The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has appointed five asset managers — Amundi, Franklin Templeton, HSBC Asset Management, M&G Investments and Natixis Investment Managers — under the third batch of its Equity Market Development Programme (EQDP), deploying a further S$1.45 billion into Singapore’s equity market.

The announcement, made by Minister for National Development and MAS Deputy Chairman Chee Hong Tat at the SuperReturn Asia conference on 29 September 2026, takes total EQDP allocations to S$5.4 billion across 14 managers — 83% of the programme’s expanded S$6.5 billion war chest, following its top-up at Budget 2026.

Alongside the appointments, MAS committed S$20 million from the Financial Sector Development Fund to a new GEMS Market Making Grant aimed at tightening bid-ask spreads in roughly 80 small and mid-cap stocks outside the Straits Times Index.

What is the EQDP? A quick recap

The EQDP was launched in February 2025 as a flagship demand-side measure of the Equities Market Review Group, which MAS convened in August 2024 to revive the Singapore Exchange (SGX). Its twin objectives: develop Singapore’s local fund management industry, and channel sustained institutional capital into Singapore-listed equities — including cornerstone participation in IPOs.

EQDP deployment: the full picture so far

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The third batch brings a notably more international flavour than earlier rounds. In his SuperReturn Asia speech, Chee said these managers “bring with them global distribution networks, sources of capital, and expertise that strengthen the depth and dynamism of our public markets” — meaning EQDP money is now explicitly designed to pull in foreign capital alongside domestic allocations.

S$20 million GEMS Market Making Grant: liquidity for the “missing middle”

The second announcement targets a chronic weakness of the SGX: thin trading in its small and mid-cap segment. The new GEMS Market Making Grant will:

• Fund appointed market makers providing liquidity for an initial group of around 80 eligible stocks outside the STI, plus newly listed counters
• Run until 31 December 2028
• Aim for tighter bid-ask spreads, lower execution costs and stronger price discovery
• Review and expand the eligible list regularly

Chee described the target as the “middle segment” — stocks with sufficient trading activity to benefit from market-making support, but not the large, liquid STI constituents. Early signs suggest the broader reform push is working: average daily turnover in Q3 2025 rose 16% year-on-year to S$1.53 billion, the highest since Q1 2021, with IPO fundraising topping S$2 billion, according to MAS data cited by The Straits Times.

The bigger play: anchoring S$7 trillion of asset management in Singapore

Tuesday’s announcements were bookended by measures targeting Singapore’s asset management industry, which now oversees close to S$7 trillion across more than 1,300 managers — growing 7.5% annually over the past five years, per MAS’s August 2026 package:

1. Investment Management Track under the ONE Pass (from late January 2027, with the Ministry of Manpower) — applicants can meet the S$30,000 qualifying salary through a minimum S$15,000 fixed monthly salary plus variable, performance-linked components, reflecting industry compensation norms. Further details are expected at Budget 2027.
2. Tax exemption for profit-related returns from fund management services to qualifying funds, effective from Year of Assessment 2027.
3. A new MAS Hedge Fund Investment Programme to anchor leading hedge fund managers and their ecosystems (prime brokerages, ancillary services) in Singapore.

On licensing, Chee revealed MAS has received more than 500 fund management licence applications over the past three years, with a median approval time of 4.5 months in Q2 2026 — and the fastest approved in just 12 weeks — while pledging to streamline further without lowering standards.

What happens next?

• Batch 4: MAS is reviewing proposals now and expects to announce the next group of EQDP managers in 2027 — S$1.1 billion of the programme remains unallocated.
• Budget 2027: Details of the ONE Pass Investment Management Track, tax exemption and hedge fund programme.
• Market structure reforms: The SGX-Nasdaq dual listing bridge, reduced board lot sizes and the modernised post-trade custody model round out the Review Group’s implementation agenda.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which five asset managers were appointed in the third EQDP batch?

Amundi, Franklin Templeton, HSBC Asset Management, M&G Investments and Natixis Investment Managers, sharing S$1.45 billion.

How much of the EQDP has been allocated?

S$5.4 billion of S$6.5 billion across 14 managers in three batches. A fourth batch is under review for announcement in 2027.

What is the GEMS Market Making Grant?

A S$20 million grant (until end-2028) funding market makers in roughly 80 non-STI small and mid-cap stocks to narrow spreads and improve liquidity.

Can retail investors benefit?

Indirectly — tighter spreads and better price discovery lower trading costs for everyone, and EQDP managers’ funds may include counters retail investors already own.

How big is the AI chip industry in 2026? Global semiconductor revenue is projected to exceed $1.3 trillion in 2026 — a 64% increase and the fastest growth the industry has recorded in more than 20 years, according to research firm Gartner. That would mark a third consecutive year of double-digit growth for the sector, driven by surging demand for AI processing, data-center infrastructure, and rising memory prices, per Gartner senior principal analyst Rajeev Rajput.

That single statistic captures why “technology news” in 2026 is really one story told through dozens of companies: an unprecedented, sustained capital-spending cycle built around artificial intelligence infrastructure.

Hyperscalers Are the Engine

The chip boom is being funded almost entirely by a handful of technology giants. Alphabet, Amazon, Microsoft, and Meta — the hyperscalers building the cloud infrastructure that AI models run on — have collectively committed more than $700 billion in 2026 capital spending, according to reporting relayed through Yahoo Finance’s technology desk. Alphabet alone spent $35.67 billion on capital expenditure in a single quarter — more than double the prior year’s pace — while its Google Cloud backlog nearly doubled to over $460 billion. Amazon led quarterly spending at $44.2 billion as AWS grew 28%, and Microsoft’s fiscal third-quarter capex rose 84% year-over-year to $30.88 billion as its AI revenue run rate surpassed $37 billion annually.

Featured Snippet Target: The four largest U.S. hyperscalers — Alphabet, Amazon, Microsoft, and Meta — are on pace to spend over $700 billion combined on AI infrastructure in 2026, a figure Reuters’ Morning Bid podcast described as rising “all the time” and directly responsible for surging demand for AI chips and data-center equipment.

That spending has increasingly shifted from being funded purely by operating cash flow to relying on debt and equity markets. Alphabet’s June 2026 equity raise — combining Class A common stock, Class C capital stock, and mandatory convertible preferred shares — ranks as the largest single AI-funding capital raise in market history, according to market commentary circulated via KuCoin’s research desk. Goldman Sachs has characterized this as a structural shift from a low-cost-of-capital “Modern” cycle to a higher-volatility “Post-Modern” one, in which markets increasingly reward capital expenditure over share buybacks — S&P 500 companies posted 24% year-on-year capex growth in the second quarter of 2026 alongside a 1% decline in gross buybacks.

Nvidia’s Next Move — and Who’s Chasing It

Nvidia remains the chip industry’s dominant supplier, and its next-generation product cycle is central to 2026’s technology narrative. The company introduced its Rubin CPX GPU — built for massive-context AI workloads capable of handling million-token software coding and generative-video tasks — with availability expected by the end of 2026, according to trade coverage from DigiTimes. Competitors are racing to diversify the supply chain around Nvidia’s dominance: AMD is preparing new product launches with OpenAI as a customer, Broadcom and OpenAI are targeting mass production of custom AI silicon in 2026, and Broadcom separately secured a $10 billion custom-chip production order from a major new customer, according to the same industry reporting.

China’s chip ecosystem is developing along a parallel, more insulated track. Huawei and Cambricon Technologies are together projected to ship over a million AI chips by 2026, with JPMorgan forecasting Huawei alone shipping 600,000 to 650,000 units, as Beijing pushes to reduce reliance on U.S.-made chips amid ongoing export restrictions.

Where the Growth Is Concentrated

Analysts covering the sector point to datacenter accelerators as the single largest growth pocket within the broader chip market — that segment alone is projected to exceed $300 billion in 2026, according to industry analysis from TechInsights, with knock-on effects spanning process technology (including the industry’s push toward 2-nanometer manufacturing), advanced packaging techniques, and power infrastructure needed to run increasingly energy-intensive AI data centers.

That last point — power — has become a genuine bottleneck rather than a footnote. Industry commentary increasingly frames electricity supply and cooling capacity, not chip fabrication itself, as the binding constraint on how quickly AI infrastructure can scale, positioning data-center operators and power-infrastructure companies as unexpected beneficiaries of the AI boom alongside the chipmakers themselves.

The Risk Beneath the Boom

Not every voice in the technology sector is unreservedly bullish on the pace of spending. Analysis circulated through Charles Schwab’s market commentary notes that three hyperscalers — Alphabet, Amazon, and Meta — now account for roughly 70% of the S&P 500’s expected 2026 earnings growth, meaning the index’s apparent 500-company diversification offers less real downside protection than investors might assume if AI capital spending fails to convert into earnings at the pace currently priced in.

That concentration risk has already produced volatility. Mid-September market commentary from CNBC noted bond yields spiking and AI-linked stocks selling off even as broader investor sentiment stayed constructive on equities overall — an early signal that markets are starting to price a wider range of outcomes for the AI capex cycle than the unbroken bull run of the year’s first half suggested.

The Bottom Line

Technology news in 2026 is dominated by a single, self-reinforcing cycle: hyperscaler capital spending is driving record semiconductor demand, chipmakers are racing to keep pace with that demand through new architectures and expanded manufacturing, and financial markets are increasingly rewarding — and increasingly questioning — the sustainability of spending at this scale. Whether that questioning turns into a genuine correction depends on whether AI infrastructure investment converts into earnings growth fast enough to justify the capital already committed.

Next step: Track quarterly hyperscaler capex guidance alongside chipmaker order backlogs — the gap between the two, more than any single product launch, is the clearest early signal of whether 2026’s AI infrastructure boom is accelerating or beginning to plateau.

Singapore’s equity market spent 2026 quietly doing what almost no other Asian market managed: going up in a straight line.

The Straits Times Index closed at an all-time high of 5,801.96 on 4 September 2026 — up roughly 35% over the past year. For context, the index started the year around 4,895.

The question is no longer whether Singapore has performed. It is whether a market trading at record highs can still be described as defensive.

Key Takeaways

• Record territory: the STI peaked at 5,801.96 on 4 September 2026 after starting the year near 4,900.
• Banks did the heavy lifting. DBS posted record quarterly income above S$6 billion and net profit of S$3.08 billion in Q2 2026.
• Macro backdrop is solid. Singapore’s GDP grew 4.8% in 2025, accelerating from 4.4% in 2024.
• The safe-haven label is now conditional. After a 35% run, valuation risk has replaced valuation support.
• Oil is the live threat. The index is absorbing the same energy shock rattling global markets.

How Singapore Got to a Record

The STI’s ascent through 2026 has been remarkably orderly.

The January leg was macro-driven. Preliminary figures showed the economy grew 4.8% in 2025 while non-oil domestic exports rose 4.8%, exceeding official forecasts of around 2.5%.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore then held policy steady while raising both core and headline inflation forecasts to 1%–2% for the year, signalling confidence in resilient GDP growth.

What Is Actually Driving the Index

1. Banks, Overwhelmingly

Singapore’s three banks dominate index weight, and their earnings have been exceptional. DBS — Singapore’s largest bank, operating across 19 markets including Greater China, Southeast Asia and South Asia — crossed S$6 billion in quarterly total income for the first time in Q2 2026, up 6% year-on-year to S$6.09 billion, with net profit up 9% to a record S$3.08 billion.

Notably, this came despite net interest income falling 2%. Fee income and wealth management are carrying the load as rate tailwinds fade.

2. Global Risk Appetite

The STI’s record coincided with the S&P 500 reaching an intraday high above 7,800 points in August. Singapore is a high-beta expression of global risk sentiment more often than investors acknowledge.

3. Capital Seeking Stability in Asia

With China flat, Hong Kong lagging and Japan volatile, Singapore has absorbed regional allocations looking for rule-of-law certainty, dividend yield and currency stability.

Does the Safe-Haven Thesis Still Hold?

The case for Singapore as a defensive Asian allocation rests on four pillars.

Dividend yield. The STI has historically offered yields well above regional averages, anchored by banks, REITs and telecoms. Yield support is real but compresses as prices rise — a 35% price gain mechanically cuts the yield by roughly a quarter.

Currency management. MAS manages the Singapore dollar against a trade-weighted basket rather than setting interest rates directly. This has historically dampened imported inflation and currency volatility for foreign investors.

Institutional quality. Transparent regulation, reliable disclosure and deep index infrastructure. FTSE Russell calculates the STI jointly with SPH Media Trust and SGX Group, with quarterly reviews that keep the benchmark representative.

Sector composition. Banks, REITs, industrials and telecoms — cash-generative businesses with visible payouts rather than speculative growth.

Where the Thesis Weakens

Singapore is an open, trade-dependent economy. It cannot decouple from a global slowdown. The World Bank projects global growth slowing to 2.5% in 2026, the lowest rate since the pandemic, with the Middle East conflict driving sharp energy price increases.

Singapore imports all of its energy. An index at record highs facing an oil shock is not a defensive position — it is a leveraged one.

The Three Stocks Framework

Rather than name specific buys, consider the three archetypes that dominate STI investing decisions:

A record share price does not automatically mean a stock is expensive. The real test is whether earnings growth, cash flow and competitive position have kept pace with the price.

For Singapore’s banks in 2026, they largely have. That is what separates this rally from a pure multiple expansion.

Practical Considerations for Investors

1. Decide on currency exposure. SGD strength has added to foreign-currency returns. That works both ways.
2. Check the index review calendar. The September 2026 quarterly review brought no changes to STI constituents, with the next review in December.
3. Understand what you are buying. An STI ETF is approximately 40% banks. That is a concentrated financial sector bet.
4. Weigh yield against price. After a 35% run, entry yield is meaningfully lower than it was twelve months ago.
5. Watch MAS statements. Policy shifts move this market faster than earnings do.

What This Means for the Global Market in 2027

Safe haven is a relative term, not an absolute one. Singapore has been defensive relative to China’s stagnation and Japan’s volatility — not relative to cash. At record highs after a 35% gain, the downside protection argument is considerably weaker than it was in January.

Bank earnings face a turning point. DBS’s Q2 showed net interest income already falling while fee income compensated. If global rates decline through 2027, the fee engine must carry more weight.

Singapore benefits from regional fragmentation. Every escalation in US–China technology disputes strengthens Singapore’s position as a neutral financial and logistics hub. That is a structural, multi-year tailwind.

Energy remains the vulnerability. With the Strait of Hormuz situation unresolved and European gas benchmarks elevated, a trade-dependent, energy-importing economy carries a specific exposure that its defensive reputation obscures.

Watch the listing pipeline. Singapore’s long-standing weakness is a thin domestic IPO market. Any meaningful improvement would broaden the index beyond financials and change the investment case materially.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Straits Times Index at now?

The STI closed at a record 5,801.96 on 4 September 2026 and has since consolidated near 5,730. It is up roughly 35% over the past year.

Are Singapore stocks a safe investment?

Singapore offers strong institutional quality, dividend yield and currency stability. However, after a 35% annual gain, valuation risk is higher and the economy remains exposed to energy prices and global trade.

Which Singapore stocks pay the best dividends?

Banks, REITs and telecoms have historically anchored the STI’s yield. Entry yields have compressed as prices have risen, so verify current figures before investing.

Why did the STI hit a record high in 2026?

Record bank profits, resilient 4.8% GDP growth in 2025, supportive MAS policy, and capital rotating into Singapore from weaker regional markets.