Could This Be the New Singapore 50-Stock Index?

When the government appointed a minister to chair MAS’s Strengthen Equities Market Development Review Group, it was a clear signal: they meant business.

Over the past year, we’ve seen a series of progressive policies rolled out. One of the most impactful was the S$5 billion co-investment initiative with fund managers focused on Singapore stocks.

The market has responded positively — the Straits Times Index (STI) is up 30% over the past year. Investors are betting that Singapore equities are staging a comeback.

And the momentum continues. Just last week, Minister Chee Hong Tat announced a new index will be launched to track the next tier of large and liquid companies beyond the STI.

Singapore Mid-Caps: The Missing Middle

Most investors may not realise this, but Singapore already has a mid-cap index — the FTSE ST Mid Cap Index. Unfortunately, it suffers from poor visibility and lacks marketing support. Even finding its full list of constituents is difficult. FTSE only discloses the top 10 holdings — which ironically include STI components like YZJ Shipbuilding, Seatrium, Mapletree Industrial Trust, Keppel DC REIT, and Genting.

There are also no ETFs or unit trusts that specifically target this mid-cap segment. This reflects the broader issue — Singapore’s market has long been centered on blue chips, and the Review Group wants to change that by broadening investor participation.

A Likely iEdge Index

It’s plausible that this new index will be launched by iEdge, SGX’s own indexing service. Many investors may not know that SGX already has iEdge-branded indices — including the CSOP iEdge S-REIT Leaders ETF and the CSOP iEdge Southeast Asia+ TECH ETF.

Since FTSE already has a mid-cap index, it makes sense for SGX to use its in-house iEdge branding to launch an alternative version — hopefully one that is better marketed and eventually tracked by an ETF.

Right now, there is no convenient product for retail investors to access mid-caps — only individual stock-picking.

Why This Index Matters

This new index could act like a “focus list” for the Review Group — the very stocks they want to boost liquidity in. It’s likely that fund managers participating in the EQDP (Equity Market Development) scheme will buy stocks from this list.

That means retail investors will also want to buy these stocks before institutional demand drives them higher. It becomes a classic Keynesian beauty contest — buying what you think others will buy.

In short, the index itself becomes a catalyst. It builds investor interest, attracts fund flows, and contributes to the broader goal of rejuvenating the Singapore market.

We’ll get the official details on 22 September 2025. But until then, let me offer a speculative preview — just for fun.

My Screening Criteria (Unofficial Guess)

To create a rough version of this potential index, I used the following criteria:

• Ex-STI stocks: By capping market cap at S$4.7 billion, I avoid STI components. I also set the lower bound at S$380 million (initially S$500M) to include slightly smaller but still investible names.
• Float: At least 20% public float — sufficient liquidity and alignment with SGX’s minimum listing requirements (10%).
• Liquidity: Minimum average daily trading value of S$1 million over the past 3 months.

The 50-Stock Mid Cap Index (Unofficial)

Here are the 50 stocks that passed my screen. These are all reasonably sized, liquid, and fundamentally significant businesses in Singapore — yet they sit just outside the STI spotlight.

No.	Stock	Ticker	Market Cap (SGD)	Industry
1	Golden Agri-Resources	E5H	4.125B	Food Products
2	Yangzijiang Financial	YF8	4.041B	Capital Markets
3	Venture Corporation	V03	3.951B	Electronic Equipment, Instruments & Components
4	Suntec Real Estate Investment Trust	T82U	3.945B	Diversified REITs
5	Keppel REIT	K71U	3.932B	Office REITs
6	Olam Group	VC2	3.887B	Consumer Staples Distribution & Retail
7	NetLink NBN Trust	CJLU	3.686B	Diversified Telecommunication Services
8	Frasers Logistics & Commercial Trust	BUOU	3.592B	Industrial REITs
9	SIA Engineering Company	S59	3.506B	Transportation Infrastructure
10	CapitaLand Ascott Trust	HMN	3.503B	Hotel & Resort REITs
11	ComfortDelGro	C52	3.210B	Ground Transportation
12	Haw Par Corporation	H02	3.184B	Pharmaceuticals
13	Sheng Siong Group	OV8	3.145B	Consumer Staples Distribution & Retail
14	Parkway Life Real Estate Investment Trust	C2PU	2.814B	Health Care REITs
15	Keppel Infrastructure Trust	A7RU	2.771B	Chemicals
16	iFAST Corporation	AIY	2.669B	Capital Markets
17	First Resources	EB5	2.605B	Food Products
18	UOB-Kay Hian	U10	2.555B	Capital Markets
19	Hutchison Port Holdings Trust	NS8U	2.346B	Transportation Infrastructure
20	ESR-REIT	9A4U	2.341B	Industrial REITs
21	StarHub	CC3	1.948B	Wireless Telecommunication Services
22	Raffles Medical Group	BSL	1.867B	Healthcare Providers & Services
23	Hong Leong Asia	H22	1.820B	Machinery
24	PropNex	OYY	1.755B	Real Estate Management & Development
25	Lendlease Global Commercial REIT	JYEU	1.567B	Retail REITs
26	CapitaLand India Trust	CY6U	1.558B	Real Estate Management & Development
27	Yanlord Land Group	Z25	1.537B	Real Estate Management & Development
28	Centurion Corporation	OU8	1.464B	Real Estate Management & Development
29	CapitaLand China Trust	AU8U	1.393B	Retail REITs
30	Food Empire Holdings	F03	1.373B	Food Products
31	Frasers Hospitality Trust	ACV	1.369B	Hotel & Resort REITs
32	NTT DC REIT	NTDU	1.262B	Specialized REITs
33	China Aviation Oil (Singapore) Corporation	G92	1.222B	Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels
34	Riverstone Holdings	AP4	1.164B	Healthcare Equipment & Supplies
35	AIMS APAC REIT	O5RU	1.136B	Industrial REITs
36	CDL Hospitality Trusts	J85	1.047B	Hotel & Resort REITs
37	Singapore Post	S08	980.13M	Air Freight & Logistics
38	UMS Integration	558	960.03M	Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment
39	Digital Core REIT	DCRU	869.58M	Specialized REITs
40	Boustead Singapore	F9D	836.46M	Construction & Engineering
41	Wee Hur Holdings	E3B	717.62M	Construction & Engineering
42	Geo Energy Resources	RE4	613.45M	Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels
43	Frencken Group	E28	606.98M	Machinery
44	Samudera Shipping Line	S56	538.49M	Marine Transportation
45	Nanofilm Technologies International	MZH	528.36M	Chemicals
46	CSE Global	544	522.86M	IT Services
47	AEM Holdings	AWX	488.97M	Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment
48	Oiltek International	HQU	455.12M	Construction & Engineering
49	LHN	41O	449.16M	Real Estate Management & Development
50	CNMC Goldmine Holdings	5TP	395.49M	Metals & Mining

Singapore Bull Run Continues

This is just my estimate — the actual index will likely differ. And of course, active fund managers will apply further filters based on fundamentals and valuation.

Still, the broader picture is clear. With more policies in the pipeline and institutional capital flowing in, Singapore stocks may have more legs to run.

The creation of a new mid-cap index — and hopefully a corresponding ETF — could be a game-changer for investors seeking broader exposure beyond blue chips.

Let’s watch closely on 22 September.

p.s. if you want to learn how to analyse and find the best stocks to buy, Alvin shares our strategy at this live webinar.