Global capital markets are undergoing a profound transformation. Over the past decade, there has been a marked decline in Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) in most advanced economies, including those with highly developed capital markets such as the United Kingdom and the United States.
Interestingly, during the same period, countries like Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and particularly China, have witnessed a significant increase in the number of listed companies, contributing to making Asia home to approximately 55% of all listed companies worldwide.
The decline in IPO activity has prompted many countries and regions around the world, including the United Kingdom, the United States, the European Union, Australia and Singapore, to embark on a range of efforts to revitalize their public equity markets. At the same time, regulators are assessing how to respond to the rapid growth of private markets, which is becoming one of the defining features of the evolving corporate financing landscape and certainly one of the primary drivers behind the decline of IPOs in many countries.
This seminar seeks to explore how Singapore can strengthen the international competitiveness of its equity capital markets while navigating the risks and opportunities posed by the rise of private markets. To that end, the seminar will evaluate the package of responses suggested or implemented by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Singapore Exchange (SGX) while proposing additional measures to attract IPOs and strengthen the broader capital market ecosystem in Singapore.
SPEAKER
Aurelio Gurrea-Martínez is a Professor of Law at Singapore Management University. His research interests lie at the intersection of law and finance, with particular emphasis on corporate governance, financial regulation and corporate insolvency law, and how legal and institutional reforms may promote entrepreneurship, innovation, access to finance and economic growth.
Aurelio is a research member of the European Corporate Governance Institute, founding director of the Ibero-American Institute for Law and Finance, and member of the World Bank Task Force on Insolvency and Creditor/Debtor Regimes.
He has held visiting positions at several institutions around the world, including Harvard Law School, Cambridge University, Columbia Law School, Yale Law School, the University of Melbourne, the University of Los Andes, Reichman University and the University of Chicago. In 2016, he was named Rising Star of Corporate Governance by the Millstein Center for Global Markets and Corporate Ownership at Columbia Law School.
In 2024, he was named Cross-Border Insolvency Academic of the Year by Global Restructuring Review. He has been invited to present his research, conduct training or provide expert testimony before various government agencies, parliaments, regulators, judicial bodies and international organizations such as the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the International Organization of Securities Commissions, the Colombian Superintendence of Companies, the Ecuadorian Parliament, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the Argentinian Securities Commission, the Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs, the Australian Department of the Treasury and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
FEES
| a. | Registration Fee
Registration fee of S$163.50* (inclusive of GST) applies |
| b. | Group Registration
Registration fee of S$147.15* (inclusive of GST) applies |
| c. | SMU Alumni (LLB / JD / LLM graduates)
Registration fee of S$147.15* (inclusive of GST) applies |
| | * Please note that there will be no refund of any fees should the participant cancel the registration/ fail to attend the event. However, registration is transferable. Notice of any change in participant should be sent to the Academy via email by 14 April 2026. SMU Law Academy reserves the right to cancel or postpone any event. In such case, we will arrange for the refund of fees paid. |
