SINGAPORE - Sembcorp Industries, which has outperformed the broader market, will be included in the MSCI Singapore Index with effect from Sept 1, 2023.
The index is designed to measure the performance of the large- and mid-capitalisation segments of the Singapore market.
Sembcorp will make up one of 22 constituents of the index, which covers approximately 85 per cent of the free float-adjusted market capitalisation of the Singapore equity market, the company announced on Friday.
The inclusion follows a steady climb in Sembcorp’s stock price over the past three months, taking its market value past the $10 billion mark this week.
The stock closed 0.7 per cent higher at $5.91 on Friday, and is up 72 per cent since January.
One reason for Sembcorp’s price rise is its hiving off of Sembcorp Marine following its merger with Keppel Offshore & Marine to become Seatrium.
Sembcorp Marine had been seen as a drag on Sembcorp’s performance and earnings.
Sembcorp, which positions itself as an established pan-Asian energy player, is already a constituent of the 30-stock benchmark Straits Times Index (STI).
The counter has been the STI’s strongest performer in 2023, with a 77 per cent total return through Thursday.
Sembcorp has also averaged $23 million in average daily trading turnover, compared with $14 million in 2022.
It booked the most net institutional inflow in the local market in 2023, with $157.7 million of net inflow as at Thursday.
The stock accelerated northwards in recent weeks after the company announced a 56 per cent rise in net profit to $608 million, after accounting for the disposal of its Indian coal business and one-off gains, for the six months ended June 30, on a continuing operations basis.
