• The 20 stocks that have seen the highest net institutional inflows in the 2021 year to 3 Dec with combined net buying of S$2.8 billion, averaged 32% total returns for the 48 weeks, with 17 of the 20 stocks outpacing the STI’s 13% total return and 19 stocks outpacing the FTSE Asia Pacific Index 3% total return.
   
• Of the 20 stocks’ S$2.8 billion in net buying, more than S$400 million was contributed since 30 Sep, with 11 of the 20 stocks recording net institutional inflows over the nine weeks, led by UOB, DBS and AEM. On 3 Dec, AEM formed a fresh high of S$5.29, which has brought its 2021 to 3 Dec total return to 55%.  
   
• The 20 stocks also spanned stocks that represented some of the stronger global stock industries over the 48 weeks, such as Banks, Industrial REITs, Agriculture and Semiconductors, in addition to stocks that have continued their pursuit of strategic restructures over the year such as SPH, Sembcorp Industries and CapitaLand Invest.

After ending 2020 near the 2,850 level, the STI trended higher throughout the year, forming a high above 3,250 on 9 Nov, before the emergence of the Omicron variant on 26 Nov weighed stock benchmarks across the world, bringing the STI to its current level near 3,100. That represents a 13% total return for the year and compares to a 3% again for the FTSE Asia Pacific Index.

More than 300 Singapore-listed stocks have been recipient to net institutional inflows in the 2021 year through to 3 Dec. The 20 stocks that saw the highest net institutional buying over the 48 weeks, led by DBS Group Holdings, United Overseas Bank and Singapore Press Holdings made up 75% of the combined net institutional inflows of these 300 stocks.

These 20 stocks averaged 32% total returns for the 48 weeks, with 17 of the 20 stocks outpacing the STI’s 13% total return and 19 stocks outpacing the FTSE Asia Pacific Index 3% total return. The 20 stocks and their respective net institutional inflows for the 2021 year to 3 Dec, in addition to net institutional inflows/outflows since 30 Sep are tabled below.   

 Source: SGX, Refinitiv, Bloomberg (Data as of 3 Dec 2021)

The 20 stocks tabled above span stocks that represented some of the stronger global stock industries over the 48 weeks, such as Banks, Industrial REITs, Agriculture and Semiconductors, in addition to stocks that have continued their pursuit of strategic restructures over the year.

Overall, the Singapore stock market saw S$1.5 billion in net institutional outflow for the 48 weeks, led by S$1.1 billion of net institutional outflows in Singapore Airlines, Thai Beverage PCL and City Developments. Like their regional and global peers, the trio were adversely impacted by COVID-constrained growth in 2021, averaging a 2% decline in total return in the 2021 year to 3 Dec. The MAS Monetary Policy Statement in October estimated that some improvement in conditions in the domestic-oriented and travel-related clusters are expected as Singapore transitions in a progressive but calibrated manner towards managing COVID-19 as an endemic norm. At the same time, operators in the tourism and hospitality sector have also noted they are cautiously optimistic that business environments will gradually improve with further lifting of travel restrictions. For the Omicron Variant, the Chair of the Federal Reserve succinctly noted last week that the economic concerns were ‘really about transmissibility, about the ability of the existing vaccines to address any new variant, and it’s about the severity of the disease once it is contracted’, adding that he has been told by experts, that (he and we) will know quite a bit about those answers within about a month.