12 October 2013 – Oil and gas companies seeking a presence in the Asia Pacific prefer to list their stocks on the Singapore Exchange rather than on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, Hong Kong-based Alastair Macaulay, a partner at international legal firm Clifford Chance told Singapore daily the Business Times Friday.
Singapore was preferred as it was more on an international hub compared to Hong Kong, which is more China-focused. Another factor cited in Singapore’s favor, which has attracted companies like Australian oil and gas producer Linc Energy to announce Oct. 2 that it is seeking a listing in the island-state, was the availability of a more active market.
In addition, the Singapore market “is also two hours closer [than Australia] to Europe,” Macaulay said.
Australian companies listed on the Singapore Exchange that serve the oil and gas industries included engineering contractors such as Civmec Limited and AusGroup Limited.
Two oil and gas companies have listed on the Singapore Exchange recently. KrisEnergy Ltd., an independent upstream oil and gas company, launched an initial public offering (IPO) to raise $214.5 million in July, while another independent oil exploration company Rex International Holdings Limited seek to raise $67.7 million from its Singapore listing later the same month.
*Cheang Chee Yew, Rigzone