Fund managers oppose dual-class shares plan in Singapore

BlackRock is rebranding or adjusting investment strategies on about 11 percent of its $275 billion active stock fund business, putting a greater emphasis on technology-driven investing approaches in the largest set of sweeping changes for the business since transformational mergers that allowed it to grow to manage more than $5 trillion in assets.

SINGAPORE: International investors including BlackRock Inc and the Ontario Teachers Pension Plan have voiced their concerns about moves to allow dual-class share listings in Singapore, saying they risk damaging the city’s stock market and harming the region.

Dual-class shares would almost certainly prove to be counter-productive for Singapore and “likely trigger a race to the bottom regionally,” the Asian Corporate Governance Association, an industry group whose members also include listed companies, as well as insurance and accounting firms, said in a response to Singapore Exchange Ltd’s consultation on the plan.