SINGAPORE – Fund managers selected by the Singapore central bank to support local stocks are starting to participate more visibly in the market, with a recent deal by MoneyMax Financial Services drawing strong interest from these funds.
On April 27, the pawnbroker and retailer of luxury goods said it raised $44.3 million through the issuance of 53 million new shares, priced at 83.5 cents each.
The move will increase the number of shares available for public trading by raising the proportion of MoneyMax shares held by public investors to about 16.9 per cent.
This will allow the company to meet a requirement needed to move up from its current listing on Catalist, the board for smaller, fast-growing companies, to the Singapore Exchange (SGX) mainboard, in early May.
Notably, the new shares were taken up by Fullerton Fund Management, Lion Global Investors and Eastspring Investments – fund managers selected by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) under a $6.5 billion programme that allocates capital to invest in Singapore-listed stocks.
The deal is one of the more visible examples of how these fund managers are deploying funds into the local market since the first batch was announced in July 2025. To date, about $3.95 billion has been allocated to nine fund managers.
It also signals growing institutional support for Singapore-listed mid-cap companies.
“Since the introduction of Equity Market Development Programme (EQDP) and broader MAS initiatives, we have observed more consistent participation from institutional investors,” a MoneyMax spokesperson told The Straits Times, adding that the company has received “strong interest” from EQDP fund managers.
“There is a deeper and more diversified shareholder base and we see a more meaningful uplift in investor visibility and engagement, particularly from long-only funds,” the spokesperson said, referring to funds that buy and hold stocks for the long term.
For retail shareholders, these developments have both downsides and upsides.
On the one hand, the placement to institutional investors, which took place at a 3.1 per cent discount to the company’s share price of 86.2 cents on April 15, was not open to retail investors, meaning smaller shareholders did not get the same opportunity to participate directly in the fundraising.
Additionally, the issuance of new shares has diluted existing MoneyMax shareholders’ stakes, as it increased the total number of shares by 5.7 per cent.
On the other hand, the higher public float is likely to improve liquidity, making it easier for smaller investors to buy and sell shares. The company’s upgrade to the mainboard and presence of long-term institutional investors are also likely to lend credibility to its growth strategy and support its share price performance over time.
MoneyMax said 100 per cent of the proceeds raised will be used to support the growth of its pawnbroking portfolio and purchases of retail inventory.
It added that the listing upgrade would raise its profile locally and overseas, improve visibility in the capital markets and help attract more institutional investors.
“As we have maintained a consistent operating track record and demonstrated our ability to grow our profitability over the years, we believe the transfer to mainboard will help elevate our corporate profile both locally and overseas,” the spokesperson added.
The company, which has a network of over 110 outlets across Singapore and Malaysia, reported an 87.6 per cent year-on-year jump in profit to a record high of $71.6 million for the 2025 financial year, on the back of a 38.9 per cent jump in revenue to $541.9 million over the same period.
This was driven by a surge in the retail and trading of gold and luxury items, higher sales volumes, an expanding customer base and favourable gold prices.
Shares of the company closed flat on April 28 at 88 cents. They are up by more than 88 per cent since the start of 2026.
