Singapore Exchange is poised to allow dual-class voting rights for listed companies, following legal changes aimed at boosting the city-state’s ability to compete for initial public offerings.

新加坡交易所(SGX)准备允许上市公司实行双层股权结构，此前这个城市国家修订了相关法律，旨在提高其争夺首次公开发行(IPO)交易的能力。

The SGX move follows efforts by its Hong Kong rival to relax rules on dual-class shares — which the regulator shot down last year before a consultation phase could be reached.

新交所出台此举之前，其香港竞争对手作出了放松有关双层股票规则的努力；去年香港监管机构否决了这种架构，要求先完成一个公开咨询阶段。

Hong Kong lost Alibaba’s IPO to the US in 2014 because the Chinese ecommerce group wanted a different governance structure. Manchester United shifted its IPO from Singapore to New York in 2012 in a move that allowed the Glazer family to retain control through a dual-class structure.

香港曾在2014年把阿里巴巴(Alibaba)的IPO业务拱手让给美国，因为这家中国电子商务集团希望实行一种不同的治理结构。曼联(Manchester United)在2012年将其IPO从新加坡转移到纽约，让格雷泽(Glazer)家族通过双层股权结构保留控制权。

SGX’s listings advisory committee, an independent body, is expected to recommend allowing dual-class shares in the coming weeks, according to two people familiar with the plans.

据两名知情人士介绍，独立的新交所上市咨询委员会预计将在未来几周内建议允许双层股票架构。

The move, which will be subject to a public consultation, follows a legal amendment this year to allow the structure. SGX is struggling to attract big listings amid declining equities turnover.

此举将征求公众意见；今年早些时候新加坡修订了法律以允许这种结构。在股票成交额下降之际，新交所正竭力吸引大型上市交易。

Stefanie Yuen Thio of the local TSMP law firm said: “The Singapore market is moribund. Our advantage is that we are small and nimble. We have to leverage that.”

新加坡义正律师事务所(TSMP Law Corporation)的张祉盈(Stefanie Yuen Thio)表示：“新加坡市场现在死气沉沉。我们的优势在于小而灵巧。我们必须充分利用这一点。”

Multi-class structures give companies the opportunity to raise funds and make acquisitions with stock, without founders giving up control.

多级股权结构让企业有机会在创始人不放弃控制权的情况下筹集资金，并用股票进行收购。

Two-tier voting rights are common in the US, and have been favoured by technology groups that have listed since Google's founders argued that holding class B stock — with 10 votes a share compared with one for class A — let them pursue innovation without coming under pressure from new investors.

两级投票权在美国是常见的，并受到上市高科技集团的青睐。谷歌(Google)的创始人曾经辩称：持有B类股票——每股有10份投票权，而A类股票是1股1票——让他们可以在不受新投资者压力的情况下追求创新。

Singapore’s move, first reported by the Business Times, fits with regulatory efforts to foster a technology start-up sector in the city-state.

新加坡的举动最初是由新加坡《商业时报》(Business Times)报道的，此举与监管机构在这个城市国家培育高科技初创部门的努力相吻合。

“This is about SGX and the Singapore authorities realising that tech companies need a space where they are safe and able to grow, at every stage of their development,” said Ms Yuen Thio.

“这件事的意义在于新交所和新加坡当局意识到，高科技企业在每一个发展阶段都需要一个安全和有利于发展壮大的空间，”义正律师事务所的张祉盈表示。

SGX said: “The proposal for dual-class shares has been submitted to the listings advisory committee for consideration.”

新交所表示：“有关双级股票的提案已提交上市咨询委员会审议。”

The committee is expected to publish its report before SGX’s annual meeting on September 22.

该委员会预计将在9月22日新交所年会之前发布相关报告。

Alibaba’s switch away from a Hong Kong listing reignited a debate over the city’s one-share-one-vote principle, which critics said was bad for business and weakened claims to provide a financial gateway to China.

阿里巴巴把上市地点从香港转移至美国的决定，在香港重新引发了围绕1股1票制的辩论，批评者称，这项规则不利于商业，并削弱了有关充当通往中国内地的金融门户的说法。

After discussions with the Hong Kong listing committee, the ecommerce group proposed a structure that was not exactly dual-class but allowed a self-selecting minority of shareholders to nominate most of the board.

在与香港上市委员会讨论后，这家电子商务集团提议了一种特别结构，它不完全是双级结构，但允许少数自我挑选的股东提名大部分董事人选。

When that did not win acceptance, Alibaba chose to list in New York, producing the world’s largest IPO in the process.

在那个提议仍未获得认可的情况下，阿里巴巴选择在纽约上市，最终进行了世界最大规模的IPO。