Singapore’s stock exchange has signed a two-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Exploit Technologies (ETPL) to assist startups and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) tap on innovative technologies and capital more efficiently.
ETPL is the commercialization arm of the Agency for Science, Technology, and Research (A*STAR). Along with SGX, it will look for companies with growth potential facilitating access to growth capital from private or public capital markets in the Island nation. This collaboration aims to accelerate business growth and capture greater value for Singapore’s economy by strengthening the financial positions and innovative capacities of high-growth enterprises.
Together, both the entities, want to help startups and SMEs better translate their inventions and intellectual capital into marketable products, processes, and services. The chosen enterprises can leverage A*STAR’s multidisciplinary research and development (R&D) capabilities which span across the biomedical sciences and physical sciences and engineering and receive ETPL’s guidance in productisation and business development. Chew Sutat, Head of Equities and Fixed Income, SGX, said,
Our partnership with ETPL is another step towards our vision of supporting innovative and high-potential businesses, bringing their ideas, technologies and growth plans to fruition.
The partnership will primarily target companies in the technology sector, including subsectors such as medtech, biotech, cleantech, digital tech and consumer tech. It will bolster greater information sharing and engagement between the financial and technology communities, and allow technology companies to develop a keener appreciation of using Singapore’s capital markets as a source of funding and a platform to expand their businesses globally.
The official press statement notes that six market professionals have committed to come on board to provide professional support to the companies identified by ETPL and SGX. These organisations include Catalist Sponsors SAC Capital Private Limited and UOB Kay Hian Private Limited, law firms Virtus Law LLP and WongPartnership LLP, and audit firms Deloitte Singapore and PwC Singapore. Philip Lim, CEO of ETPL, in a statement, said,
The SGX- ETPL partnership will leverage each other’s complementary strengths to address these challenges, and help grow a pipeline of quality enterprises and promising intellectual properties that deliver greater economic impact for Singapore.
