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BOURSE operator Singapore Exchange (SGX) rode the stock market boom to become last year's strongest-performing stock in terms of share price gain, market data has shown.
Its share price shot up $7.72 - a stunning 135 per cent - to close at $13.42 for the year. Its market value, meanwhile, more than doubled to $14.3 billion, up from 2006's $6 billion.
Prospects of higher trading volumes, as profits would be affected by the value of shares traded in the market, partly fuelled this exuberance.
The SGX has also acted on its plan to expand in Asia, agreeing to buy a 20 per cent stake in the Philippine Dealing System for about $5 million in November.
Sentiment has also been boosted by speculations the bourse operator may be an acquisition target of bigger rivals seeking to capitalise on high-growth Asian markets.
Mining and logistics firm Abterra was the best performer in percentage terms. Its share price soared 469 per cent last year to close at 14 cents.
Abterra develops iron ore mines in Australia, India and Indonesia, and sells the ore to China.
High oil prices bode well for oil and gas plays, as well as commodity players, making them shoo-ins on the best-performing list.
Singapore Petroleum Corp saw a $3.21, or 73.6 per cent, net gain in its share price to close at $7.57 on the back of high oil prices.
Swiber Holdings, an offshore oil service support company, gained 263 per cent last year. Its share price shot up by $2.485 to close at $3.43, as a sustained shortage of offshore construction vessels could see it clinching more contracts.
Crude palm oil player Wilmar International, which displaced DBS Group Holdings to become the second-largest firm by market value, saw its share price gain $2.96, or 121.8 per cent.
Property players Overseas Union Enterprise and GuocoLand beat bigger rivals, including CapitaLand and City Developments, as last year's best-performing stocks in terms of net change.
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