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THE FTSE ST SERIES OF MARKET INDICES

Singapore Press Holdings (SPH), Singapore Exchange (SGX) and FTSE Group have jointly developed a new Straits Times Index (STI) as the Singapore stock market's main benchmark and created a family of new FTSE ST indices that will complement the STI.

The aim of the collaboration is to create a comprehensive suite of indices that will better reflect the performance of various sectors of the Singapore stock market and meet the needs of both retail and institutional investors. The revamped STI and the new FTSE ST Index Series will stimulate development of index-related products to serve diverse market needs. This in turn offers investors wider investment choices and opportunities in the Singapore market. With the availability of more indices, more listed companies can expect to be included in an index and achieve higher visibility with international fund managers and investors.

The new set of FTSE ST indices comprises the new STI and 18 new FTSE ST indices.

STRAITS TIMES INDEX (STI)

The revamped STI will comprise 30 blue-chip companies on the SGX Mainboard ranked by market capitalisation as at 31 August 2007, which have passed the selection criteria outlined below. The constituents of the revamped STI can be found here

In line with FTSE’s international methodology, these companies have been included based on the following criteria:

• Free Float. The free float of a listed company must be greater than 15%. The definition of “free float” includes portfolio investments, nominee holdings and holdings by investment companies.
• Liquidity. A stock must trade with a median daily turnover value of at least 0.05% of the value of its free float-adjusted shares in issue for at least 10 out of the last 12 months.

FTSE ST INDEX SERIES

The STI will be complemented by a new family of FTSE ST indices that will consist of 5 benchmark and 13 industry indices, including a new theme index to represent China stocks listed in Singapore. The new indices, by tracking the different sectors of the Singapore market, will help investors make better-informed investment decisions. The new indices will adopt FTSE's international methodology and will be based on the International Classification Benchmark (ICB), the globally renowned classification system created by Dow Jones Indices and FTSE. The use of the ICB will facilitate cross-border analysis and comparisons.

The full list of indices can be found here

To qualify for inclusion in any index, except the FTSE ST Fledgling Index, the market capitalisation of a listed company must fall within the top 98% by full market capitalisation of all SGX Mainboard companies.

The FTSE ST Fledgling Index includes all the other qualifying companies comprising the last 2% by full market capitalisation. These stocks are not screened for stock liquidity.

Constituents for the family of FTSE ST indices can be found here

GROUND RULES

The constituents of the STI and the new FTSE ST Index Series will be reviewed semi-annually in accordance with a set of publicly available Ground Rules which can be found here

An advisory committee comprising of market practitioners, and/or representatives from SPH, SGX and FTSE will be formed to undertake the reviews. The first review is scheduled for September 2008.


TRIAL VALUES

Trial values of the revamped Straits Times Index (STI) and the other 18 new indices will be made available on the FTSE website from Monday, 8 October 2007.

The trial values are meant to facilitate technical testing and do not replace the current STI values. The trial period will allow market participants to familiarize themselves with the workings of the revamped STI and FTSE ST Index Series ahead of the official launch in January 2008.

The trial values of all the indices - including the STI - start at 1,000. This is to distinguish the trial values for the new STI from the current STI, which will continue to exist until January 2008. At the official switchover date in January 2008, the new STI will be rebased to start at the closing value of the STI the previous day. This is to ensure continuity in the numerical value of the STI when the new index comes into effect.
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