Singapore Stock Market Update :

What is STI ETF ?

STI ETF is short for Straits Times Index Exchange Traded Fund and it is managed by State Street Global Advisors (SSgA). It has been listed on SGX since 17 April 2002. The benchmark for STI ETF is Singapore’s Straits Times Index (STI). The Fund's investment objective is to replicate as closely as possible, before expenses, the performance of the STI.

The price of each share for STI ETF is approximately 1/1000th of the STI. If the STI is at 1700 points, then STI ETF will be 1700/1000 = S$1.70. Usually the price of STI ETF will not match STI exactly since the portfolio does not match STI component stocks 100% but it is close enough to mirror STI overall performance.

STI ETF can be traded like a stock.on the Singapore Stock Exchange and it also pays out dividend, usually twice a year. The following are some of the recent corporate actions related to dividend and stock split for STI ETF (source : SGX):

DIVIDEND 22 Jan 2009 28 Jan 2009 6 Feb 2009 SGD 0.04 ONE-TIER TAX

DIVIDEND 22 Jan 2009 28 Jan 2009 6 Feb 2009 SGD 0.01 TAX EXEMPT

DIVIDEND 22 Jul 2008 24 Jul 2008 4 Aug 2008 SGD 0.0176 NET OF TAX

DIVIDEND 22 Jul 2008 24 Jul 2008 4 Aug 2008 SGD 0.0424 ONE-TIER TAX

DIVIDEND 24 Jan 2008 28 Jan 2008 6 Feb 2008 SGD 0.0547 ONE-TIER TAX

DIVIDEND 24 Jan 2008 28 Jan 2008 6 Feb 2008 SGD 0.0053 NET OF TAX

ENTITL. 10 Jan 2008 14 Jan 2008 STOCK SPLIT OFFER OF 10 FOR 1

DIVIDEND 20 Jul 2007 24 Jul 2007 2 Aug 2007 SGD 0.2 NET OF TAX

DIVIDEND 20 Jul 2007 24 Jul 2007 2 Aug 2007 SGD 0.25 TAX EXEMPT

DIVIDEND 20 Jul 2007 24 Jul 2007 2 Aug 2007 SGD 0.05

DIVIDEND 18 Jan 2007 22 Jan 2007 1 Feb 2007 SGD 0.28

DIVIDEND 18 Jan 2007 22 Jan 2007 1 Feb 2007 SGD 0.22 NET OF TAX

For 1H09, STI ETF will pay out 5 cents dividend, which works out to be about 5.78% dividend yield assuming the stock price is about S$1.73 and it also pays 5 cents in 2H09. In 2008, STI ETF paid 12 cents dividend for the full year.

The following are component stocks of STI ETF in January 2009 (source : www.streettracks.com.sg)

Kepcorp, Jard C&C, City, Capland, Capmall, SIA, Starhub, DBS, Golden Agri, Wilmar, Cosco, F&N, Genting, HKLand, JMH US$, JSH US$, Keplan, NOL, Noble, Olam, OCBC, SembMarine, SIE, ST Engg, SGx, SPH, UOB, Sembcorp, YLLG

The following is the fund profile for STI ETF as at 23 January 2009 :

NAV per share : S$1.70

Investment Objective :
streetTRACKS STI's investment objective is to provide investment results that closely correspond to the performance of the Straits Times Index.

Trading :
You can buy or sell shares of streetTRACKS STI just like any other share listed on SGX-ST any time during the trading day through your broker or any online dealing facility.

Use of CPF Funds :
streetTRACKS STI is included in CPF Investment Scheme - Ordinary Account. CPF members are allowed to invest up to 100% of their CPF savings in streetTRACKS STI, compared to only 35% for other Singaporean stocks listed on SGX-ST.

Manager :
The Manager of streetTRACKS STI is State Street Global Advisors Singapore Limited, part of the State Street Global Advisors (SSgA) group, one of the largest investment managers in the world with over US$2.0 trillion under management (30 September 2008).

Trustee :
The Trustee of streetTRACKS STI is DBS Trustee Limited, a wholly-owned subsidary of the Development Bank of Singapore (DBS).

Benchmark :
The Straits Times Index.

Board Lots :
A board lot is 1000 units.

Price of each share :
Approximately 1/1000th of the Straits Times Index.

Total Annual Costs (Expense Ratio)* :
0.3% per annum.

Dividends :
Investors can expect to receive dividends twice a year.

*: the annual cost of the fund comprises the management fee, the trustee fee, and other fund expenses. Investors will also pay the standard costs associated with buying and selling shares on SGX-ST.

Source : http://www.streettracks.com.sg/ssga/jsp/en/FundInvestment.jsp