How SEA companies can list their IPOs on the New York Stock Exchange – Wired PR Lifestyle Story

A few years ago, Shopee’s parent company, Marine Group, Was one of the first SEA companies to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). Recently, TDCX, A digital customer experience (CX) provider in Singapore he has announced that he has done so Also on the NYSE.

Closer to home, In MoneyLion Foong Chee Mun was a Malaysian fintech founder who earned an IPO on the NYSE. Headlines about grab, PropertyGuru and similar tech giants have also been heading towards the same goal.

These success stories have created questions for SEA soonicorns (soon to be unicorns) looking for similar advances. In one Wild Digital SEA 2021 panel, Laurent Junique, founder and CEO of TDCX, shared his views that he knew his startup was ready to go public.

He was joined by Andy Tai, managing director Goldman Sachs, and Delano Musafer, Of the NYSE The head of APAC’s Capital Markets, the group that helped list TDCX.

Moderated by Kit Wong, director Catcha Group, the discussion clarified the references that SEA startups need to get their IPO list. The board also looked at areas that companies need to consider before doing so.

But what’s so great about the NYSE?

The NYSE is known to be a “gold standard” for inclusion in the list of companies around the world. In addition to its prestigious prestige, companies that achieve IPOs are said to have better investment opportunities and greater liquidity there, according to Delano.

Moreover, the NYSE is unique in that it has human market creators assigned to care for the shares of some companies. They even need to commit their own capital to support the shares of their businesses so that investors and issuers have more confidence in their shares.

This encourages market makers to ensure that the awarded companies work well.

Kit added his two cents: “Because of its value, the Catcha Group is also listed on the NYSE and part of that is because of the human element of creating the market, it makes a difference in talking to someone.”

How to know that your business is ready to list

Become a unicorn

Laurent began the discussion with the experience of knowing that TDCX was ready for his IPO. After growing from 13 to 14,000 employees over 26 years, TDCX has grown from offering its customer experience (CX) solutions solely to Singapore customers across the SEA.

Shortly afterwards, the group realized the potential of TDCX to capture the global market as well, which led Laurent to decide to take TDCX to the public market.

Andy presented his points from the point of view of the market cap, and said that the rule for a company to know that they are ready for public listing is to get first unicorn status. Having a market capital of at least $ 1 billion is helpful because it shows that a company is on a scale that matters to investors.

“By then, you’re too big for investors to look at you,” Andy said.

Delano agreed, but reported that the NYSE listing standards only require a minimum market capitalization of $ 200 million to receive an IPO, but it is beneficial to achieve settlement status.

Know the adaptation of your market

Although IPOs are generally agnostic in the face of the types of companies listed, Andy stressed that companies need to know all of their markets and plan to grow from there. But first, a company needs to take a step back to review what its business is and how it can serve the market, nationally or internationally.

To clarify his opinion, he expressed the success of the Indonesian market, Bukalapak, which was listed including the Indonesian Stock Exchange. He said the company understood the local market very well as reflected in its brand and internal systems.

Laurent agreed with his earthly experience. In choosing which exchanges TDCX would trade on, they were advised to study the markets with the most peer-to-peer industry in their sector and found them in the US.

However, having more peer-to-peer industries meant more competition, which meant that TDCX had to separate its story and offerings to stand out.

“Since we came from SEA, a high-growth region, we had a unique proposal for investors. Now we have not only chosen the USA, we have chosen the NYSE because we believe it is important to have an exchange that encourages support for entrepreneurship, and that was impressive there, ”Laurent shared.

TDCX was also informed that the NYSE was a market with more liquidity, and that making an IPO there would give the company access to global investors.

“To give you a number, the NYSE sells about $ 150 billion every day, so it’s a huge set of liquidity,” Delano added.

Have a strong business career after the IPO

Board members noted that companies that want to go public should also set their own business routes. This includes future revenue collection plans that link it to the exchange liquidity approach.

Laurent could relate to this, and recalled that TDCX delayed its listing in 2020 when the pandemic hit. This was because the team did not have enough visibility to see how the company would function during the pandemic or in the new normalcy in the future. .

“We wanted to be better able to explain our story to investors. We didn’t want to be in a situation where we didn’t know what to do, ”he said.

“You want to have confidence, and be able to project where the company is going in the coming quarters. You want to do your best. ”

Preparing for the public

Get your papers in order

Based on Andy’s experience, companies generally underestimate the effort and time it takes for a company to go public. He also explained that starting the listing process involves hiring bankers, accountants and lawyers to begin inspecting and filing the necessary documents.

This process usually takes 6-8 months before anything else happens, such as marketing to business investors.

Andy advised companies that want to list them to start thinking ahead and get their papers, such as financial statements and other documentation, before hiring the necessary professionals.

“Keep in mind what auditing standards you will face because U.S. and domestic exchanges have very different accounting rules,” he added.

Prepare your team

Another thing a company needs to sort out on paperwork is its internal corporate governance. The team needs to be mature enough and aware of additional work beyond their daily work.

There is a lot of work and commitment, not only in terms of contributions, but also as a public company for the future, Laurent said.

Be prepared for public control

Laurent said one of the important differences between being a listed company and a private one is the increasing public control it is now suffering. Now the company will have to report its financial performance and forecasts on a quarterly basis, including administrative tasks, profit reports, etc.

I see it from the perspective of becoming an adult and having a more structured, organized and transparent business is a good effort to pave the way for future growth. It also reminds us that doing an IPO is not the end of the journey, but the beginning.

Laurent Junique, founder and CEO of TDCX

If you’re not ready for the amount of work, don’t force an IPO in vain

That’s what the speakers believe, and they point out that there aren’t exactly “bad moments” to make public in itself. However, bad results can occur if a company and its team are not mature enough or willing to make the effort involved in listing on an exchange.

Some of these examples may be that a listed company is missing a profit report, or that it is not meeting its intended results and is at a standstill.

This certainly highlights the need for companies looking to enter the market to understand their business very well, how it fits into the market, backed by a strong and unified team.

“That’s why I say companies need to think about preparing for an IPO much earlier, because they need a lot of time to develop those key areas,” Andy said.

• You can learn more about Wild Digital here.
• You can read more about what we’ve written about Wild Digital SEA here.

Credit for outstanding image: Laurent Junique, Founder and CEO of TDCX / Delano Musafer, Head of NYSE APAC Capital Markets / Andy Tai, Managing Director of Goldman Sachs