SINGAPORE--Singapore's central bank has appointed five more asset managers, including Amundi, under efforts to boost liquidity in the city-state's equity market.
These managers will have access to 1.45 billion Singapore dollars, equivalent to US$1.14 billion, with the appointed managers, the Monetary Authority of Singapore said Tuesday.
These are France's Amundi, California-based Franklin Templeton, the asset-management arm of British-domiciled lender HSBC, London-based M&G Investments and Natixis Investment Managers, an asset-management firm under France's Groupe BPCE.
The funds are part of S$6.5 billion set aside by the MAS under its equity-market development program to boost the local stock market, following an assessment of Singapore's stock market.
The new tranche of funds brings the total allocations under the program to S$5.4 billion across 14 asset managers. Other companies previously appointed include BlackRock and Prudential PLC's Eastspring Investments.
The MAS said it is reviewing proposals for a fourth batch of fund managers and expects to complete this review next year.
The central bank concurrently announced it was committing S$20 million to support "market-making activities" in eligible Singapore-listed stocks until end-2028, such as boosting the trading liquidity of certain small- and mid-cap stocks, and new listings.
Singapore's stock market had been undergoing a gradual revival thanks to government-linked support, including the central bank-led development program. The benchmark FTSE Straits Times Index has notched new highs in the past months, despite volatility from geopolitical tensions and investors' shifting sentiment on risk assets.
Fresh fund allocations from the program are likely to support stronger securities turnover trends in the city-state's stock exchange, Macquarie Capital said in a recent report.