Southeast Asia IPOs in 2025: Bigger Deals, Fewer Listings & Vietnam’s Market Shift

The latest Deloitte report confirms a strong rebound in Southeast Asia’s IPO markets during the first 10.5 months of 2025. Although the number of listings fell from 136 in 2024 to 102, total proceeds experienced a ~53% increase to US$5.6 billion. This reflects a shift in market dynamics: companies are holding off on going public unless they can command larger valuations and investor interest, especially against a backdrop of macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainty [1][8].

Singapore saw the most significant gains in value terms: nine IPOs raising US$1.6 billion, largely attributable to two marquee REIT listings—NTT DC REIT and Centurion Accommodation REIT—each exceeding US$500 million. These large REITs, combined with regulatory and market reforms and favorable interest rate shifts, drove Singapore’s IPO proceeds to the highest level since 2019 [6][1][8]. Malaysia, despite leading in IPO volume (48 offerings raising US$1.1 billion), continued to see smaller average deal sizes, signaling that volume alone is no longer the prime indicator of market strength in this cycle [1][8].

Vietnam’s IPO resurgence complements broader financial reforms: two financial sector IPOs (Techcom Securities, VP Bank Securities) raised around US$1 billion cumulatively [1][8]. Its forthcoming reclassification by FTSE Russell to “Secondary Emerging Market” in September 2026, contingent upon reforms such as the removal of foreign investor prefunding, enhancement of trade settlement infrastructure, and foreign ownership liberalization, is likely to unlock substantial foreign capital inflows estimated between US$3 to US$10 billion over the first phases of inclusion [2][3][4][9].

Private equity (PE) participation has emerged as pivotal, driving both deal size and deal quality. More mature companies with stronger fundamentals are dominating IPO pipelines—particularly in real estate, digital infrastructure (data centres, REITs), healthcare, and consumer sectors. PE-backed IPOs tend to draw more institutionally-oriented investors, thereby supporting deeper liquidity and more disciplined valuations [1].

Strategic implications for market participants and regulators include:

• For issuers: timing matters—entering the IPO market when valuations and regulatory sentiment are favorable (e.g., post-market reforms) can yield materially higher proceeds.
• For investors: opportunity in high-quality, large-cap IPOs with PE backing and cross-border exposure; watching Vietnam closely ahead of its market reclassification as it may offer outsized returns and inclusion gains.
• For regulators: maintaining momentum on reforms (e.g., foreign ownership limits, settlement mechanisms, disclosures) is critical to sustain investor confidence and to capitalize on classification upgrades.
• For underwriters and banks: capacity to structure and market large, complex IPOs (e.g., REITs, sector plays in real estate and financial services) is increasingly rewarded.

Open questions and risks: Valuation compression could occur if macroeconomic headwinds worsen or emerging market volatility spikes; regulatory reforms may lag or face implementation challenges; foreign investor access—even post up-classification—may still face frictions (e.g., foreign ownership caps, reporting burdens); and seller expectations may overshoot buyer appetite.