis Investment Managers were named on Tuesday as part of the third batch of mandates awarded under the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s (MAS) Equity Market Development Programme.

The programme, launched with S$5 billion in February 2025 and enlarged to S$6.5 billion this February, aims to crowd in private capital alongside public funds to boost liquidity and broaden trading activity beyond Singapore’s largest blue-chip stocks, authorities said.

Alongside the manager appointments, MAS committed an additional S$20 million to a grant scheme designed to support market-making activities for roughly 80 small and mid-cap companies through the end of 2028.

Pang Qi Lim, CEO of HSBC Asset Management Singapore, said the firm was “excited to contribute to the continued development and internationalisation of Singapore’s equity market”.

“We look forward to leveraging these strengths to attract capital, broaden investor participation to further support the growth of a more vibrant and internationally connected equity market,” Lim said.

In the latest Global Financial Centres Index released earlier this month, Hong Kong ranked third globally and first in Asia – holding a narrow one-point lead over fourth-placed Singapore.

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Hong Kong also captured top spots in the index’s fintech, investment management, insurance and finance sector rankings, while Singapore led in professional services.

As Singapore pours billions into invigorating its capital markets, local trading activity has started showing signs of traction. Daily average securities turnover on the local exchange reached S$1.8 billion in the year to June – its highest level in 18 years.

However, Hong Kong continues to hold a massive lead. The city’s initial public offering market raised HK$210 billion (US$26.77 billion) in the first half of 2026, ranking second globally behind Nasdaq. Its cash market’s daily turnover averaged a record HK$283 billion in that period, official data shows.

The duel between the two Asian financial powerhouses has extended heavily into wealth and asset management.

In August, Singapore announced tax exemptions on selected profits earned from strong fund performance, following Hong Kong’s move to cut taxes on carried interest – the share of profits paid to fund managers.

Singapore’s assets under management grew 10 per cent year-on-year to S$6.7 trillion in 2025, according to the annual survey.

By comparison, Hong Kong’s total asset and wealth management industry – which incorporates private banking – handled a record HK$42.2 trillion in 2025, according to data from the Securities and Futures Commission.

Hong Kong also overtook Switzerland as the world’s largest cross-border wealth centre in 2025, managing US$2.9 trillion in cross-border wealth.