Use current momentum to rejuvenate the Singapore bourse

Uptick offers chance to unveil policies to boost the market for the longer term

- Ven Sreenivasan

Is the underperforming Singapore bourse finally about to wake up?

The Singapore Exchange's (SGX) total securities market turnover value rose 51 per cent year on year to $30.2 billion in November, the bourse operator noted on Dec 9. This represents a 12 per cent rise from October's $26.9 billion.

There were 28.1 billion shares traded in November, up 12 per cent on the 25.2 billion in the same month in 2023, but down 11 per cent on October's 31.6 billion shares.

Much of this has been inspired by sharp gains on Wall Street, boosted by the "Trump Trade", a phenomenon driven by hope and expectation that incoming US president Donald Trump's pro-growth policies and drive towards deregulation will boost corporate profits.

In all likelihood, the gains will likely be sustained through the early part of January, when Trump will be inaugurated as the next US president on Jan 20.

The big question, at least as far as the Singapore bourse is concerned, is whether this uptick since November can be sustained.

As the saying goes, one swallow does not make a summer.

The months and years prior to November have been very different.

Average daily trading value on the Singapore stock market, barely above US$1 billion (S$1.36 billion), slumped below its regional peers for much of the past few years. The comparable figure for Sydney is triple that, while Hong Kong's daily average has been in the region of about US$10 billion.

In terms of market capitalisation, Singapore stands at about US$640 billion, squeezed out by the likes of Bangkok and Jakarta, though the recent rally has seen this figure rise.

But Hong Kong and Sydney are aeons ahead. I have excluded Shanghai, Shenzhen or New York, as their numbers will make Singapore seem even more pathetic.