New Singapore listings of Chinese firms may slow in short term - SGX - UPDATE

SINGAPORE (XFN-ASIA) - Singapore Exchange Ltd (SGX) expects tighter rules governing the listing of Chinese companies abroad to reduce the number initial public offerings (IPOs) of such companies here in the near term, but it says that the prospects for more such listings in the long term are good. According to the China Securities Journal, the China Securities Regulators Commission now requires Chinese companies get the approval of the commission before listing abroad. "What the Chinese are doing, I don't see it stopping the flow of companies in the long term. It might slow it down in the short-term but ... the demand for capital in China is very very significant and an exchange like the SGX will be relevant and will continue to serve them," SGX chief executive Hsieh Fu Hua told reporters. Asset manager and financial adviser PrimePartners Corporate Finance Pte Ltd's chairman, Quek Pek Lim, said China alone could not meet the capital needs of all the companies there.

"The companies coming to us need foreign participation," Quek said. "So far, as the rules are still fresh, they have not shown any reluctance or faced any problems with their applications and forms." Hsieh said 45 pct of foreign companies that had listed here were Chinese, but that the number from other parts of the world was growing. Hsieh said SGX would welcome companies from all over the world so that it would not become too dependent on any one country. (1 usd = 1.59 sgd) singapore@xfn.com