FundedHere, an equity and debt crowdfunding company that has raised more than S$10 million for companies since 2016 has launched their new private stock exchange in Singapore.
Named FundedX, this new initiative is expected to facilitate the trading of fast-growing startups and private companies in South East Asia. Financial experts believe that the launch of FundedX will boost the Singapore private market by offering more liquidity for investors who have shares in private companies.
FundedHere claims that 'FundedX' is the first of its kind of companies in Singapore. The company owners believe that the launch of FundedX will create a secondary market that provides liquidity for private company shareholders. The operations of FundedX will also help companies to overcome the logistical challenges of dealing with many shareholders and investors.
"In the private market, there is a lot of fear that if you own shares of private companies, you cannot sell those unless through a trade sale or initial public offering (IPO). Liquidity is, therefore, a problem. And people always want out. FundedX is a centralised exchange that allows people to sell their shares and promotes more occasions for companies to provide more exit options," told Dan Lin, the co-founder of FundedHere during a press conference on Tuesday.
In the beginning, FundedX will target startups with a minimum valuation of S$30 million. Dan revealed that targeting companies with such a valuation will attract more number of investors. The FundedHere cofounder also named Grab, a ride-hailing service and Love Bonito, an online fashion store among the initial list of startups.
Dan added that winning over the companies in the initial stages will encourage investor confidence and gain transactions.
"We see this new platform as a complementary and natural extension of FundedHere's current offering that will support yet another key stage of the funding cycle for emerging companies," continued Dan.
Dan also revealed that FundedX is planning to expand their operations to Malaysia and Singapore in the coming years, after getting licenses to deal with crowdfunding in each country.
