SINGAPORE &ndash A move by the Singapore Exchange (SGX) to reduce board lot sizes is expected to make blue-chip stocks more affordable for retail investors.

 

Observers told The Straits Times that the change &ndash which will reduce the board lot size from 100 units to 10 units for securities above $10 &ndash will also broaden investor participation on the SGX and boost liquidity.

 

A board lot is the standard minimum number of shares you must buy or sell in a single transaction on an exchange.

 

The move is part of a slew of measures proposed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore&rsquo s (MAS) Equities Market Review Group in its final report released on Nov 19.

 

SGX will consult on the proposal to reduce the board lot size of higher-priced securities, while keeping existing free float requirements, in the first quarter of 2026.

 

Mr Paul Chew, head of Phillip Securities Research, said the change could make it cheaper to invest in blue-chip stocks, provided their share price remains above $10 at the time the new rule is implemented.

 

Some examples of stocks trading above $10 at the time of writing include bank stocks such as DBS Bank, UOB and OCBC Bank, as well as Jardine Cycle & Carriage and Venture Corporation.

 

&ldquo If the rule is approved and DBS&rsquo stock price qualifies, the minimum investment would be significantly reduced. Reducing board lot sizes widens investor participation by making shares more affordable.&rdquo

 

Mr Isaac Lim, chief market strategist at trading platform Moomoo Singapore, said the move was a &ldquo long time coming&rdquo .

 

He noted that the most expensive counter on the Straits Times Index &ndash Jardine Matheson Holdings &ndash currently trades at about US$63 a share, which means that with the current standard lot of 100 shares, an investor would need about US$6,300 to take a position in the stock, before administrative fees.

 

&ldquo For younger investors who have just entered the workforce and are looking to build up their portfolio, this will more often than not be out of reach. When the changes are implemented, this would greatly bring the purchase cost down to just US$630,&rdquo said Mr Lim.

 

&ldquo For long-term investors and even younger investors looking to start out, this will definitely encourage them to trade and to invest, driving trading volume and revenues.&rdquo

 

Mr Matthias Chan, head of equities research at SAC Capital, said the move will broaden investor participation, especially in larger-cap companies.

 

He added that for less popular, poorly traded large cap counters, reducing the lot size can also help boost liquidity.

 

&ldquo If the board-lot bar is lowered to encourage buying, the counterparty offer will naturally follow. For a healthy equities market, the entire market cap spectrum should enjoy lively trading,&rdquo Mr Chan said.

 

Other observers warn that while shrinking the board lot size will encourage younger investors with less capital to invest on the SGX, it is not a silver bullet.

 

Mr Shane Chesson, vice-chairman of the Singapore Venture and Private Capital Association, said board lots are a &ldquo fairly old-fashioned concept&rdquo .

 

&ldquo Breaking board lots down may help marginally, but having exciting new companies in sectors people can relate to and trade will do far more to engage younger investors,&rdquo he said.

 

Mr Vasu Menon, managing director of investment strategy at OCBC, added that the availability of research and stock information will be key to sustaining investor confidence and keeping them interested in the local market.

 

&ldquo We want to ensure that investors make informed decisions, so while addressing some of the technical factors will help, providing information research on small to mid-cap companies is quite critical for individual investors &ndash especially retail and young investors &ndash to make prudent and good decisions,&rdquo he said.

 

On this front, MAS on Nov 19 also announced enhancements to the Grant for Equity Market Singapore scheme, which was introduced in 2019 to support listings and expand the equity research ecosystem here.

 

This includes additional funding of $1,000 for each research report generated from participating research houses.

 

A further $1,000 will be awarded if the report is an initiation of research coverage or covers pre-IPO and newly listed companies, as well as companies that take up the new Elevate Grant.

 

The Elevate Grant offers up to $200,000 per listed company to co-fund professional services, including the engagement of consultants in investor relations, corporate strategy or financial management.

 

MAS also said that research houses will receive grant support of up to $4,000 to defray the costs of dissemination through digital media. This aims to broaden eligible dissemination channels and forms of published research, including through social media platforms.

 

The regulator said this can help to increase the coverage of Singapore-listed companies and make the published research more accessible to younger and digitally native investors through new content media such as video summaries and infographics.

 

Research on private companies with a strong local presence will also be eligible for funding, as such coverage helps investors better understand firms&rsquo business models, financial performance and growth potential. 

 

Meanwhile, MAS and SGX will roll out incentives and grants to bolster market makers&rsquo capabilities, with a focus on newly listed firms and next-tier small- and mid-cap stocks outside the Straits Times Index. More details will be announced in the first quarter of 2026. 

 

Market makers provide liquidity by always being ready to trade, narrowing bid-ask spreads and reducing price swings.

 

Mr Abdullah Armain, a data science and economics student at the National University of Singapore and an investor on the SGX, said that he is &ldquo quite excited&rdquo about the changes.

 

&ldquo Better market-maker support and smaller board lots feel like real upgrades to how our market works day to day &ndash smaller lots make it way easier for younger or newer investors like me to get in without needing to drop a few thousand upfront,&rdquo he said.

 

&ldquo And for small- and mid-cap companies, this could finally fix a longstanding issue where solid names have traded at stubborn discounts simply because liquidity was thin, and price discovery was poor. If these tweaks can tighten spreads and bring more participation, it might finally unlock fairer valuations.&rdquo

 

SGX Regulation is seeking public feedback on rule amendments and new functions of the engine from Thursday to Dec 31

 

[SINGAPORE] With investor participation on the rise, the Singapore Exchange (SGX) Group will roll out a new trading engine for the local stock market in the second half of 2027, offering its members &ldquo better and additional&rdquo services, the group said on Thursday (Nov 6).

 

The new trading engine, called Iris-ST, will offer features ranging from new order types and risk controls, to more intuitive counter codes, said   Ng Yao Loong, the head of equities at SGX Group.

 

&ldquo The level of investor participation is increasing, and our product shelf is expanding. This is the right time to implement a next-gen trading infrastructure that will meet new and emerging demands,&rdquo added Ng.

 

SGX Regulation (RegCo) is seeking feedback from the public on rule amendments and new functions of the &ldquo Iris-ST&rdquo trading engine from Thursday until Dec 31. 

 

Some of these proposals include removing the prefix and suffix from counter trading names &ndash such as the ^ symbol for the financial watch list &ndash for a better presentation of their names. 

 

SGX RegCo also plans to extend the duration of the non-cancel phase of the auction routine, where there can be no order entry, amendment or withdrawal. The equilibrium price of orders is also determined during this non-cancel phase. 

 

The revision to the phase will allow for more &ldquo good-faith orders&rdquo that cannot be amended or withdrawn to be entered just before orders are matched. This will benefit the robustness of the equilibrium price, said SGX.

 

The consultation paper is available for viewing on SGX&rsquo s website.

 

SINGAPORE &ndash Retail investors in Singapore can look forward to trading stocks in more overseas markets in the local currency as the Singapore Exchange expands its offerings to simplify access to them.

 

Next up could be Vietnam in 2026, following the launch on Oct 16 of Singapore depository receipts (SDRs) linked to three Indonesian blue-chip companies.

 

SGX is in talks for the Vietnam leg of SDR offerings, said its head of securities trading Serene Cai.

 

Indonesia is the second Asean market to have SDRs after Thailand. 

 

Ms Cai said that besides Vietnam, &ldquo there has been market interest in SDRs on developed markets like the United States and Australia&rdquo .

 

SDRs, which are similar to American depositary receipts in the US, provide a way for Singapore investors to invest in the stocks of foreign companies through the SGX.

 

There are 26 SDRs on the exchange, comprising 10 Thai SDRs, 13 Hong Kong SDRs and the three new Indonesian SDRs.

 

SGX started with Thai SDRs in May 2023 and Hong Kong SDRs in October 2024.

 

LIke the Thai and Hong Kong SDRs, the Indonesian ones are issued by Phillip Securities.

 

The three underlying blue-chip companies &ndash Bank Central Asia telco Telkom Indonesia and food and beverage manufacturer Indofood &ndash are part of an index that tracks the performance of the 30 largest and most liquid companies in Indonesia.

 

Ms Cai noted that these SDRs mean greater access to the market for investors here, since not many brokers offer trading in Indonesian stocks.

 

&ldquo We look at the SDR programme as a way to bring the world to Singapore,&rdquo she added.

 

Poems, Phillip Securities&rsquo online trading platform, is one of the few which enables trading of Indonesian equities.

 

Mr Luke Lim, managing director of Phillip Securities, said the broker has observed that there is &ldquo some demand&rdquo from high-net-worth clients. 

 

These clients generally have slightly higher risk appetite or are familiar with Indonesia businesses, he added.

 

Mr Lim noted that the conditions are now favourable as retail participation grows. 

 

&ldquo There is enough liquidity for foreign investors to start coming in,&rdquo he said.

 

Some retail investors that The Straits Times spoke to said they would prefer to invest more broadly instead of into individual Indonesian stocks because they &ldquo do not know much about the companies&rdquo .

 

Indonesia is included in the MSCI AC Asia Pacific ex Japan Index, the MSCI AC Asia Pacific Index or the MSCI Emerging Markets Index. 

 

These investors can invest in the market by buying into an ETF that tracks any of the three indexes. 

 

Ms Cai noted that there are other investors who may want to do their own stock-picking and manage their portfolio by themselves.

 

The SDRs thus present an option for those who want to do more &ldquo specific targeted investing&rdquo into individual stocks, she added.

 

Telkom Indonesia is the largest telecommunications and network service provider in Indonesia, the equivalent to Singtel in Singapore.

 

Telkom is also the parent of Telkomsel, the largest cellular operator in the country. 

 

Mr Bret Matthew Ginesky, vice-president of investor relations at Telkom Indonesia, said that Indonesian sovereign wealth fund and majority shareholder, Danantara, is now trying to restructure the company. The restructuring will look into ways to streamline Telkom&rsquo s business and explore avenues to unlock value through spin-offs of assets, such as its data centres or fibre assets.

 

If these initiatives bear fruit, Telkom will become a business focused purely on the telecommunications industry and digital economy, he noted. 

 

Meanwhile, Bank Central Asia (BCA) ranks among the top four banks in Indonesia. Three are state banks and BCA is the only privately-owned bank among them, noted BCA&rsquo s head of investor relations Rudy Budiardjo.

 

BCA&rsquo s strength, he noted, is in transaction banking, where it has a long-term track record since the 70s.

 

Transaction banking is also a business line that is less sensitive to industry cycles, Mr Budiardjo added.

 

SGX chief executive Loh Boon Chye said the launch of the three Indonesian SDRs mark another milestone in the exchange&rsquo s move to strengthen regional connectivity.

 

He added that he is confident that this will catalyse further cooperation between regional exchanges and help to build a vibrant, more connected Asean capital market.

 

The product class received a boost when the regulator, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), announced in July that the listing grant under the Grant for Equity Market Singapore Scheme will also cover depository receipt (DR) issuance.

 

Issuers of SDRs and foreign depository receipts with underlying Singapore stocks will get $40,000 for each DR, MAS said.

The bourse, which currently has 26 depository receipts listed, plans to expand its offerings to include Vietnam companies next year

 

[SINGAPORE] Local investors can now gain simplified access to three Indonesian blue-chip companies &ndash Bank Central Asia, Telkom Indonesia and Indofood CBP &ndash through newly listed Singapore Depository Receipts (SDRs) on the Singapore Exchange (SGX).

 

Issued by Phillip Securities, the Indonesia SDRs give investors beneficial ownership in shares of these three companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX). The companies are constituents of the benchmark IDX30 Index, which tracks Indonesia&rsquo s 30 largest stocks. 

 

SDRs are unsponsored depository receipts that provide holders with a beneficial interest in an underlying security. Through them, investors in Singapore can easily access Indonesian-listed securities using their local brokers, trading in Singapore dollars during SGX market hours.

 

The Indonesia-Singapore Depository Receipt (DR) Linkage announced on Thursday (Oct 16) seeks to enhance visibility of Indonesian-listed companies among Singapore investors. This follows a 2024 partnership agreement between SGX and IDX.

 

&ldquo The launch of this DR Linkage with IDX is a significant milestone in our journey to strengthen regional connectivity,&rdquo said SGX chief executive officer Loh Boon Chye.

 

He added that collaborations with other exchanges are part of a broader set of recommendations announced earlier this year in February by the Equities Market Review Group, established by the Monetary Authority of Singapore to strengthen the local equities market.

 

&ldquo In terms of the client adoption, we have seen this whole product class pick up in investor interest,&rdquo she told The Business Times.

 

Cai said trading turnover for SDRs hit a record high in September 2025, reaching an average daily traded value of about S$16 million. This represents a more than 30-fold increase since the product was introduced three years ago.

 

Assets under management in SDRs have also grown rapidly to around S$200 million, with the majority held by retail investors.

 

&ldquo We do see quite continuous growth in retail participation for this particular product class when it comes to turnover as well,&rdquo added Cai.

 

The roll-out of Indonesian SDRs follows the recent introduction of Hong Kong and Thailand SDRs, which include 10 Thai blue-chip companies and 13 from Hong Kong, such as Siam Cement, Alibaba and Xiaomi. This addition brings the total number of SDRs listed on SGX to 26, underscoring growing investor interest in regional markets.

 

Since the launch of Thai SDRs two years ago, the concept has steadily gained traction, with SDRs now trading as a recognised asset class, Cai told BT.

 

The partnership between SGX and IDX represents the second exchange-level DR cooperation in Asean, building on the success of the Thailand-Singapore DR Linkage. 

 

SGX said this initiative supports the commitment of six major stock exchanges across Asean to regional DR collaboration, and promotes the region as an attractive investment hub. These exchanges are Bursa Malaysia, IDX, SGX, the Philippine Stock Exchange, the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) and the Vietnam Exchange (VNX).

 

SDRs help to enhance collaboration among these exchanges, strengthening connectivity within the region, Cai added.

 

On the broader topic of establishing a unified Asean exchange, she explained that there were previous efforts to integrate regional markets, including exploring a &ldquo stock connect&rdquo initiative across exchanges.

 

However, she sees SDRs as providing SGX with a practical way to collaborate more closely, while maintaining the integrity of individual markets and their respective regulations, without the need to fully harmonise rules across countries. She added that, at present, the concept of a single Asean exchange is not actively being considered.

 

With regard to the latest SDRs, Cai said Indonesia is one of the largest economies in the region, with strong growth prospects, ongoing reforms and market stimulus. Because of this, Indonesia has consistently been a top consideration for investors.

 

The three companies selected, she added, were chosen to represent sectors familiar to the domestic market.

 

&ldquo They were chosen precisely because they were able to benefit from domestic growth,&rdquo said Cai.

 

She said Bank Central Asia, Indonesia&rsquo s largest bank, and Telkom Indonesia, the country&rsquo s leading telecommunications provider, are poised to gain from digital transformation and increased technology adoption.

 

Meanwhile, Indofood CBP, the company behind the popular Indomie noodles, reflects a consumption-driven growth story.

 

Based on investor demand, Cai said SGX plans to add more Indonesian-listed companies from various sectors to its SDR line-up over time.

 

On reciprocal arrangements, Cai noted that there has already been progress with other exchanges listing Singapore-linked securities. The SET, for instance, currently lists DRs on blue-chip companies such as Singtel, Singapore Airlines and ST Engineering.

 

However, she added that broader two-way arrangements will take time, as each domestic exchange and regulator must first recognise DRs as a valid product class.

 

In Indonesia&rsquo s case, she sees progress on this front as largely dependent on its regulatory environment.

 

Upcoming pipeline

Cai noted that in the coming year, SGX is exploring ways to further expand the jurisdictions available for SDRs. This could include both developed markets, which are currently being studied, as well as other Asean markets, such as Vietnam.

 

SGX has engaged in discussions and knowledge-sharing sessions with onshore regulators and the VNX, to explore how its listed companies can be listed as SDRs in Singapore in the near future or by next year.

 

&ldquo SDRs are going to be very much about investor demand and bringing the world to Singapore to be traded locally here in SGD,&rdquo she said. 

 

While SGX has not set a specific target for the number of listings by 2026, Cai said the bourse plans to add more names within existing exchanges, such as SET and IDX, as well as expand into new jurisdictions.

 

She added that jurisdictions or companies would be selected based on where investors see opportunities or express interest.

Daily average values and commodity derivatives post records in the quarter

 

[SINGAPORE] The   Singapore Exchange (SGX)   : S68 +0.28% reported a 50.8 per cent year-on-year rise in its securities turnover volume, as demand for local equities maintained its momentum on the local bourse. 

 

The exchange said in a release on Wednesday (Oct 8) that trading volume reached 38.6 billion securities in September, up from 25.6 billion in the same month last year.

 

Securities turnover value rose to S$33.3 billion in the month, a 9.7 per cent climb from the previous corresponding period&rsquo s S$30.4 billion. The daily average value stood at S$1.5 billion in September 2025, a 4.7 per cent year-on-year climb.

 

Continued demand for Singapore equities resulted in daily average value for the July-to-September quarter reaching S$1.5 billion, which the bourse noted was the highest quarterly figure since 2021. 

 

Retail participation by proportion and traded value was also the greatest in four years, SGX said, while daily average value in exchange-traded funds hit S$39.2 million in September &ndash the biggest since March 2020.

 

The benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) broke records during the quarter, fuelled by rate-cut optimism and a S$5 billion liquidity injection under the Equity Market Development Programme. 

 

SGX noted that the STI outperformed most of its Asean peers in September, with a 20 per cent year-on-year rise and a new peak of 4,356 points that month.

 

Open interest levels in the exchange&rsquo s MSCI Singapore Index Futures contracts reached US$7.9 billion notional, a 48 per cent year-on-year expansion, on increased institutional investor participation.

 

The exchange also noted that its initial public offering activity raised a total of S$2.2 billion from July to September, marking the highest quarterly fundraising amount since 2017.

 

These included the listing of Centurion Accommodation Real Estate Investment Trust and AvePoint&rsquo s secondary listing on the mainboard, as well as Skylink&rsquo s and MetaOptics&rsquo trading debuts on the Catalist.

 

Derivatives records

Meanwhile, derivatives trading volume rose 5.9 per cent from the year-ago period to 30.6 million contracts in September, SGX said, citing increased portfolio hedging activity.

 

The exchange noted that its suite of commodities derivatives &ndash iron ore, petrochemical and dairy contracts &ndash hit a record in the quarter, driven by hedging activity amid global economic uncertainty. 

 

Expectations for higher infrastructure spending in China drove the daily average volumes of SGX&rsquo s benchmark iron ore derivatives up 35 per cent from the previous quarter, reaching an all-time high of 322,168 lots. 

 

Meanwhile, open interest in its petrochemical derivatives hit record averages of 3.7 million tonnes, and its dairy contracts recorded a monthly average peak of 196,836 lots in September. 

 

Amid a continued rally in Chinese equities, SGX&rsquo s FTSE China A50 Index Futures contracts volume rose to 11.3 million in September, growing 7.6 per cent on the year. For the quarter, the bourse noted that daily average volumes in the contract jumped 23 per cent from the level in September 2024.

 

Singapore Exchange (SGX Group) has joined Singapore-headquartered fintech company, FOMO Group, as one of its shareholders.

 

SGX, which previously invested in FOMO Group&rsquo s CapBridge and 1exchange, became the group&rsquo s newest shareholder via a share exchange.

 

Founded in 2015, FOMO Group, through its brands including FOMO Pay, offers one-stop financial services in cross-border payment, cross-asset investment, and real-world asset (RWA) tokenisation.

 

&ldquo We are excited to welcome SGX Group as our newest shareholder. This represents a vote of confidence in our strategy and an opportunity to collaborate with SGX Group, Asia' s leading and trusted securities and derivatives market infrastructure,&rdquo says Louis Liu, group CEO of FOMO Group. &ldquo SGX Group' s deep expertise in capital markets, combined with our comprehensive digital finance capabilities, will unlock new possibilities for our merchants, corporates, and institutional clients.&rdquo

 

Amit Kedia, executive director, finance and corporate development at SGX Group, said the investment comes amid a &ldquo growing need for innovation&rdquo in a &ldquo region rapidly embracing digital finance&rdquo .

 

She adds that the move &ldquo presents opportunities for regulated interoperable solutions that enhance connectivity and efficiency across the ecosystem&rdquo .

The pay hike is driven by increases to cash bonuses and long-term incentives that he received for the financial year

 

[SINGAPORE]   Singapore Exchange (SGX)   : S68 +2.9% chief executive officer Loh Boon Chye got a 3.3 per cent pay boost for the latest financial year, the bourse operator&rsquo s 2025 annual report released on Monday (Sep 15) showed.

 

This comes after the SGX posted record high FY2025 revenue and earnings in August. 

 

Loh received S$7.82 million in total gross remuneration for the financial year ended Jun 30, 2025, up from S$7.57 million in the previous corresponding period, the report indicated. 

 

The pay hike was driven by increases to the cash bonus and long-term incentives that Loh received for the financial year. These two segments form the bulk of his total gross remuneration, amounting to more than 80 per cent.  

 

The CEO received a S$3.27 million cash bonus for FY2025, which made up around 41.8 per cent of his total pay. This was up from the S$3.15 million cash bonus he received for FY2024 by around S$114,149 or 3.6 per cent.  

 

The cash bonus was determined by the board after taking into account the achievement of &ldquo specific quantitative and qualitative targets and objectives&rdquo , the report said.

 

Loh was paid S$3.27 million in long-term incentives, S$166,050 or 3.7 per cent higher than the S$3.15 million he received previously. 

 

This included performance shares awarded during the year under the SGX&rsquo s performance share plan &ndash an incentive scheme that awards shares depending on the achievement of targets. The targets include strategic and non-financial goals alongside growth outcomes for scale and relevance relative to peer exchanges and companies. 

 

Long-term incentives also included incentives conferred under the SGX deferred long-term incentives scheme. 

 

His fixed pay stood at S$1.21 million, largely unchanged from the year prior. This made up around 15.5 per cent of his total gross remuneration. 

 

Benefits-in-kind, which formed 1 per cent of Loh&rsquo s pay, rose to S$75,553 from S$57,256 &ndash up nearly 32 per cent or S$18,297. These include medical, dental and group insurances and are &ldquo comparable with local market practices&rdquo , the report stated. 

 

On Aug 8, the SGX posted its highest ever full-year top-line and bottom-line results since its listing. This was despite a 2.6 per cent decline in earnings for the second half of the year.

 

Its net profit rose 8.4 per cent from S$597.9 million in FY2024 to nearly S$648 million in FY2025. In tandem, its operating revenue for the full-year climbed 11.3 per cent to S$1.37 billion, from S$1.23 billion. 

 

The board proposed a final quarterly dividend of S$0.105 a share, up from S$0.09 previously, payable on Oct 27 after approval at the company&rsquo s annual general meeting. If approved, it will bring the total dividends for FY2025 to S$0.375, translating to an annualised increase of 8.7 per cent.