More than 23 million shares were repurchased by 17 companies in July, with total buyback consideration at S$26.7 million. This was down 48.1% from $51.5 million in consideration for June 2017. The five stocks with the largest buyback consideration value in July included one STI stock. The five stocks were Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp (OCBC), Cordlife Group, Bumitama Agri, Singapore Post and Duty Free International.
Singapore retail space vacancy rose to 7.7% in 1Q17 despite a 2.9% QoQ decline in price rentals. However, impact of retail headwinds may not be evenly felt across all malls. New supply of retail malls largely located in Outside Central Regions, in line with the government’s plan of decentralised business districts and growth of regional centres. SGX lists 12 Retail REITs & Property Trusts which have retail properties within their asset portfolios with a combined market capitalisation of S$30.9 billion.
The STI opened this week at 3307, after trading above the 3300 level last week for the first time since July 2015. The STI has generated a 15% price gain in the 2017 YTD, which compares to an average of 9% for the US, Japan & Hong Kong benchmarks. More 2H17 outlooks on STI stocks will be available this week as SIA Engineering Co, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp, Singapore Airlines, Ascendas REIT, Singapore Exchange, United Overseas Bank are scheduled to report their quarterly earnings.
1Q17 office space vacancy rates peaked at 11.6%, highest in five years. Office space supply is expected to peak in 2017 and taper off in the next few years. CBRE Research believes that sentiment has swung from pessimism to optimism as investors forecast a period of relatively modest supply over the next few years. SGX lists six Office REITs (GICS®) with a combined market capitalisation of S$12.8 billion. These 6 trusts have generated a market cap weighted average total return of 16.9% in the YTD and have an average dividend yield of 5.7%.
Singapore’s industrial property market remains challenging as industrial space supply is expected to peak in 2017, before tapering off in the next few years. Green shoots in manufacturing activity data, and the Singapore government’s economic shift, coupled with its focus on higher value-added businesses, bode well for industrial property demand. SGX lists 11 REITs & Property Trusts which have industrial properties within their asset portfolios. These 11 trusts have generated an average year-to-date total return of 19.0%.
Singapore’s private property market appears to be stabilising as URA’s 2Q17 flash estimates show smallest QoQ price decline of private residential property prices since 4Q13. YTD average monthly primary private home sales volumes are also 74.6% higher YoY. Existing property cooling measures are likely to remain despite recent calibrated adjustments. SGX lists six Real Estate Management & Development (GICS®) stocks with market capitalisation above S$1 billion that have substantial exposure to the Singapore property market.
Tomorrow, SPH REIT will kick off the June quarter financial reporting season for the 36 constituents of the SGX S-REIT Index, reporting its 3Q fiscal year 2017 results. ESR REIT and Soilbuild Business Space REIT will report their 2Q fiscal year 2017 results later this week. The SGX S-REIT Index generated a total return of 16.2% in the year-to-date. The 36 trusts averaged a year-to-date return of 16.9%, while maintaining an average distribution yield of 6.4%. The three best performers in the year-to-date were Croesus Retail Trust (+47.3%), CDL Hospitality Trusts (+27.9%) and Lippo Malls Indonesia Retail Trust (+25.6%).
The SGX Real Estate Index, a benchmark for Singapore’s Real Estate Sector, has returned 19.5% in the YTD. Domestic private home prices have shown signs of stabilisation in recent months, with a pick-up in primary transaction volumes. There are 104 Real Estate companies (diverse across assets) with a combined market capitalisation of almost S$190 billion listed on the SGX. Post the YTD rally, sector valuations remain below their long-term historical average. Singapore property developer stocks are trading at PB ratio of 0.75x vs their long-term average of 0.83x.
More than 13 million shares were repurchased by 18 companies in June, with total buyback consideration at S$51.5 million. This was up 5.9% from S$48.6 million in consideration for May 2017. The five stocks with the largest buyback consideration value in May included two STI stocks. The five stocks were Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp (OCBC), SIA Engineering Company, Singapore Post, Hi-P International and Telechoice International.
The FTSE ST Fledgling Index consists of close to 250 stocks with an average market cap of S$110 million. In 2017 YTD, the FTSE ST Fledgling Index has generated a 12.4% price gain, similar to the STI which has gained 11.4%. The 10 biggest FTSE ST Fledgling Index weights as of the end of 2016 have also averaged a 12.4% price gain in 2017 YTD. Of these 10 stocks, six stocks - Poh Tiong Choon Logistics, Tianjin ZhongXin Pharmaceutical Group Corp, MYP, CSE Global, Singapore Reinsurance Corp and Sunningdale Tech - are still amongst the 10 biggest Index weights.
These articles are provided by SGX My Gateway.
SGX's investor education portal with market, product and investment information and events. Sign up now at sgx.com/mygateway to receive our investment updates and economic calendar.
These articles are not intended for distribution to, or for use by or to be acted on by any person or entity located in any jurisdiction where such distribution, use or action would be contrary to applicable laws or regulations or would subject Singapore Exchange Limited (“SGX”) to any registration or licensing requirement. This document is not an offer or solicitation to buy or sell, nor financial advice or recommendation for any investment product. This document is for general circulation only. It does not address the specific investment objectives, financial situation or particular needs of any person. Advice should be sought from a financial adviser regarding the suitability of any investment product before investing or adopting any investment strategies. Use of and/or reliance on this document is entirely at the reader’s own risk. Further information on this investment product may be obtained from www.sgx.com. Investment products are subject to significant investment risks, including the possible loss of the principal amount invested. Past performance of investment products is not indicative of their future performance. Examples provided are for illustrative purposes only. While each of SGX and its affiliates (collectively, the “SGX Group Companies”) have taken reasonable care to ensure the accuracy and completeness of the information provided, each of the SGX Group Companies disclaims any and all guarantees, representations and warranties, expressed or implied, in relation to this document and shall not be responsible or liable (whether under contract, tort (including negligence) or otherwise) for any loss or damage of any kind (whether direct, indirect or consequential losses or other economic loss of any kind, including without limitation loss of profit, loss of reputation and loss of opportunity) suffered or incurred by any person due to any omission, error, inaccuracy, incompleteness, or otherwise, any reliance on such information, or arising from and/or in connection with this document. The information in this document may have been obtained via third party sources and which have not been independently verified by any SGX Group Company. No SGX Group Company endorses or shall be liable for the content of information provided by third parties. The SGX Group Companies may deal in investment products in the usual course of their business, and may be on the opposite side of any trades. SGX is an exempt financial adviser under the Financial Advisers Act (Cap. 110) of Singapore. The information in this document is subject to change without notice. This document shall not be reproduced, republished, uploaded, linked, posted, transmitted, adapted, copied, translated, modified, edited or otherwise displayed or distributed in any manner without SGX’s prior written consent.