The Straits Times Index (STI) hit a new high of 4047 points on 8 Jul 2025 as Singapore draws investors seeking safe havens and undervalued plays. The STI has advanced about 6.5% this year to date, slightly outperforming the S&P 500, which is up by around 6%. Taking into account dividends and the strengthening SGD, the STI has outperformed by a slightly wider margin.
| Stock | Ticker (SGX) | 1-year performance | P/E | P/B | Market Cap ($’m) |
| Hong Leong Asia | H22 | 170% | 14x | 1.2x | $1,200 m |
| Fraser and Neave Ltd (F&N) | F99 | 28% | 13x | 0.6x | $1,940 m |
| Sheng Siong | OV8 | 35% | 21x | 5.3x | $3,020 m |
| Huationg Global | 41B | 146% | 3x | 0.5x | $52 m |
| Singapore Exchange | S68 | 61% | 26x | 8x | $16,660 m |
This is also a near 20% gain from the intra day low of 3372 points on 9 April after Trump’s liberation day announcement.
Based on our records, we observed that 160 Singapore stocks have gained over 20% in the last 12 months and have found 5 that we think are still cheap.
1) Hong Leong Asia (SGX: H22)
HLA has core businesses in Building Materials and Powertrain Solutions.
It designs, manufactures, and sells diesel engines and related products, as well as supplies building materials for the regional construction industry.
The PowerTrain segment includes the design, manufacture, and sale of heavy-to-light duty engines, with its NYSE-listed subsidiary China Yuchai (NYSE:CYD) being a key player. HLA has a 48.7% stake in China Yuchai which is worth about US$450 million, nearly half of HLA’s market capitalisation.
HLA’s share price has increased by 25% in the month since we last featured the construction sector here.
2) Fraser & Neave Ltd (SGX:F99)
Fraser & Neave (F&N) is a prominent food and beverage and publishing and printing conglomerate with 4 operating segments, namely beverages, dairies, printing & publishing and others.
The beverages segment includes well-known brands such as 100 Plus, Nutri Soy, Ice Mountain, F&N, Sunkist and Chang Beer.
The dairies segment — best known for its Magnolia range of product — is the biggest segment both in terms of revenue and profit contribution. It has benefited from a favourable cost environment and operational efficiencies across key markets, including Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. It’s strong record profit growth was also enabled by its investment in Vinamilk, Vietnam’s largest dairy company.
F&N plans to continue to increase its stake in Vinamilk, continuing its long-term strategy of expanding in Vietnam’s consumer goods sector and benefiting from substantial dividend payouts from Vinamilk.
F&N has also outperformed one of its well known peer Yeo Hiap Seng (SGX:Y03), a drink manufacturer known for the Yeo’s brand of beverages and whose share price has increased only 3% in the past year. We think this is mainly because F&N’s revenue has increased 18% over the past 5 years to $2,162 million, while Yeo’s has fallen 15% to $73 million.
F&N’s parent companies, Thai Beverage (SGX:Y92) and TCC carried out a share swap in 2024 which has enabled F&N to gain operational synergies with Thai Beverage as well as leave the door open for a potential delisting play.
3) Sheng Siong (SGX:OV8)
Sheng Siong is one of the major supermarket player in Singapore, with 77 stores across the island.
The retailer sells a wide variety of “wet” and “dry” products, including live and chilled produce along with general household items such as toiletries, and daily necessities.
Since we last mentioned the stock as a potential beneficiary of MAS’s EQDP, Sheng Siong’s share price has increased by 7%. It has also gained 20% over the past quarter since DFI Retail (SGX:D01) announced that it was selling Cold Storage and Giant, potentially signifying that the renewed competition would not be a significant concern.
4) Huationg Global (SGX:41B)
Huationg is another construction play with four business segments – Civil engineering, Inland logistics, Sales of construction materials and Dormitory management.
The biggest segment, which accounts for nearly 75% of revenue and 50% of profits, is the Civil engineering contract works segment which includes construction projects on earthworks, infrastructure works, external works, demolition and excavation works, drainage works and road diversion.
Inland logistics support accounts for 7% of revenue and includes rental of construction equipment including tipper trucks, compactors and excavators.
Sales of construction materials accounts for another 7% of revenue and includes the supplies of liquefied soil stabiliser, as well as other construction related equipment and consumables.
Lastly, its Dormitory maintenance and operation business contributes 11% of revenue and 30% of profits.
Huationg has a net cash position of $54 million, higher than its current market capitalisation, which makes it a net-net stock. It also currently trades at a low P/B of 0.5 times and P/E of 3 times.
5) Singapore Exchange (SGX:S68)
A rising tide lifts all boats—starting with the bourse. SGX’s recent trading volumes have increased and there are more than a handful of IPOs in the pipeline, much more than in recent years.
Securities daily average value (SDAV) rose 6% YoY in May, as trading activity picks up across the market.
SGX has also been actively diversifying into the derivatives market to offset declines in its cash equities business and generate new revenue streams. This diversification includes expanding its offerings in equity index derivatives, currencies, and fixed income products.
The growth of SGX’s derivatives business has been significant, with notable increases in average daily traded volume and open interest. This should give SGX a competitive advantage as a deeply liquid risk management venue.
Derivatives daily average volume (DDAV) rose 11% YoY in May to 1.3 million contracts, with total derivatives traded volume up 6% YoY at 25.4 million contracts on the back of heightened institutional risk management.
Closing statements
These 5 stocks are across sectors ranging from construction, consumer staples and the bourse itself and have risen between 28% and 170% over the last 1 year. However, valuations are not lofty, especially for Hong Leong Asia, F&N and Huationg.
Often a stock simply moves according to a short-term trend, also known as a momentum play. This means that eventually there could be a mean reversion. However in this case, we believe that the stocks mentioned above not only continue to exhibit continued momentum, but they also remain fundamentally attractive.
Dr Wealth and SGX Academy are co-hosting a physical seminar to mark the Straits Times Index (STI) crossing the 4,000 milestone. While some may see this as a market peak, Alvin believes it’s just the beginning, especially with STI’s attractive 4.3% dividend yield and a decade-long lag in price growth relative to fundamentals. The event will also feature Christopher Ng, who retired at 39 though dividend investing. He’ll share how he built his income portfolio — and how you can do the same. Register here!
