The FTSE ST Catalist index - comprising fast-growing companies listed on the Singapore Exchange's (SGX) junior board - will be beefed up substantially come Sept 21 with the addition of 14 stocks.

They are Polaris, IX Biopharma, GCCP Resources, Singapore O&G, Soo Kee Group, Choo Chiang Holdings, LHN, NauticAWT, Imperium Crown, CMC Infocomm, LionGold Corp, Sinjia Land, Metech International and Joyas International Holdings.

The 14 new counters have a combined market capitalisation of $1 billion, according to an SGX My Gateway report yesterday.

This will bring the total number of stocks listed on the index to 161 - up from 147 - and boost the combined full market value by 12.7 per cent to $8.9 billion, based on figures as at Wednesday.

The report also noted that nine of the 14 entrants were listed this year, including jeweller Soo Kee Group, which launched its initial public offering (IPO) on the Catalist board last month, and healthcare firm Singapore O&G, which went public in June.

The quotation, trading and settlement of a stock listed on the Catalist board is identical to that of a stock listed on the main board.

The report also said that half of the 14 new entrants - IX Biopharma, LHN, Imperium Crown, CMC Infocomm, Sinjia Land, Metech International and Joyas International Holdings - had logged 12-month lows in August.

But as at Wednesday, they were, on average, 22.1 per cent above those lows .

The five most actively traded stocks in the last three months were LionGold Corp, Joyas International Holdings, Polaris, Soo Kee Group and Singapore O&G.

Remisier Desmond Leong said that with the new additions, the index should paint a more accurate picture of how the penny stocks are doing as a whole.

"It could also raise the profile of these 14 stocks in the short term, which for them spells positive news," he added.