By Getty Goh& Dr SehHuanKiat (Guest Contributors)

In the recent Budget Speech, Singapore’s Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam commented that the government was studying the potential of equity crowdfunding. To the casual observer, this may appear to be just another way for start-ups to secure funding. In reality, the benefits of such a policy, if introduced, could have far reaching economic and social benefits. Although I cannot speak for the other sectors, perhaps I can share my take on how crowdfunding can potentially change Singapore as well as the region’s real estate landscape.

A bit of background on crowdfunding

Crowdfunding is defined as the pooling of funds via the Internet to support projects initiated by individuals or companies. The crowdfunding movement started to take off in the US, with the Federal government passing legislative acts to promote economic growth. This was done via the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act (also known ...