The global artificial intelligence boom has created opportunities for stock markets in Singapore and Thailand, as the exchange operators roll out initiatives to attract technology listings.
The two Southeast Asian markets’ performance in drawing initial public offerings has been weak compared with that of their global peers. The Stock Exchange of Thailand had only one IPO, which raised USD 10.4 million, in the first half of 2026. The Singapore Exchange had five share flotations, which raised a total of USD 1.05 billion. In the Asia Pacific region, there were 247 IPOs, which raised USD 47 billion during the same period, according to EY, a consultancy. Thailand and Singapore are seen by some investors as heavily weighted toward traditional industries like finance and real estate, and lacking a critical mass of tech companies.
In an interview with Nikkei Asia, Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) president Asadej Kongsiri said the Thai bourse is preparing to relax its listing criteria to attract “new-economy” companies ranging from electronics and electric vehicles to robotics. Proposed changes include lowering minimum market capitalization requirements from the current THB 7.5 billion (USD 229.4 million) to THB 3–5 billion (USD 91.7–152.9 million) for a listing on the main board.
The exchange has already conducted a public consultation to gather feedback on the plan, which also includes eliminating the requirement that foreign companies seeking to list demonstrate a contribution to the local economy, such as establishing a manufacturing base in Thailand, as it aims to attract multinational companies.
“Obviously, ideally, we’d like to get new economies—higher-growth companies, new sectors that are, so to speak, sexy, or at least more interesting and more diversified,” Asadej said, speaking on the sidelines of the Nikkei Asia Forum APAC in Bangkok last month.
“There are many investments, whether it’s data centers, semiconductor industries … there’s been a shift of supply chains repositioning through global trade to Thailand,” he said.
Asadej stressed that SET is focused on playing “a big role for the local economy,” where the market is a place businesses can access capital and investors can create wealth, even as it shifts its focus to attracting tech companies for IPOs in response to the rapid growth of AI.
The Singapore Exchange (SGX), meanwhile, has been working on market reforms over the last couple of years. In hopes of drawing tech players eager to raise capital, it recently set up a new Global Listing Board under a partnership with Nasdaq for companies seeking dual listings in Singapore and the US.
The board targets “growth-oriented companies with an Asian nexus and global ambitions” with a market capitalization at listing time of SGD 2 billion (USD 1.6 billion) or more, according to SGX.
“This bridge is more about unifying that process” for dual IPOs, Michael Syn, SGX’s president, said in a separate interview at the Bangkok forum. “So we have changed the laws in Singapore to accommodate this, and hopefully in the coming months or quarters, we’ll start seeing the first few [listings].”
To give local investors access to overseas-listed tech companies, SGX in July launched Singapore Depository Receipts (SDRs) for Elon Musk’s SpaceX, which listed on Nasdaq in June, as well as for Grab and Sea, two Singaporean digital tech giants that chose to list in the US instead of in their home base. The SDRs let buyers invest in overseas-listed companies through SGX instruments.
Syn said that the exchange does not intend to chase AI trends at all costs, but wants to build a market that reflects economic realities.
“We try to do things which are relevant to Singapore’s external economy, where Singapore has some role,” Syn said. “This AI thing is moving very, very fast, and to say that we’re attacking a sector is probably the wrong approach. It’s to say if this is actually the genuine real economy that exists, can you facilitate the fact that if they need more capital to invest big, are you ready for them? So that’s kind of the approach.”
The moves by Thailand and Singapore come as the tech and AI boom draws investors in Asia toward Chinese markets, whose AI champions are racing their US counterparts to develop applications for the technology.
In a July report, EY highlighted how “activity in Hong Kong has been strong,” with year-to-date IPO proceeds already up by more than 60% in the first half of the year versus the same period in 2025.
“The pipeline is being reshaped by hard technology, with AI infrastructure, semiconductors, robotics and advanced manufacturing increasingly defining what comes to market,” the report said. “By contrast, more traditional sectors, including conventional manufacturing, real estate and traditional financials continue to attract limited investor interest.”
In Thailand and Singapore, “Valuations and liquidity remain the key challenges that the two markets face in attracting new-economy technology and AI businesses,” Chan Yew Kiang, EY’s ASEAN IPO leader, told Nikkei Asia. “Except for data centers, the markets remain unfamiliar with the risks and rewards of such companies.”
Still, some AI-related stocks have performed well this year on the two exchanges. Singaporean chip testing equipment maker AEM Holdings has seen its share price jump nearly 500% so far this year, as of mid-August, while Delta Electronics Thailand, a manufacturer and exporter of power supplies and electronic equipment, was up more than 50% as of mid-August.
And across Southeast Asia, notable tech listings have emerged, such as Malaysian semiconductor design company SkyeChip, which went public on the local bourse in May.
As the exchanges develop new initiatives, the IPO pipeline for Singapore and Thailand appears to be opening up, according to their operators.
At its earnings briefing earlier this month, SGX revealed a slate of about 50 companies at “various stages of engagement and preparation” for IPOs, without naming them. A third of this batch are in tech, advanced manufacturing, and digital infrastructure; another third in the consumer and healthcare sectors and the rest include players in real estate, the exchange said.
“A year ago we said, at least 30 [IPOs], right? And I can tell you it’s comfortably above that now,” SGX’s Syn told Nikkei Asia. “It’s not just a list on an Excel sheet. It’s people who paid money to professionals to start work [toward a listing], and that is what we call a pipeline.”
SGX also had a major listing last month. Medical services provider Foundation Healthcare Holdings raised SGD 242 million (USD 190.5 million) through its IPO.
The Thai bourse has disclosed a near-term pipeline of ten companies for IPOs, five of which have already been approved and five that are under review. The exchange expects the total number of new listings across its main and secondary boards this year to at least match the 18 reached last year.
“From our perspective, what we can control is to make sure that our regulations are competitive,” SET’s Asadej said. “Often, if the businesses are based in Thailand and revenues are based in Thailand, in the longer run, it makes more sense for them to list in Thailand.”
This article first appeared on Nikkei Asia. It has been republished here as part of 36Kr’s ongoing partnership with Nikkei.
Note: SGD, THB figures are converted to USD at rates of SGD 1.27 = USD 1 and THB 32.70 = USD 1 based on estimates as of August 25, 2026, unless otherwise stated. USD conversions are presented for ease of reference and may not fully match prevailing exchange rates.