The information technology sector was the best performer on the Singapore Exchange (SGX) for the first seven months of the year, with a total return of 29.8 per cent.

But July was not so stellar, with a total return of 1.3 per cent and a net outflow of $57.6 million, according to the SGX yesterday.

The five largest IT plays with the highest dividend indicated yields are CSE Global at 6.5 per cent, Sunningdale Tech at 6.2 per cent, Venture Corp at 6.1 per cent, GP Industries at 6.1 per cent and UMS Holdings at 5.8 per cent.

Indicated yield is the dividend yield on a stock if its most recent dividend is annualised.

These five stocks average an indicated yield of 6.1 per cent compared with the Straits Times Index's yield of about 4 per cent.

The 20 largest IT stocks on the SGX have a combined market capitalisation of $15 billion, with an average dividend indicated yield of 3.8 per cent and price-to-earnings ratio of 14.1 times.

The total return so far this year is 24 per cent.

Venture Corp has the highest market cap at $4.39 billion.

The top institutional net buy stocks for the IT sector last month were NetLink NBN Trust with total inflows of $32.5 million, and AEM Holdings on $12.7 million. "Selected companies within Singapore's tech sector are still able to maintain growth... driven by either a diverse customer base or niche product offerings," noted SGX.