There's talk of a Singapore travel bubble; here are the ASX companies that might benefit

The opening of the long promised Australia-New Zealand travel bubble has given hopes one with Singapore is on the horizon.

From April 19, Australians will be able to travel to New Zealand – not just quarantine-free but similar to what it was pre-COVID (except having to wear masks on flights and having to download contact tracing apps on arrival).

Inevitably this will provide a boost to both countries’ economies – both Australia and New Zealand consistently accounted for among the highest proportions of international arrivals prior to COVID-19 and for the foreseeable future will be easily the largest proportion.

Stocks set to benefit rallied earlier this week, particularly Air New Zealand (ASX:AIZ) which gained up to 10 per cent on Tuesday.

Singapore travel bubble might be next

There have been rumours and hopes for more travel bubbles in the Asia-Pacific region between Australia and countries with low numbers of COVID-19 cases.

Although the Australian government is indicating a cautious approach to resuming international travel, it has proactively stated it is looking for a travel bubble with Singapore.

Singapore has actually allowed Australians entry since last October (subject to a test on arrival and self-quarantining until results are known).

While Australia is yet to reciprocate, Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack has said the government is working with Singapore.

Which stocks could benefit?

If this came to fruition, Qantas (ASX:QAN) would inevitably benefit with Singapore being a major international destination.

A number of ASX small caps with operations and offices in Singapore would benefit too.

One is fintech Credit Intelligence (ASX:CI1) which has a SME BNPL solution and a personal debt restructuring service.

The company was founded in Hong Kong and has operations both in Australia and Singapore.

Credit Intelligence chairman Jimmie Wong is one executive eagerly awaiting the re-opening of travel with countries such as Singapore.

“I think it is vital to Australia’s economic recovery and growth to reopen the border to visitors from other countries – including tourists, overseas students and business people,” he told Stockhead.

Wong understands the need for at least business travel between the two countries. He has recently been granted approval to visit Australia in order to grow both of his companies.

He reports first applying in January but only recently obtained approval.

“Both businesses are vital to the benefits of Australia people in debt and SME in Australia as a whole,” he said.

There are a handful of other stocks with operations or connections to Singapore.

The list includes property developer AvJennings (ASX: AVJ), water treatment business De.mem (ASX: DEM), tech venture group Fatfish Group (ASX:FFG) and engineering company Hydrix (ASX:HYD).

Fatfish launched a BNPL service in Singapore which has led to shares skyrocketing in 2021.

Hydrix (ASX:HYD) owns the distribution rights for a heart monitoring device. The first successful implant occurred in Singapore which led to intraday stock price surge of more than 250 per cent.

At Stockhead, we tell it like it is. While Credit Intelligence, De.mem and Fatfish Group are Stockhead advertisers, they did not sponsor this article.