Singapore’s two largest new-economy firms have been touted as the next big thing for years. A US$71 billion ($96.3 billion) rout in their share prices in 2022 seems to show investors aren’t buying the story.
Shares of ride-hailing company Grab Holdings Ltd. have more than halved since the start of the year while gaming and e-commerce giant Sea Ltd.’s stock price has tumbled by 46%. The two US-listed firms are languishing at the bottom of the MSCI Asean Index, with Grab among the biggest losers on the Asia Pacific stock benchmark as well.
The slump comes months after MSCI Inc. added the shares to its indexes amid much fanfare as it sought to give its regional gauges more exposure to new economy stocks. The tech selloff and waning global interest in special purpose acquisition companies have taken a toll on the firms.
