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1 min read Perspectives

The Book Value Trap

Why 57% of SGX companies trading below book value aren't bargains—and what metrics actually reveal business quality for Singapore investors.
Ryan Gallinera

by Ryan Gallinera

The Book Value Trap

57% of SGX-listed companies trade below book value (The Straits Times, Dec 18, 2025).
MAS and SGX just launched a S$30 million Value Unlock programme to help.

But here’s the truth: book value rarely reflects business quality.

Quality businesses have invisible assets—brands, pricing power, moats—that never appear on balance sheets.

Meanwhile, struggling companies hide behind inflated book values: obsolete inventory, uncollectable receivables, failed acquisitions.
Book value records history, not reality.
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The government's S$30M programme targets companies that can unlock value through better communication and capital allocation. That's a real subset of the 353 companies trading below book.

But for most, no amount of investor relations will fix fundamental business quality issues disguised by accounting artifacts.

The discipline is knowing which is which.

Where Clarity Meets Conviction

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