SINGAPORE - The information technology sector is well ahead of the pack on the Singapore Exchange (SGX) this year, the bourse said on Wednesday (Aug 2).
The sector, which comprises about one-tenth of Singapore-listed stocks, was the Republic's best-performing in July - with a 5.3 per cent total return as weighed by market capitalisation.
Over the first seven months of 2017, the sector's indicative return came to 47.7 per cent. By comparison the Straits Times Index (STI) generated a total return of 17.6 per cent over the same period.
The IT sector's return was also was about 10 percentage points higher than the next best-performing segment - the materials industry - and nearly twice as much as property and banks.
The majority of tech stocks here are associated with hardware manufacturing, the SGX said in its "My Gateway" update.
But it added: "While semi-conductors and technology hardware manufacturing are traditional strongholds of Singapore, they form a foundation as disruptive technologies proliferate."
The growth of the sector's market capitalisation weighted total return came on the back of electronics provider Venture's performance as the sector's largest capitalised stock.
It has a market capitalisation of S$3.7 billion and a return of 38.6 per cent in the year to date.
Meanwhile, contract manufacturer Hi-P International has led for total return so far, at 101 per cent, with a market cap of S$822 million. Its share price has doubled since the beginning of 2017.
Over the last seven months, net institutional inflow into the IT sector totalled $65.2 million, which was the third highest after financial stocks at S$2.2 billion, and property at S$300.9 million.
In addition to tech stocks, there are a number of stocks that have IT exposure - two examples include two of July's debutants - NetLink NBN Trust and Y Ventures Group.
