SINGAPORE – Retail investors can now invest in US-listed Grab and Sea Limited through the local exchange, without the higher costs and complexity of investing directly on Wall Street.
The Singapore Exchange (SGX) on July 21 launched Singapore Depository Receipts (SDRs) for three companies listed in the US.
In addition to Singapore-founded Grab and Sea, investors can also gain exposure to SpaceX, Elon Musk’s rocket and artificial intelligence company that launched its blockbuster initial public offering on Nasdaq in June.
These will be the first US SDRs available on SGX, which currently has 35 blue-chip names across Hong Kong, Indonesia and Thailand listed.
Investors will be able to buy the US SDRs from July 22 through their local brokerage firms.
SDRs represent fractions of foreign companies’ underlying shares. They let SGX investors hold shares of foreign companies listed on stock exchanges outside of Singapore, without directly dealing with the complexities of buying shares on overseas bourses.
The key difference between SDRs and a company’s actual stock is that SDRs are traded in Singapore dollars, during local trading hours, and in line with Singapore’s trading regulations.
They lower the barriers to investing in foreign companies by enabling investors to purchase smaller stakes at a lower cost than if they traded directly on the foreign bourses.
US SDRs are an easier and more convenient way for investors to gain exposure to US-listed companies, SGX said.
They would be able to purchase a minimum of 10 lots of the US SDRs compared with the minimum board lot size of 100 for other SDRs on SGX. This translates to a minimum investment that is a fraction of the underlying prices for Sea and SpaceX, which now trade at US$107 and US$122, respectively.
The reduced board lot size makes retail investor participation on Wall Street even more accessible, particularly for younger investors, SGX Group’s vice president of securities market and depository Bernice Tan told The Straits Times.
Tan said that Sea and Grab were natural choices for SGX’s first US SDRs because they are familiar names to many Singaporeans, with businesses and touchpoints that people engage with in their daily lives, such as ride-hailing and e-commerce.
Meanwhile, SpaceX was selected as it is one of the biggest and most-watched stocks in the US following its IPO in June. Its businesses are also aligned with long-term themes such as satellite connectivity and the digital economy.
“These are names that are relevant and interesting for investors, and they could help them build a portfolio here,” Tan said.
“By introducing SDRs on the US market, a very big market that is familiar to many investors here, we are expanding the building blocks that are available to them.”
Tan stressed that the intention of launching the US SDRs is not to open “access to a new market”, or replace direct trading of US shares. Instead, SGX aims to bring more globally recognised companies that investors are already familiar with onto its trading platform.
These SDRs could appeal to investors who want to expand their portfolios to include new sectors or themes, but prefer to trade during Singapore market hours and have their investments held under the custody of the Central Depository, she added.
Other benefits of investing in SDRs include a “hugely simplified” trading process, Tan said.
For example, investors do not have to worry about the challenges of trading on a foreign exchange, such as different brokerage fees and requirements to pass additional tests before becoming a qualified investor in those markets.
The SDRs are also unlikely to compete with the direct trading of US shares, which is already available on local brokerages as well as online platforms that are easily accessible to retail investors.
Luke Lim, managing director of PhillipCapital, said the lower minimum investment could make US SDRs attractive to younger investors and those investing regularly through savings plans.
“We have seen steady growth in participation across our existing SDR ecosystem, suggesting there is sustained demand for accessing global companies through SGX, and we expect many existing SDR investors to consider US SDRs to diversify their portfolios.”
UOB KayHian’s Wang Hanhui observed stronger participation from mature investors in SDRs. “They generally take a longer-term investment approach and appreciate the flexibility SDRs provide in portfolio construction.”
But there are risks to investing in the US SDRs, too.
Although SDRs are traded in Singapore dollars, investors will still be exposed to foreign exchange risk because the underlying shares are priced and traded in their home markets in foreign currencies.
The liquidity of an SDR is also unlikely to match that of its underlying US listed stock, said Gerald Wong, chief executive of financial platform Beansprout. Investors who prioritise tighter bid-ask spreads, deeper liquidity or access to the full range of US securities may therefore still prefer to trade directly in the US market.
“SDRs can play a useful role, but they should complement the foundation of the portfolio rather than become the foundation itself.”
Still, PhillipCapital’s Lim said demand for SDRs has continued to gain traction as an alternative way for investors to access overseas-listed companies, driven by the convenience of being able to trade global names through a single, familiar platform.
SGX said its SDR business has grown exponentially since it was launched in 2023, with the first SDRs comprising three of the largest listcos in Thailand – Airports of Thailand; CP All, which operates the convenience store chain 7-Eleven; and petroleum company PTT Exploration and Production (PTTEP).
Since then, SDRs have seen a more than 300 per cent year-on-year growth in trade, with $13 million recorded for the first quarter of 2026, on the back of high retail investor participation.
The total value of SDRs held by investors on SGX has grown 153 per cent year on year to $280 million, with retail investors accounting for more than 80 per cent of those holdings.
SGX said the five most widely held SDRs by value are China’s Alibaba, BYD, Tencent, Bank of China and Xiaomi, which are traded on the Hong Kong Exchange.
These have attracted strong investor interest as the investing directly on the bourse would typically require a larger upfront investment. One board lot of Tencent’s shares would cost around $8,100, whereas its SDR on SGX would only cost $800, for example.
Investors have also used SDRs to make investments based on macroeconomic changes, SGX’s Tan said, with commodity-linked SDRs such as PTTEP as well as China’s PetroChina and Zijin Mining Group seeing increased trading interest from investors.
The SDRs’ basket of regional banks also offers investors more diversity in the financials sector as geopolitical uncertainties drive Singapore investors to more defensive plays, she noted.
