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

Five global asset managers appointed to spearhead the plan aimed at lifting liquidity and expanding trading activity beyond blue-chip stocks

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.