What a Catalist sponsor does

A Catalist sponsor is a corporate finance firm approved by SGX to bring companies to the Catalist board and to supervise them after listing. There are around twenty approved sponsors. SAC Capital has been a Continuing Sponsor since 2009 and a Full Sponsor since 2014.

Before listing: the Full Sponsor

• Assesses whether the company is suitable for Catalist and advises on any restructuring needed beforehand.
• Conducts due diligence on the business, its accounts, its directors and its related-party dealings.
• Prepares the offer document with the company’s lawyers and auditors, and lodges it with SGX.
• Coordinates the listing timetable, the placement and the admission.

After listing: the Continuing Sponsor

• Reviews every announcement before it is released, and advises on whether a matter needs to be announced at all.
• Advises the board on compliance with the Catalist Rules: interested person transactions, share issues, acquisitions, disposals, changes of control.
• Keeps SGX informed, and answers SGX RegCo’s queries with the company.
• Attends board meetings where required and keeps a record of its supervision.

What a sponsor is not

A sponsor is not the company’s auditor, lawyer or investor-relations firm, and it does not run the business. Its duty is to SGX and to the integrity of the market as much as to the company. That independence is what allows SGX to rely on the sponsor’s judgement in place of its own admission review.

Draft explainer prepared from the public SGX Catalist Rules. To be reviewed by SAC Capital’s sponsorship team before publication.