Singapore's Markets Particularly Attractive, Says Meadows Financial

SINGAPORE, Singapore, December 23, 2017 (Newswire.com) - ​Investors wanting exposure to the dynamic, high-potential of Southeast Asia but with the levels of corporate governance and financial regulation they’d expect in advanced Western markets need look no further than Singapore.

A recent survey by Singapore-based investment manager, Meadows Financial has revealed that the city state’s balanced economy and world-class infrastructure as well as highly-developed and regulated investment markets make it one of the Asia-Pacific region’s most compelling destinations for investors seeking exposure to what is widely-billed as the most exciting and untapped economic area in the world, ASEAN.

ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) is a community of 10 member states with a combined population of more than 600 million people, most of whom are under the age of 30.

Following the 2008 global financial crisis, many investors took a step back from Singapore amid speculation that there was little spare capacity for its already advanced economy to grow, particularly against a backdrop of anemic economic growth and, by extension, demand in the West, the destination for much of what it exports.

Such fears proved to be unfounded and, after emerging from a brief recession in 2009, the country’s economy has posted respectable growth each year and positively flourished in 2017 as the global recovery has gathered pace. The country’s benchmark stock index, the Straits Times Index, has emulated the wider economy’s performance, surging nearly 20% higher this year alone.

Andrew Sullivan, Chief Operating Officer at Meadows Financial said, “20% is an admirable performance but it’s still relatively tame compared to that of a number of individual stocks on the exchange and we think there’s plenty more upside to come especially as economic growth continues to improve.”

What some investors may find even more attractive than the fundamental investment climate, however, is the fact that, for non-resident investors, Singaporean equities are an extremely low-tax investment proposition. Singapore neither levies capital gains tax nor does it tax dividend income on shares owned or sold by non-residents, so all proceeds are paid tax-free.

With Singapore’s strong investment in innovative technologies, a stable government committed to retraining its workforce for the jobs and careers of the future and a strategic location in the world’s most promising economic area, Meadows Financial has reiterated its commitment to the identification of and investment in key stocks and other assets in Singapore’s markets.

“In our view, Singapore is to ASEAN what London is to Europe; namely, a crucial commercial and financial hub with advanced levels of technology, development, education and governance,” continued Sullivan.

“With this in mind, we are reaffirming our standing buy recommendation for the Straits Times Index,” he concluded.

Source: Meadows Financial