Facilitating Securitized Crowdfunding in Singapore and South Korea

新加坡與南韓證券化群眾募資的比較分析

The idea of crowdfunding has rapidly gained momentum around the world, as ordinary people have been looking for solutions to compensate for the diminishing interest rates on their investments in bonds and bank savings deposits as a result of the financial crisis in 2008-2009. The authorities have long remained inactive, but due to the rapid growth in popularity of crowdfunding, they have slowly introduced or modified regulations. The regulatory authorities have had to identify the interests of stakeholders to facilitate access to micro and small capital, as well as to create a system for platforms serving as intermediaries between fund receivers and providers, while at the same time protecting individual investors against total loss. This research seeks to find and analyze key reasons for the importance of retail funding in Singapore and South Korea as the two countries share a similar historic and economic background in the post-World War II era. It also examines whether and to what extent the regulatory framework in these two countries is patterned upon the framework created in more developed and experienced countries. It focuses on securitized, that is, equity-based and lending-based, crowdfunding and intends to analyze the development and application of crowdfunding regulations in Singapore, which opted for a modification of existing regulations, and South Korea, which opted for an explicit regulation. The study then seeks to identify the main similarities and differences between these two countries in the context of crowdfunding regulations. Finally, it endeavors to answer the question of whether crowdfunding may become a potential source of funding for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in these two countries, with a particular focus on startups devoid of the financial resources needed for growth and for the commercialization of new products and services.

在2008-2009全球金融危機後，有不少人利用群眾募資來彌補投資與存款獲利不足的情況。政府單位對於群眾募資行為剛開始並不積極面對，直到出現愈來愈多的群眾募資計畫後，才開始建立或修改相關的法令規定。相關的管制機構除了要分辨利害關係人的利益、好讓他們能得到微型資本，也要為提供資金與接受資金的行為者提供中介平台，同時更需保障個別投資人的權益。本研究試圖分析新加坡與南韓的零售融資，探索兩國如何效法先進國家的群眾募資管制架構以建構本國的架構。本研究以證券化的群眾募資、亦即以股權與債權為基礎的群眾募資型態作為起點，分析新加坡與南韓群眾募資管制規定的發展與應用，主張前者傾向透過修改既有法令以建立管制規定，後者則傾向制定專門管制規定。本研究除了比較兩國群眾募資管制規定的異同之外，亦試圖回答群眾募資是否有潛力成為中小型企業與新創公司的資金來源。