Singapore’s 5 largest capitalised utility stocks are Keppel Infrastructure Trust, CITIC Envirotech, China Everbright Water, China Jinjiang Environment and SIIC Environment Holdings, with a combined market capitalisation of S$5.7 billion.
All 5 stocks have made a firm start to the 2019 YTD, with the average total return of the five stocks at 17% and the rebound following on from an average decline of 31% in 2018. The Utilities Sector led market cap weighted sector performances in Dec 2018 & Jan 2019.
The most recent stock of the Utilities Sector to list was Union Gas Holdings, which has gained 6% in the 2019 YTD following a comparative defensive total return of 2% in 2018. The company has 40+ years of operating track record in Retail LPG, CNG and Diesel.
The Utilities Sector is typically made up of stocks that provide gas, electric or water with population growth the underlying driver of demand for these services. While the Utilities Sector has traditionally been labeled as more defensive than cyclical, comparisons of regional Utility Indices to the broader Parent Indices show more variability in the earnings that utility stocks have generated with shareholder investments.
Because of their strategic significance, utility services have traditionally been provided by the public sector. However, ballooning population growth, and fiscal constraints, have resulted in more of the worlds’ utility services to spring from the private sector, which face similar macroeconomic headwinds as other key industries.
Singapore’s 5 largest capitalised Utility stocks are Keppel Infrastructure Trust, CITIC Envirotech, China Everbright Water, China Jinjiang Environment and SIIC Environment Holdings. The 5 stocks have a combined market capitalisation of S$5.7 billion. Together the 5 stocks were recipient of net institutional inflow of S$1.9 million for the 6 weeks ending 7 February.
| Name | SGX Code |
Market Cap S$m |
2019 YTD Return % |
2018 Total Return % |
Dividend Yield |
P/B | YTD Net Institutional Flow S$M |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Keppel Infrastructure Trust | A7RU | 1948 | 6.0 | -9.5 | 7.4% | 1.85 | 6.1 |
| CITIC Envirotech | CEE | 1078 | 17.1 | -47.5 | 3.4% | 0.62 | -4.3 |
| China Everbright Water | U9E | 950 | 18.3 | -29.3 | 1.4% | 0.69 | -0.7 |
| China Jinjiang Environment | BWM | 844 | 27.2 | -25.9 | 8.5% | 0.80 | 0.5 |
| SIIC Environment Holdings | BHK | 834 | 16.4 | -45.0 | 3.1% | 0.55 | 0.3 |
| Average | 17.0 | -31.4 | 4.7% | 0.90 |
Source: SGX StockFacts, Bloomberg, Thomson Reuters (Data as of 7 February 2019)
Keppel Infrastructure Trust (SGX:A7RU) is the largest capitalised stock of the five utility stocks tabled above with its portfolio of highly strategic and core assets diversified across Energy (28%), Distribution & Network (53%) and Water & Waste (19%).
The 2 best performing stocks of the above 5 in the 2019 year through to 7 February were China Jinjiang Environment and China Everbright Water:
China Jinjiang Environment (SGX:BWM) generated a 27.2% total return in the 2019 year to 6 February, reversing its 25.9% loss in 2018. The pioneer and leading waste-to-energy operator in China's waste incineration power generation industry listed on the SGX Mainboard in August 2016. As of its FY17 (ended 31 December) Jinjiang Environment operated 20 waste-to-energy facilities in 12 provinces, autonomous regions and centrally-administered municipalities in China, and had an additional three WTE facilities under construction as well as 21 WTE projects in the preparatory stage. The estimated total installed waste treatment capacity of all the WTE facilities, when fully completed and acquired, would be approximately 59,261 tons/day. Click here for more.
- China Everbright Water (SGX:U9E) is principally engaged in water environment management, sponge city construction, river-basin ecological restoration, water supply, waste water treatment, reusable water, waste water source heat pump, sludge treatment and disposal, research and development of water technologies, and engineering and construction, etc. The Company’s geographical footprint spans across East, Central, South, North, Northeast and Northwest China, including Beijing, Jiangsu, Shandong, Shaanxi, Henan, Hubei, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Liaoning and Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Click here for more. Back in December 2014, Everbright International spun off and injected its water business into SGX-listed HanKore Environment Tech Group via a reverse takeover and renamed it China Everbright Water.
The early year 17.1% gains of CITIC Envirotech (SGX:CEE) have been on increased volume. For the period 28 December 2018 to 7 February 2019, the average daily trading volumes of CITIC Envirotech was more than four times higher than its preceding 12 month average daily volume.
The most recently listed stock of the Utilities Sector is Union Gas Holdings (SGX:1F2) which listed on Catalist in July 2017. Its share price has gained 6.3% in the 2019 year through to 7 February following a comparative defensive total return of 1.7% in 2018. Union Gas Holdings is an established provider of fuel products in Singapore with over 40 years of operating track record in the business of Retail LPG, CNG and Diesel.
