Strip Malaysia out of the numbers, and Southeast Asia’s public markets in 2026 look less like a listing venue and more like a waiting room.
Southeast Asia recorded 56 initial public offerings (IPOs) raising US$3 billion in the first nine months of 2026, according to EY data released on Thursday. That is down from 76 listings and US$3.45 billion a year earlier, a 26 per cent fall in deal count and a 13 per cent drop in proceeds.
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The third quarter was bleaker still. Twenty IPOs raised US$500 million, against 26 listings worth US$2.1 billion in the same quarter of 2025. In money terms, that is a fall of roughly 76 per cent.
One market, two-thirds of the deals
Malaysia logged 38 IPOs raising US$1.62 billion in the nine-month period, up from 37 listings and US$992 million last year. Proceeds rose about 63 per cent. Put another way, Malaysia accounted for 68 per cent of the region’s listings and more than half of the capital raised.
It kept going in the third quarter, too, with nine IPOs raising US$167.2 million, up from eight deals worth US$94 million. Nghia Trung Nguyen (Neil) of Ernst & Young PLT’s capital markets team said the stronger proceeds point to continued investor appetite for quality companies with compelling growth prospects.
The caveat is size. Malaysia’s average third-quarter deal raised under US$19 million. Bursa Malaysia is winning on breadth, not on the kind of blockbuster that moves regional league tables, and this is happening in a country whose Budget 2027 handed startups US$110.4 million while the bigger cheques went elsewhere.
Singapore lists more, raises less
Singapore had eight IPOs raising US$1.28 billion, compared with seven listings and US$1.54 billion a year earlier. More deals brought in 17 per cent less money. In the third quarter, three IPOs raised US$227.6 million, down from six that raised US$1.53 billion, a drop of around 85 per cent.
Chan Yew Kiang, EY’s Asean IPO Leader, credited the Equity Market Development Programme, launched in February 2025, with injecting liquidity into local exchanges. He also said “more needs to be done by corporates to improve liquidity and post-IPO performance.” That is a polite way of describing a market where the region’s most anticipated tech IPO of the year turned out to be a landlord.
The Philippines and Vietnam do not appear in EY’s tally at all. Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand account for every one of the 56 deals, even though GCash operator Mynt won SEC approval in September for an offering of up to US$1.63 billion.
Indonesia’s empty first half
Indonesia’s contraction was the sharpest. Seven listings raised US$121.3 million, against 23 IPOs worth US$919.6 million a year earlier, an 87 per cent collapse in proceeds. EY describes the country’s third quarter as “some improvement”, but six IPOs against nine last year is still a decline. The more striking detail is that six of Indonesia’s seven listings came in the third quarter, which means the region’s most populous market managed one IPO in the whole first half.
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Thailand was thinner still, with three IPOs raising US$21.3 million, down from eight deals worth US$57.6 million. Two third-quarter listings brought in US$10.9 million. That is a slim runway for an ecosystem where corporate investors are gaining power as venture funding retreats, and where AI group Amity is reshaping its cap table ahead of a planned listing.
EY blames the backdrop
Chan listed the reasons. Regulatory reforms across the region and a muted economic outlook dampened sentiment in the second quarter. Conflicts in the Middle East and near-term uncertainty made aspirants cautious. He also pointed to weak post-IPO performance and the US Federal Reserve’s rate hike.
All of that is real, but most of it applies everywhere. The same macro headwinds did not stop Asia Pacific from posting its strongest numbers in years. The more telling admission is about aftermarket performance: issuers and their bankers have watched recent listings trade poorly and decided to wait.
Chan was cautiously optimistic about one escape route. Regulatory changes in the US and China, he said, could push companies towards cross-border listings in Southeast Asia, although “the process can be long and complex.” For now, that is a hope rather than a pipeline.
Greater China took the lunch
Asia Pacific recorded 399 IPOs raising US$93.2 billion in the first nine months, up 14 per cent in volume and 79 per cent in proceeds. In the third quarter alone, 151 IPOs raised US$45.9 billion, double the US$22.8 billion of a year earlier. EY attributes most of the growth to the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong, helped by southbound capital flows, strong domestic liquidity, and the growing use of anchor investors and pre-IPO financing structures.
Globally, 908 IPOs raised US$290 billion, a 153 per cent jump in proceeds even as deal count slipped 2 per cent. Southeast Asia’s share of Asia Pacific proceeds works out to about 3 per cent, and about 1 per cent of the global total. The average global IPO raised roughly US$319 million. The average Southeast Asian one raised around US$54 million.
For founders, the gap is the story. Capital is flowing to scale, to AI and to deep liquidity pools. The AI exit window is wide open, but Southeast Asia isn’t standing anywhere near it, while India’s IPO boom is rewriting the exit playbookfor the same global investors Southeast Asian startups are courting.
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Nguyen’s advice to would-be issuers was to be “realistic about market timing and investor expectations.” He said a strong equity story backed by sound fundamentals, governance and a clear growth strategy will decide who lists successfully. Read plainly, the market is rewarding boring, profitable companies, and Southeast Asia’s venture-backed class of 2026 has not yet shown it can be either.
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