Will 2026 mark the revival of Southeast Asia’s IPO hopefuls?

Superbank’s IPO this month delivered a much-needed boost to Southeast Asia’s tech sector. The Emtek, Singtel, and Grab-backed digital bank raised US$168 million in its oversubscribed market debut on the Indonesian Stock Exchange. Its share price also jumped 24% to 790 rupiah (US$0.047) and hit its daily limit on the first trading day.

It was the second tech listing for Indonesia in 2025, following East Ventures-backed Fore Coffee’s market debut in April. The two companies are among a handful of tech startups in the region that followed through with their IPO plans this year.

Some analysts predicted last year that Southeast Asia’s exit market would see a turnaround in 2025. In some ways, it looks like it has.

In the first 10 months of this year, the region logged 102 IPOs, fewer compared to the same period in 2024, according to a Deloitte report. Driven by companies in the real estate, financial services, and consumer sectors, these listings collectively raised US$5.6 billion, 53% higher than the year before.

Still, many startups shelved their listing plans this year, anticipating better market conditions later.

One example is Philippines-based GCash. Ernest Cu, chairman of GCash operator Mynt, said in mid-2023 that the fintech company was “ripe” for an IPO, estimating that it would list in 2025.

Then, last October, it pushed that back to the second half of 2026 because of unfavorable macroeconomic conditions and the Philippine Stock Exchange’s lackluster performance.

Strong volatility, driven by high interest rates and political risks, marred market sentiment this year, Roshan Behera, partner at Redseer Strategy Consultants, tells Tech in Asia.

“So, no matter how good of a company you are, it was just not a great context to get listed,” he adds.

Finding committed backers

Tech in Asia data shows there are currently about 24 startups that have publicly announced their intentions or have been rumored to IPO. About a third of them are in fintech, while the others are in ecommerce or SaaS.

Of these 24 companies, about nine have either formally made moves to go public or said they would do so in 2025 or 2026.

Analysts believe Superbank’s IPO received a strong reception not only because of its strong financials – it was profitable in 2025 – but also because of its investor makeup.

Emtek Group, an Indonesian media and telco conglomerate, owns about 30% of Superbank, while Singtel and Grab own 20% and 19% stakes, respectively. South Korean tech giant Kakao owns another 10%.

Superbank marked the second listing in Indonesia’s tech scene in 2025, following Fore Coffee./ Photo credit: Superbank

Cleaning up the books

Listing where the locals are