Against regional peers, the STI’s outperformance is even more striking: +21.7% points ahead of Malaysia’s KLCI, +17% points ahead of Indonesia’s JCI and +51.9% points ahead of Thailand’s SET. Yet, the true state of Singapore’s capital markets is more nuanced. While the flagship index surges, the wider market is steadily being hollowed out and diminishing in breadth, dynamism and relevance.
Singapore’s stock market is delivering impressive index-level returns. But behind the numbers lies a shrinking universe of listed companies, lacklustre IPO activity and an exodus of growth start-ups and businesses. For board directors and senior executives, the contradiction isn’t just academic. It frames the future direction of the city-state’s capital markets and status as a leading financial hub.
Over the past two years, the Straits Times Index (STI) has risen 31.7%, outperforming many global and regional peers. Only the S&P500 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index (HSI) eclipsed the STI, a respectable performance considering that HK’s financial markets dwarf Singapore across all metrics: 8 times larger market capitalisation, 4.4 times more firms and 30.2 times higher daily trading volume.
