Rising innovation in sectors will reward SMIDs in due course, says Natixis IM Singapore CEO
She is confident that ‘good, up-and-coming companies’ will take the stage in time
[SINGAPORE] Singapore’s small and mid-cap stocks (SMIDs) will “flourish” in days to come as the economy and local businesses increasingly gain from innovation, CEO of Natixis Investment Managers (IM) Singapore Dora Seow, believes.
“(Artificial intelligence), digital infrastructure, advanced manufacturing, fintech, healthcare and clean energy are areas that the SMIDs may benefit from, especially as the broader region grows,” she said in an exclusive interview with The Business Times.
Recent global supply chain disruptions are also likely to support more business capital entering the city-state, on top of increasingly diversified energy and defence sources.
The Singapore CEO is confident that “good, up-and-coming companies” will take the stage in time, sharing the limelight with index blue chips that draw attention and outperform.
Natixis IM is one of the five asset managers allocated funds in the S$1.45 billion third tranche of Singapore’s Equity Development Market Programme (EQDP).
Securing this “significant” mandate from the Monetary Authority of Singapore represents a “very important step” towards broadening the company’s presence past “a pure investment standpoint”, said Fabrice Chemouny, head of international distribution at Natixis IM.
Natixis IM operates a multi-affiliate active management federation model, backed by French banking group and parent company Groupe BPCE.
The network consists of more than 15 independent global investment managers, such as Mirova, DNCA and Loomis Sayles.
Investment teams are autonomous in this model, while Natixis IM offers a centralised infrastructure handling service.
How regional Value-Up programmes compare
Seow noted that Singapore’s strength is a “relatively good hedge” against recent volatility in other Asian markets.
The city-state’s EQDP is one of many “Value-Up” programmes being employed in Asian markets, aiming to stimulate capital flows into domestic markets, as neighbouring countries, too, are concerned about the health of their capital markets, she flagged.
Regional efforts include Malaysia’s Capital Market Masterplan spanning 2026 to 2030, while Thailand’s stock exchange introduced the Jump+ initiative in June 2025 to bolster competitiveness among listed companies.
South Korea launched its Corporate Value-Up Program in early 2024, seeking to help chronically undervalued domestic equities, and improve capital efficiency.
The way Seow sees it, Singapore has a good reputation as the “Switzerland of Asia”, with its stock-market resilience a “pleasant surprise” – compared to that of regional competitors.
“We do think that (the country) will be able to attract more companies and businesses with strong cash flows, to amplify the type of market we believe will exist.”
Asia as a key market
Natixis IM is actively considering expanding its presence in Asia, Chemouny told BT.
This comes amid recent trends and customers in the region indicating interest in “investing in local strategies”, he noted.
The company has a history of servicing pension plans, insurance companies and sovereign wealth funds, and plans to grow its wealth-management capabilities on the ground in the Apac region.
“Asia has become an important market to Natixis IM,” he added. “The need for pension and wealth (services) is only growing more and more (here)”.
Singapore is the company’s South-east Asia hub, where Natixis addresses Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines, too.
With Singapore firmly on the radar as a prominent and strong wealth centre in the region, Natixis is looking to grow operations and offerings here.
Chemouny cites its Alpha Bonds fund, a global absolute-return fixed-income fund managed by Natixis’ French asset-management affiliate DNCA, which he said performed well with wholesale clients. The strategy may now be extended to large investors and a sovereign wealth fund in the region, he said.
DNCA may also second employees from Paris, France to Singapore, in a bid to grow operations in the city-state.
“These investment teams bring something very different to the market over here, and thinking differently will be important (for long-term success)… amid incremental disruptions global markets face”, added Seow.
Natixis IM currently has a local presence in seven markets in the Apac region, which oversees about 12 markets regionally.
