Singapore, much like other developed countries, grapples with several issues concerning the quality of business valuation, particularly for listed companies obligated to adhere to higher standards regarding the disclosure of their financial information. In the following paragraphs, we will enumerate these issues and provide illustrative examples.

– Lack of publicly available data: There is limited disclosure of financial information and valuation details for private companies and startups in Singapore, making valuation benchmarking difficult.

– Focus on short-term profits: Investors and buyers in Singapore tend to focus more on immediate profits rather than long-term growth potential. This can lead to lower valuations.

– Conservative approach: Singapore’s business culture is generally more risk-averse and conservative, leading to lower valuation multiples. Investors avoid more speculative or aggressive valuations.

– Ownership concerns: Family-owned businesses and startups in Singapore may be more resistant to dilution of ownership, making it difficult to raise funding and affecting valuations.

– Regional comparisons: Valuations and growth potential may appear limited when compared to larger, faster-growing regional tech ecosystems like Indonesia and Vietnam.

– Sector domination: The ecosystem is dominated by sectors like real estate and finance. Startups in other emerging sectors face challenges getting fair valuations.

– Government restrictions: Regulations around foreign talent, cross-border activities can negatively impact growth assumptions and valuations.

– Lack of later stage capital: There is a relative lack of Series B and beyond funding in Singapore compared to early stage, constraining valuations.

– Inexperienced founders: First-time founders often lack expertise in projecting realistic valuations during funding negotiations.

– Lack of publicly available data: There is limited disclosure of financial information and valuation details for private companies and startups in Singapore, making valuation benchmarking difficult.

– Focus on short-term profits: Investors and buyers in Singapore tend to focus more on immediate profits rather than long-term growth potential. This can lead to lower valuations.

– Conservative approach: Singapore’s business culture is generally more risk-averse and conservative, leading to lower valuation multiples. Investors avoid more speculative or aggressive valuations.

– Ownership concerns: Family-owned businesses and startups in Singapore may be more resistant to dilution of ownership, making it difficult to raise funding and affecting valuations.

– Regional comparisons: Valuations and growth potential may appear limited when compared to larger, faster-growing regional tech ecosystems like Indonesia and Vietnam.

– Sector domination: The ecosystem is dominated by sectors like real estate and finance. Startups in other emerging sectors face challenges getting fair valuations.

– Government restrictions: Regulations around foreign talent, cross-border activities can negatively impact growth assumptions and valuations.

– Lack of later stage capital: There is a relative lack of Series B and beyond funding in Singapore compared to early stage, constraining valuations.

– Inexperienced founders: First-time founders often lack expertise in projecting realistic valuations during funding negotiations.