Dear readers, Thailand has overtaken Singapore for the second consecutive year as the top IPO market in South-east Asia. When I read this news, I am not surprised at all because there is really nothing exciting about the IPO scene in Singapore in recent years though some have kept touting NanoFilm as one of the more exciting IPO scene in Singapore this year.
Also, it does not matter to me whether Singapore is No. 1 in IPO market in South-east Asia. What matters to me is whether Singapore stocks could typically make monies for the long- term investor here. Already, quite a number of the small-cap stocks have really performed very badly to the point of being delisted or exit from SGX. Whereas for the larger-cap stocks, a number of the so-called blue-chip stocks have been reduced to a more modest level with some of these struck off the STI constituent stock list as well.
As I have always shared with readers, a number of Singapore blue-chip stocks have not done well as the peak of industrialisation and rapid development of Singapore are already over. What’s more, Singapore’s market size is small and limited which prompt businesses to go overseas for ventures and expansions. But competition outside of Singapore is stiff which makes it challenging for these businesses as well. Hence it is not surprising for listed companies here to underperform when they venture overseas.
That is why, I have advocated investors here to invest in the STI ETF which tracks the Singapore stocks markets benchmark as a whole. The STI ETF is independent of any developments in a stock as it tracks the Singapore’s benchmark STI index.