On a 2020-to-date basis, Sembcorp Industries emerged as the top contributor of the 30 value stocks, registering total year-to-date returns of 50 per cent. The company recently demerged from Sembcorp Marine in September this year to become a focused energy and urban business, with a renewed mandate to unlock value for investors. It is also one out of five value stocks named by SGX to have seen the most institutional inflows proportionate to their market capitalisation, with net inflows of S$39.
SGX also said in its update that most of the STI's 16 per cent total return in the quarter to date has hinged on the gains of DBS, UOB and OCBC. While the trio of banks was not among the top 30 rankings for the value factor, the bourse said this quarter has seen the banks' average price-to-book multiple rise from 0.84 to 1.02 times, in line with the revaluation of global banking stocks on news of the Covid-19 vaccine development and deployment this quarter.