Published November 5, 2008
Five SGX-listed ETFs take off today
ETF based on MSCI Asia Apex 50 index making international debut in Singapore
By JAMIE LEE

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FIVE exchange-traded funds (ETFs) start trading on the Singapore Exchange (SGX) today, taking the number here to 24 and putting the exchange on par with its Hong Kong counterpart.
The latest ETFs are based on the MSCI Asia Apex 50, the MSCI Thailand, MSCI Malaysia, MSCI India and Reuters Jefferies CRB Non-Energy.
The ETF based on the MSCI Asia Apex 50 index is making its international debut in Singapore. It will be traded in Frankfurt, Milan and Paris when European markets open later today.
The MSCI Asia Apex 50 index comprises 50 stocks listed in China, Hong Kong, South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan, giving the index a market capitalisation of US$681 billion.
China firms now make up the biggest component of the index at 33.8 per cent, though some of the companies are listed in Hong Kong via H-shares. Korean stocks follow with 21.5 per cent.
Singapore stocks have the smallest contribution at 9.6 per cent. The composition is reviewed quarterly.
The stocks include China's ICBC and CNOOC, Korean technology giants Samsung and LG, Hong Kong property heavyweights Cheung Kong and Sun Hung Kai, Taiwan's HTC Corp and Formosa Plastics Corp and Singapore's three banks - DBS, UOB and OCBC.
The average weighted liquidity - which measures the average turnover of the index - is 352 per cent, while the top 10 index weight is 43.6 per cent.
In comparison, the MSCI AC Asia ex-Japan index has a 32 per cent average weighted liquidity and a top 10 index weight of 19.2 per cent.
The ETF market in Singapore is growing. In September, the trading value of SGX-listed ETFs was up 4 per cent from March at a record of almost $323 million. ETF trading volume hit an all-time high of 38.2 million shares in September, up 7 per cent from March.
About 1,500 ETFs are listed in the world, according to Joseph Ho, head of ETF sales and marketing at Lyxor Investment.
Most of them are based in Europe. The biggest market in Asia is Japan, which has about 30 ETFs listed, Mr Ho said.