Singapore-focused listed companies are having their turn in the spotlight

[SINGAPORE] The oft-heard complaint is that Singapore’s market is too small and, beyond the banks, no one can make much money from investing in it. This year, the naysayers may find themselves pleasantly surprised.

Case in point: Sheng Siong, Singapore’s second-largest retailer, according to Maybank Research.
With a market capitalisation of around S$3.1 billion, the supermarket operator is in the big league. Its share price has risen by some 26 per cent this year. 

The group’s recent results are positive, with a 3.5 per cent year-on-year rise in net profit to S$72.3 million for the first half of 2025. Revenue was up 7.1 per cent at S$764.7 million. 

Maybank Research points out that Sheng Siong is doing well due to a raft of factors. Its prices are some 10 to 21 per cent lower than e-grocers; in addition, its fresh offerings, live seafood and long hours drive footfall. 

Sheng Siong’s prospects look rosy as well.

One reason is the sale of DFI Retail Group’s Singapore food business, including Cold Storage and Giant supermarkets, to Macrovalue for S$125 million earlier this year. If Macrovalue prioritises Cold Storage over Giant, this could benefit Sheng Siong, which has a similar customer base to the latter. 

Overall, Singapore consumers still have a preference for budget-friendly supermarkets and house-brand products, which favours Sheng Siong.

Another plus point are the SG60 vouchers that have been given out. In total, some three million adults will get the vouchers, which are estimated to cost the government a total of S$2.02 billion, The Straits Times reported.

Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry Low Yen Ling said in a Facebook post on Jul 23 that over S$160 million worth of vouchers has been spent, with S$95.5 million at participating hawkers and heartland merchants. More than S$64.5 million was spent at participating supermarkets. Such spending will undoubtedly give Sheng Siong’s top line a pleasant fillip. 

Other companies listed on the Singapore Exchange are also enjoying benefits from the government’s investment in infrastructure. In January, the Building and Construction Authority projected total construction demand to range between S$47 billion and S$53 billion in 2025. 

Among the beneficiaries is construction and property group Koh Brothers. The group has a hefty order book of more than S$1 billion with visibility up to 2029, executive chairman and group CEO Francis Koh said in its results release in August.  

Recently, the company won a S$999 million contract from Changi Airport for the construction of underground tunnels at the upcoming Terminal 5. The contract was won by a joint venture between Koh Brothers Building & Civil Engineering Contractor – a unit under the group’s subsidiary Koh Brothers Eco Engineering – and Japanese company Penta-Ocean Construction.

Koh Brothers’ share price, which closed at S$0.29 on Wednesday (Aug 20), is up just over 100 per cent this year. 

Other beneficiaries will be those who have secured construction contracts to build Housing & Development Board (HDB) flats. 

Earlier this month, Minister for National Development Chee Hong Tat told the media that the HDB will launch about 55,000 Build-to-Order (BTO) flats between 2025 and 2027. These will be located in new areas including Mount Pleasant, Woodlands North Coast, Sembawang North and the former Keppel Club. The number of flats is around 10 per cent more than the earlier number of 50,000 flats that HDB had committed to launch. 

CGS International Securities is positive on construction and property firm Wee Hur. The company is a “beneficiary of Singapore’s construction upcycle”, the investment house said.

Wee Hur has a construction order book of S$629 million as at the end of H1 2025, bolstered by two BTO projects totalling S$439.4 million that were secured in May 2025. This extends its order book visibility to FY2029. 

CGS noted that Wee Hur also plans to take on one or two more projects, to increase its order book to S$1 billion.