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Exclusive Interview with Nasser, Head of Equity Capital Markets at SGX

Exclusive Interview with Nasser, Head of Equity Capital Markets at SGX

Recently, we got in touch with Mr Mohamed Nasser Ismail, the Head of Equity Capital Markets at SGX and also one of the renowned panel of judges for the upcoming Investor-One Challenge. He has shared with us his career path and his career advice for budding young professionals who plan to work in the finance industry.

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1. We’ve all heard of Singapore Exchange. As the head of equity capital markets in SGX, could you share with us some of the milestones of the SGX that you’ve been involved in and are proud of?

I’ve been with SGX for nearly 15 years, and one of the highlights of my career here would be to have witnessed the growth of Catalist – from its inception in 2007 to what it is today – home to more than 200 homegrown and overseas companies.

I am encouraged to see that a total of S$4.5 billion had been raised by Catalist companies through the primary and secondary market to fund their development and growth.

2. Can you tell us more about the Catalist-board in SGX? 

Catalist was launched in November 2007 with a vision to provide high-growth companies access to capital fast and efficiently. Its sponsor-supervised regime with no prescribed quantitative criteria, such as market capitalisation and revenue, allows companies regardless of size and age to tap the capital market for growth.

Today, Catalist is home to more than 200 homegrown and overseas companies from diverse industries, many of which are household names well-known to consumers. …

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Exclusive Interview with Mark Liew, CEO of PrimePartners

Exclusive Interview with Mark Liew, CEO of PrimePartners

Recently, we got in touch with Mark Liew, the CEO of PrimePartners and also one of the renowned panel of judges for the upcoming Investor-One Challenge, for how he got started in his career and words of wisdom for budding young professionals who wants to venture into corporate finance.

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1.PrimePartners is one of Singapore’s leading corporate finance firms. As the CEO, can you share some key milestones of the company over the years?

We are one of the pioneer batch of Full Sponsors authorised by the Singapore Exchange to undertake introducing and continuing sponsorship activities for companies listed on Catalist, the sponsor-supervised listing platform to attract fast growing companies to raise capital in Asia.

Our continuing sponsorship services include working with the boards of directors of our sponsored companies to effect their growth plans through acquisitions, fund-raising and restructuring, and providing guidance to our sponsored companies on compliance with the listing rules.

Here’s the list of milestones we’ve achieved over the years:

2003:Received Capital Market Services licence

2004: Completed first listing

2008: Approved as pioneer batch of full sponsors for Catalist

2011: First mining company listed

2013: First Japanese company listed

2015: First Israeli company listed

2018 was also a special year: it was our 15th anniversary as a company, 10th anniversary as full sponsor and we’ve 64 listings completed to date.

2. How does PrimePartner work with and help companies wanting to get listed on SGX in Singapore? 

We really do handhold clients through the listing process. To keep it simple to understand, there are key 3 main steps.

First, understanding the owners’ objectives, the management’s style and the company’s business model.

Next, actively manage the listing and due diligence process and exercising judgement in resolving the issues raised.

Finally, championing the company with both regulators and investors.

As for post-listing, we continue the engagement advising on compliance, and connecting clients with capital and opportunities.

3. We’re interested in your inspiring story: how did you get started in your career and how did you get to become CEO of PrimePartners today?

After graduating with a degree in Accountancy, started my career in corporate banking during the Asian financial crisis – a real-world crash course in credit analysis, loan management and corporate restructuring.

Made the switch to corporate finance two years later and have not looked back. …

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