Chew, who heads the research team at the brokerage, laments that he is still hearing people say they prefer to invest in Hong Kong stocks, which have indeed started picking up, but after Singapore left the blocks. Regardless, investors of Singapore stocks should be cognisant of a big push by a particular party. “I want it up; I put money in the stock market; I subsidise investors; I subsidise listings; I fund research reports,” says Chew, channelling what this party is thinking and doing.
As recently as just six months ago, the Singapore market, especially for small- and mid-cap stocks, was in a multi-year lacklustre phase. The large caps were starting to gain more attention, but investors’ interest towards smaller companies remains lukewarm at best, despite many of them offering plenty of value. However, trading at value is not enough because, without liquidity, the value of a stock, perceived or otherwise, will languish.
As markets head into the final quarter of what has been dubbed by many as a roller coaster year, the mood is decidedly different. “We are getting that value because there’s a lot of liquidity coming up — so follow the money. If you want to invest, you need to follow the money. You need to catch the flow,” says Paul Chew of PhillipCapital.
