Startups ‘need tailored help alongside cash’
CAPITAL markets can play a driving force for startups but to propel the small companies' growth they need customised regulations and assistance that reaches beyond financial access, say exchange executives from Thailand, Japan and South Korea.
At a seminar on “Asia Capital Market: Driving Force for Startups”, part of Startup Thailand 2017, Yasuyuki Konuma, executive officer of Japan Exchange Group, said that most startups have good ideas but their main challenge lies in governance, particularly in human resources.
“There are many funding sources for startups, from the government and local governments. But a key success factor is how the money is being used. The government is about to monitor the use of funds. What we can help with concerns expertise and HR management,” he said.
He added that the startups also need training when it comes to company control. They need to know that venture capital funds also need some control in return for their money.
Kesara Manchusree, president of the Stock Exchange of Thailand, which this year will launch the LIVE Platform for startups to negotiate with venture capital funds on partnerships, said that the exchange had so far extended knowledge sharing and lectures by university lecturers to startups.
Aside from these activities, it has been engaged with some 600 startups through a portal. These companies will migrate to the new platform, along with hundreds more to be attracted later.
“We hope that this will be a vehicle to promote startups,” she said. “The funds are available but the most important thing is to help them find markets. Good ideas will attract money.”
Chae Nam Gi, executive director of Kosdaq and a representative of National Startup Committee in South Korea, said that exchanges can assist startups with “customised” regulations as the regulations that applied to listed companies in general can be costly to these small companies.
To provide successful assistance to startups, he said exchanges also needed incentives to draw venture capitalists. Meanwhile, startups should be subjected to lower costs in listing, securities issuance, disclosure and so on, as long as investors' benefits are protected. To maintain an exchange's credibility, investors need sufficient information and this will be possible through more analysis and research. Last, startups need incubating services, along with training on different fronts, he said.
