SGX climbs as efforts to strengthen stock market continue

Spin-offs of firms like LHN and Centurion Corp buoy market; DBS nears $53 mark

- Kang Wan Chern Deputy Business Editor

The Singapore Exchange (SGX) rose last week, after further updates under an ongoing effort to revive the local stock market were revealed.

SGX-listed companies will be encouraged to provide investors with more forward-looking information, including their outlook and prospects, and to build capabilities in areas such as corporate strategy, capital optimisation, investor engagement and media outreach, said Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) deputy chairman Chee Hong Tat on Sept 12.

This is notable because while communicating plans and company prospects is common overseas, it is less so in Singapore because of regulatory concerns.

Mr Chee, who is Minister for National Development, also stressed that a mindset shift is needed, particularly among founder-led firms, to engage investors more actively, as leading a public company is different from helming a private one.

To support this, MAS will review its regulatory framework to provide clarity on how companies can communicate more openly while maintaining market integrity.

SGX will also review how companies can be more transparent in areas such as dividend policies and investor relations, and will launch a new index to highlight the next tier of large and liquid companies beyond the Straits Times Index (STI). Details are expected on Sept 22.

Shares of SGX, a component stock of the STI, rose 1.2 per cent through the week, closing Sept 12 at a high of $16.57.

DBS CLOCKS ANOTHER RECORD

STI heavyweight DBS Bank etched another record last week.

Shares of Singapore's largest bank rose to a high of $52.90 on Sept 11, falling just shy of the $53 mark. They closed on Sept 12 at $51.79, up 1.6 per cent through the week.

J.P. Morgan on Sept 9 upgraded the bank to "overweight" with a target price of $56, citing its "sector-high" dividend yield spread as the reason for its re-rating.