iEdge Singapore Next 50 Indices: A foundational step for broader market development

I REFER to the letter “The new iEdge Singapore Next 50 Indices need refinement” from Lee Chin Wai dated Oct 1 and thank him for his interest in our stock market.

I am encouraged that the iEdge Singapore Next 50 Indices have catalysed investor interest in how Singapore Exchange-listed companies – beyond the traditional large-cap universe – are evolving, whether through business model transformation, improved governance practices, or strengthened capital management initiatives.

The iEdge Singapore Next 50 Indices were designed to systematically track, raise visibility and improve accessibility of the next 50 largest companies beyond the Straits Times Index. Liquidity considerations such as free float and turnover are deliberate features of the methodology, to ensure replicability and institutional relevance. We have excluded value-based or governance-driven indicators to avoid diluting the focus of this index suite.

What we need is for the broader ecosystem to introduce new indices – including value-based and governance-driven ones – in our stock market so that market participants have greater choices to decide which segments of the market they would like to track. Already, Smartkarma has launched such a series of indices to address diverse investor needs and strengthen engagement with Singapore’s stock market. We look forward to more of such initiatives from market participants, and the development of related products that investors and fund managers can readily track.

Chan Kum Kong Head of capital market development SGX Group