SINGAPORE - Transport company ComfortDelGro has been dropped from Singapore's Straits Times Index (STI) and replaced by recently listed Emperador in the September review of the benchmark index.
The change to the STI, which tracks the performance of the 30 largest and most liquid companies listed on the Singapore Exchange (SGX), will take effect on Sept 19, index administrator FTSE Russell said in a statement on Thursday.
Shares of Emperador jumped after the news and were up two cents or 4 per cent at 51.5 cents at the midday trading break on Friday. ComfortDelGro shares were down three cents or 2.1 per cent to $1.37.
FTSE Russell partners SGX and SPH Media Trust, which publishes The Straits Times and The Business Times, to jointly calculate Singapore's main stock market benchmark.
Emperador, which came to market in Singapore in July, is the first Philippine Stock Exchange-listed company to conduct a secondary listing on the SGX. It is the biggest whisky company in the Philippines, carrying single malt brands like The Dalmore and Jura.
It is also the largest brandy company in the world and a subsidiary of Filipino billionaire Andrew Tan's Alliance Global Group.
The stock has gained around 15 per cent since listing and closed on Thursday at 49.5 cents per share. At this level, it has a market capitalisation of around $8 billion.
Meanwhile, ComfortDelgro's stock closed at $1.40 on Thursday, down 15 per cent from its 52-week high. It had the smallest market capitalisation on the STI of just over $3 billion before its removal from the index.
Companies gain entry into the STI at quarterly reviews if they rank 20th or higher among eligible securities by full market capitalisation. Those that rank 41st or below among all eligible securities are deleted from the list.
The STI reserve list comprises the five highest-ranking non-constituents of the STI by market capitalisation, namely Olam Group, Suntec Reit, Keppel Reit, Frasers Centrepoint Trust and Ascott Residence Trust.
Stocks on the reserve list will replace any constituents that become ineligible as a result of corporate actions before the next review, which will take place in December.
