If Singapore wants a Facebook, dual-class shares aren’t enough

SINGAPORE (Aug 31): Singapore’s move to allow more than one class of shares for its public companies won’t be enough on its own to lure international businesses, according to executives and asset managers.

Some of the world’s largest companies, including Facebook Inc and Alphabet Inc, have multiple share classes, which usually are in place to allow minority shareholders to have majority voting rights. An independent body on Monday said it was in favour of permitting weighted-voting rights for new listings on Singapore Exchange (SGX), in what is the city’s latest bid to draw initial share sales.

The move may help narrow the gap with Hong Kong, Asia’s biggest market for initial public offerings, where minority-control voting structures aren’t permitted. Hong Kong lost Alibaba Group Holding Ltd’s US$25 billion ($34 billion) IPO to the US after regulators rejected the Chinese e-commerce company’s governance structure. But executives in Singapore say that more needs to be done before it can compete with the global leaders.

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