President’s Message – December 2025

Date: December 31, 2025

Dear Members,

A lot has happened since I last addressed you. The Straits Times Index has risen to new all-time highs above 4,500 in November, the Monetary Authority of Singapore has announced its next batch of measures under the Equity Market Development Programme (EQDP) and the US Federal Reserve has cut interest rates by 25 basis points.

Over on Wall Street, doubts have emerged over whether Artificial Intelligence (AI) can deliver on its promise, leading to pressure on Nasdaq, even as the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 have hit new all-time highs.

But I would like to start with SIAS Corporate Governance Conference 2025
which had the theme “Creating Sustainable Value: Building Corporate Culture & Governance for Long Term Success”.

The event was graced by Mr Dinesh Vasu Dash, Minister of State, Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth & Ministry of Manpower and it was the first time that SIAS collaborated with the Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants or ISCA, an organisation that shares SIAS’s vision of ensuring companies are well-governed and conduct their affairs ethically, honestly and professionally.

Among the topics that attendees gained insights into were presentations and panel discussions on “Creating Sustainable Value: The Role of Corporate Culture and Tone from the Top’’, “The Role of the Board in Driving Corporate Culture’’ and “Driving Shareholder Value – Identifying Value Drivers in Corporate Culture’’.

We chose to focus on corporate culture because research overwhelmingly shows that a good corporate culture is a critical driver of organizational success and positively impacts employee performance, retention, innovation, and financial results.

Furthermore, a strong, well-defined culture serves as a strategic asset that guides behaviours and creates a competitive advantage that is difficult for others to replicate.

Speaking of competitive advantages, investors should be encouraged by MAS’s announcement in November under the EQDP of an SGX-Nasdaq bridge next year to attract companies with market value of at least S$2b to list on SGX.

This is the first of its kind in the region and hopes are high that good-quality startups and established companies will make their appearance in the local market.

Equally encouraging was news that funds will be provided to build competencies in corporate strategy, capital optimisation, and investor relations, functions which are fundamental to helping companies articulate compelling value propositions and build more effective investor relationships.

In addition, MAS has now allocated a further S$2.85b to six fund managers, bringing the total given so far to S$3.95b across nine asset managers. These institutions will invest in small-to-mid caps, segments of the market which should also benefit from enhanced research coverage under the Grant for Equity Market Singapore (GEMS) scheme which provides funding to brokers for preparing investment reports.

As the year winds down to the close, SIAS is heartened to note that Singapore’s stock market has been one of the world’s best performers in 2025, with the STI up around 20%, a figure that would be higher with dividends reinvested.

There is plenty to look forward to in 2026 – lower interest rates, more EQDP measures and hopefully, more clarity on the AI front. Geopolitical risks and tariff uncertainty are still present though, so investors should do their homework, maintain diversified portfolios and always balance risk against reward.

I wish everyone a truly Happy New Year!

David Gerald
Founder, President & CEO, SIAS