Get Smart: Who’s Carrying the STI Higher? (Hint: Not the Banks)

The Smart Investor11-02

Singapore’s Straits Times Index (SGX: STI) has risen 16.7% as of last Friday. But here’s the thing: it’s not the banks doing the heavy lifting. Let me explain the STI’s weight problem. This isn’t ...

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(Hint: Not the Banks)","media":"The Smart Investor","content":"<div>\n<p>Singapore’s Straits Times Index (SGX: STI) has risen 16.7% as of last Friday.\n\nBut here’s the thing: it’s not the banks doing the heavy lifting.\n\nLet me explain the STI’s weight problem. \n\nThis isn’t ...</p>\n\n<a href=\"https://thesmartinvestor.com.sg/get-smart-whos-carrying-the-sti-higher-hint-not-the-banks/\">Source Link</a>\n\n</div>\n","source":"thesmartinvestor_highlight","html":"<!DOCTYPE html>\n<html>\n<head>\n<meta http-equiv=\"Content-Type\" content=\"text/html; charset=utf-8\" />\n<meta name=\"viewport\" content=\"width=device-width,initial-scale=1.0,minimum-scale=1.0,maximum-scale=1.0,user-scalable=no\"/>\n<meta name=\"format-detection\" content=\"telephone=no,email=no,address=no\" />\n<title>Get Smart: Who’s Carrying the STI Higher? 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(Hint: Not the Banks)\n</h2>\n\n<h4 class=\"meta\">\n\n\n2025-11-02 11:30 GMT+8&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href=https://thesmartinvestor.com.sg/get-smart-whos-carrying-the-sti-higher-hint-not-the-banks/><strong>The Smart Investor</strong></a>\n\n\n</h4>\n\n</header>\n<article>\n<div>\n<p>Singapore’s Straits Times Index (SGX: STI) has risen 16.7% as of last Friday.\n\nBut here’s the thing: it’s not the banks doing the heavy lifting.\n\nLet me explain the STI’s weight problem. \n\nThis isn’t ...</p>\n\n<a href=\"https://thesmartinvestor.com.sg/get-smart-whos-carrying-the-sti-higher-hint-not-the-banks/\">Source Link</a>\n\n</div>\n\n\n</article>\n</div>\n</body>\n</html>\n","isBrief":false,"type":0,"news_type":1,"symbol":"RJAW.SI","symbol_name":"DBS MB ePW240902","start_time":0,"source_url":"https://thesmartinvestor.com.sg/get-smart-whos-carrying-the-sti-higher-hint-not-the-banks/","article_id":"2580067464","we_media_id":null,"thumbnails":["https://thesmartinvestor.com.sg/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Stock-market-Indices-and-pen-300x200.png"],"rights":{"source":"thesmartinvestor_highlight","url":"https://thesmartinvestor.com.sg/get-smart-whos-carrying-the-sti-higher-hint-not-the-banks/","rn_cache_url":null,"directOrigin":true},"url":"https://stock-news.laohu8.com/highlight/detail?id=2580067464","pubTimestamp":1762054200,"columns":[],"sourceInfo":{"source_id":"thesmartinvestor_highlight","name":"The Smart Investor"},"weMediaInfo":null,"summary":"Singapore’s Straits Times Index (SGX: STI) has a weight problem: three banks control half the index, but growth may have to come from somewhere else.","collect":0,"end_time":0,"defaultTopTitle":"thesmartinvestor.com.sg","property":[],"viewcount":null,"language":"en","relate_stocks":{"RJAW.SI":"DBS MB ePW240902","LU2293587155.HKD":"ALLIANZ ORIENTAL INCOME \"AT\" (HKD) ACC","LU1242518931.SGD":"Fullerton Lux Funds - 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Cut dividends. \n\nOCBC shares have barely budged year-to-date (YTD).\n\nUOB shares, on the other hand, have slipped by 5% over the same period. \n\nIn contrast, DBS shares are up by over 21% YTD. \n\nBut here’s the rub: at 2.2 times book value, DBS is priced at a premium. \n\nA lot rests on its ability to maintain or grow dividends.\n\nThen, there’s Singtel. \n\nThe good news is shares are up almost 40% YTD, buoyed by its Singtel28 transformation plan.\n\nHowever, the telco’s Australian subsidiary Optus just suffered two network outages in two weeks, knocking out emergency phone lines. \n\nThe challenge? Optus generates half of Singtel’s revenue. \n\nThis isn’t a speed bump — it’s a potential roadblock to the telco’s transformation plans.\n\nIf you are keeping score, nearly 60% of your index is stuck in neutral. \n\nWhich raises the obvious question: if the heavyweights aren’t carrying the load, who is?\n\nThe 16.7% Solution\nIronically, the answer could come from the same number as the STI’s YTD gain: 16.7% \n\nReal estate, which includes real estate investment trusts (REITs) and property developers, contribute 16.7% of the index, but are positioned to do the heavy lifting.\n\nIn particular, after two years of getting hammered by rising rates, REITs are finally catching a break. \n\nAlready, CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust (SGX: C38U), Frasers Centrepoint Trust (SGX: J69U), and STI newcomer Keppel DC REIT (SGX: AJBU) have raised their distributions this year. \n\n\nThen, last Friday, Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust (SGX: N2IU) delivered its first distribution per unit increase (DPU) in six quarters, reversing a downtrend.   \n\nThis is real money in your pocket.\n\nThe secret? Patience. \n\nInterest rate cuts won’t instantly boost REIT profits. \n\nThe real gains kick in when REITs refinance their existing debt at lower rates. \n\nThat takes quarters, not weeks. \n\nThe Bold Dividend Players\nDon’t overlook Singapore Exchange (SGX: S68) and Singapore Technologies Engineering (SGX: S63), which account for 3.4% and 3.2% of the STI respectively.\n\nWhat makes them different? They’re making bold projections.\n\nSGX is targeting annual dividends of S$0.525 by FY2028, up from S$0.375 in FY2025. \n\nThat’s a 40% increase over three years.\n\nST Engineering has forecast a 6% year-on-year dividend increase for 2025, followed by incremental increases equal to one-third of profit gains from 2026 onwards.\n\nThese aren’t hopes. \n\nThey’re public declarations.\n\nGet Smart: Dividends while you wait\nThe math is simple. \n\nSixty percent of the STI is fighting gravity at the moment. \n\nBut the rest of the index is doing the heavy lifting. \n\nWhile banks bleed from rate cuts and Singtel deals with Optus, REITs are refinancing, SGX is raising dividends 40%, and ST Engineering is sharing profit gains. \n\nEven if share prices go nowhere for months, you’re collecting dividends. \n\nAnd yes, that includes the banks. \n\nThe real victory is not trying to guess where the STI is headed next — it’s coming from the stocks that pay you to wait.\n\nWish you could overhear how experienced investors think? That’s what Get Smart feels like. Reading calm, thoughtful commentary from people who study the markets closely and care about growing wealth sensibly. Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter for free now!\n\nFollow us on Facebook, Instagram and Telegram for the latest investing news and analyses!\n\nDisclosure: Chin Hui Leong owns shares of CapitaLand Ascendas REIT, CICT, DBS, OCBC, SGX, and UOB.","kind":"highlight","is_publish_news":true,"is_publish_highlight":false,"is_publish_live":false,"is_publish_wemedia":null,"editions":null,"column":"","sentiment":"0","news_tag":"","news_rank":0,"symbols":[],"gpt_button":0,"need_auth":false,"code":"91000000","status":"200"},"commentList":[],"isCommentEnd":true,"newsSizeData":{"likeSize":1,"commentSize":0,"repostSize":0,"favoriteSize":1,"likeStatus":false,"favoriteStatus":false},"APP":{"userAgent":"Mozilla/5.0 AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko; compatible; ClaudeBot/1.0; +claudebot@anthropic.com)","isDev":false,"isTTM":true,"deviceId":"web-server-community-laohu8-v3","version":"4.35.9","shortVersion":"4.35.9","platform":"web","vendor":"web","appName":"ttm","isIOS":false,"isAndroid":false,"isTiger":false,"isTHS":false,"isWeiXin":false,"isWeiXinMini":false,"isWeiBo":false,"isQQ":false,"isBaiduSwan":false,"isBaiduBox":false,"isDingTalk":false,"isToutiao":false,"isOnePlus":false,"isHuaWei":false,"isXiaomi":false,"isXiaomiWebView":false,"isOppo":false,"isVivo":false,"isSamsung":false,"isMobile":false},"href":"/m/news/2580067464","isCrawlerRequest":true}