Singapore hands IPO prospectus review to SGX RegCo from January 2027

Singapore will strip the Monetary Authority of Singapore of its IPO prospectus review role from 4 January 2027, handing the job to the exchange's own regulator and cutting issuers down to a single filing.

Today a company seeking a Mainboard or Global Listing Board listing files its prospectus with MAS and its listing application with Singapore Exchange Regulation separately. Under the change, both go to SGX RegCo through its electronic submissions portal, and SGX RegCo said it expects to process complete applications within six to eight weeks.

SGX RegCo chief executive Tan Boon Gin framed the shift as a move from merit-based judgement to disclosure. "This change allows us to streamline the IPO process and give issuers greater regulatory certainty," he said in a statement on 3 November. "Moving to a disclosure-based approach allows market forces to take the place of merit-based judgements by regulators." The exchange regulator will also stand down its Listings Advisory Committee, a body created before SGX RegCo to address concerns about SGX's independence in listing policy and review.

MAS keeps oversight of SGX RegCo and retains the power to set and grant exemptions from prospectus disclosure requirements under the Securities and Futures Act. The consolidation was first floated by the Equities Market Review Group, and MAS consulted publicly on the proposal from 29 October to 29 November 2025. Law firms and issuer managers who took part backed the changes, SGX RegCo said, adding it will keep seeking market feedback as the new regime beds in.

Tan argued the market has outgrown the old split. "Singapore investors have become more sophisticated, and they have access to more information of higher quality," he said. "Equity investing has also become much more global in nature. This requires an evolution of our philosophies and roles."