OREANDA-NEWS. The FTSE Group provides an alternate Index series that enables international like-for-like comparisons of stock markets. This includes 11 Asian indices, whose total returns are calculated in US dollars and which provide monthly updates on dividend yields. 

As of the end of June, the FTSE Singapore Index maintained a yield of 3.46% – 1.14% higher than the average of 2.42% –making it the highest among the 11 indices in Asia.

The FTSE Singapore Index has 41 constituents and is broader than the Straits Times Index (STI). It comprises both large- and mid-cap stocks and is a part of a global equity index series used for worldwide comparisons.

Its constituents include most of the STI components and some of the largest stocks in the FTSE ST Mid Cap Index. The table below details the 11 FTSE Indices relevant to Asia and the number of constituents represented in each index.

Index (USD)

Number of Constituents

June 2015 Yield %
FTSE Singapore

41

3.46
FTSE Malaysia

46

3.31
FTSE Thailand

37

3.12
FTSE Taiwan

93

2.97
FTSE China

217

2.65
FTSE Indonesia

30

2.58
FTSE Hong Kong

91

2.40
FTSE Japan

478

1.66
FTSE Philippines

27

1.53
FTSE India

126

1.54
FTSE Korea

114

1.41

The Straits Times Index

The STI consists of the 30 largest companies by full market capitalisation in the FTSE ST All-Share Index. It is a free float-adjusted index representing the performance of the largest Singapore blue-chip companies, which pass the size, free float, and liquidity screens.

The 10 largest stocks of the STI have a combined market capitalisation of S\\$292.6 billion and maintain an average dividend yield of 3.2% – approximately 0.3% lower than the FTSE Singapore Index average indicative yield. In the year-to-date, the 10 largest capitalised constituents of the STI averaged a price gain of 0.2%, and dividend-adjusted returns of 1.8%. This brought their one-year and three-year dividend-boosted returns to 7.3% and 35.3% respectively.

Note that Jardine Matheson Holdings, Jardine Strategic Holdings and Hongkong Land Holdings are excluded from this analysis as they are also omitted from the FTSE Singapore Index due to the global equity index methodology.

The table below details the 10 largest stocks of the STI. Note that clicking on a stock name will take you to its relevant page on StockFacts.

Name SGX Code Mkt. Cap. in S\\$ mm % Price Change YTD % Change - Dividend Adj. YTD % Change - Dividend Adj. [1 Year] % Change - Dividend Adj.  [3 Years] Div. Ind Yld. in %
Singapore Telecommunications Z74 69,632 12.1 12.1 17.6 44.0 4.0
DBS Group Holdings D05 51,931 1.7 3.2 25.6 63.1 2.8
Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation O39 40,539 -2.7 -1.0 14.3 27.2 3.5
United Overseas Bank U11 36,788 -6.4 -4.3 -1.1 30.8 3.1
Wilmar International F34 20,721 0.0 1.7 3.9 -2.8 2.4
Thai Beverage Public Company Y92 18,958 9.4 12.1 24.9 149.5 3.4
Keppel Corporation BN4 14,843 -7.7 -4.0 -21.0 -11.2 5.9
CapitaLand C31 14,379 1.8 4.4 6.6 22.4 2.7
Singapore Airlines C6L 12,822 -5.5 -5.5 8.9 12.2 2.0
Global Logistic Properties MC0 11,957 -0.4 -0.4 -6.7 17.8 2.2
Average     0.2 1.8 7.3 35.3 3.2

The FTSE ST Mid Cap Index

The FTSE ST Mid Cap Index is a free float-adjusted index that comprises 50 companies within the top 90% of the ST Universe by full market capitalisation, excluding the constituents of the STI.

The 10 largest constituents of the FTSE ST Mid Cap Index have a combined market capitalisation of S\\$41.1 billion and maintain an average dividend yield of 4.1% – 0.6% higher than that of the FTSE Singapore Index. In the year thus far, the 10 stocks averaged a price decline of 0.1%, and dividend-boosted returns of 2.0%. This brought their one-year and three-year returns to 4.3% and 44.2% respectively.

The table below details the 10 largest stocks of the FTSE ST Mid Cap Index. Note that clicking on a stock name will take you to its relevant page on StockFacts.

Name SGX Code Mkt. Cap. in S\\$ mm % Price Change YTD % Change - Dividend Adj. YTD % Change - Dividend Adj. [1 Year] % Change - Dividend Adj.  [3 Years] Div. Ind Yld. in %
UOL Group U14 5,348 -2.4 -0.6 6.1 42.4 2.2
Yangzijiang Shipbuilding (Holdings) BS6 5,058 9.5 13.8 28.1 44.8 4.3
CapitaLand Commercial Trust C61U 4,479 -13.4 -11.4 -4.8 36.3 5.6
Suntec Real Estate Investment Trust T82U 4,319 -12.2 -10.0 0.0 42.7 5.5
Singapore Post S08 4,059 -1.6 0.8 13.4 107.4 3.3
SATS S58 3,999 2.4 5.3 0.8 23.7 3.9
Genting Hong Kong S21 3,799 18.7 18.7 20.0 56.8 2.8
Keppel REIT K71U 3,590 -7.4 -5.9 -5.9 25.5 6.2
First Resources EB5 3,374 13.9 15.4 -11.4 11.6 1.7
M1 B2F 3,085 -8.6 -5.7 -3.6 51.1 5.7
Average     -0.1 2.0 4.3 44.2 4.1