The Singapore Exchange ( SGX ) exchange-traded funds ( ETFs ) rose to S$17.2 billion ( US$13.17 billion ) in assets under management ( AUM ) with S$487 million in net inflows for October, and trading activity surging 26% to hit a new high since 2020, according to SGX statistics.

October ended with S$49.4 million in daily average turnover for ETFs, +26% month on month ( MoM ) and +93% year on year, the SGX states, with the SPDR Gold Shares ETF leading in daily turnover with S$22.3 million.

The Gold ETF was the best performer of the month, surging to S$3.7 billion in AUM on the back of S$395 million of monthly net inflows, while seeing a 108% MoM increase in trading activity.

STI ETFs – SPDR Straits Times Index ETF and Amova Singapore STI ETF achieved S$3.3 billion in combined AUM in October and saw a 26% rise in combined securities daily average value ( SDAV ) to S$6.5 million.

The real estate investment trust ETF sector sustained elevated interest and demand, seeing an AUM percentage growth of 7.1% to S$1.5 billion as monthly inflows amounted to S$73 million.

The LionGlobal Short Duration Bond Active ETF ( SGD Class ), following its listing on 29 September 29,  continued to see strong interest, receiving S$31 million in net inflows to rank among the top five in October.

DLC, SW turnover surge

Daily turnover of daily leverage certificates ( DLCs ), the SGX points out, increased by 46% MoM to S$29.9 million. Hong Kong DLCs drove the rise in daily turnover with S$28.5 million ( +47% MoM ), followed by US DLCs at S$775,000 ( +18% MoM ) and Singapore DLCs with S$705,000 ( +60% MoM ). Single-stock DLCs led with an 81% MoM rise to S$17.2 million in daily turnover, surpassing index DLCs, which traded S$12.7 million daily.

US DLCs recorded their most traded month of all-time with S$775,000 in daily turnover, the exchange notes, driven by the Magnificent Seven US tech stock DLCs, which contributed S$676,000 in SDAV. Tesla DLCs led with S$297,000, followed by Nvidia DLCs with S$100,000 daily turnover.

Structured warrants ( SWs ) traded S$13.9 million in daily average turnover, increasing 48% MoM. Hong Kong SWs traded S$12.6 million ( +45% MoM ) in SDAV and Singapore SWs traded S$1.1 million ( +81% MoM ), with the Hang Seng Index underlying warrants accounting for 79% of total SW trading activity.

New Indonesia underlying SDRs

Three new Indonesia underlying Singapore depository receipts ( SDRs ), the SGX states, launched in October – Telkom Indonesia, Bank Central Asia and Indofood CBP.

The SDR shelf was expanded to include a third market – Indonesia, taking the suite to 29 names across three markets, the exchange explains, including Hong Kong and Thailand. The Indonesian SDRs will trade in Singapore dollars on the SGX during local market hours and are fungible with the underlying stocks.

The October SDR daily turnover was S$14 million, while AUM grew to more than S$200M. The top traded SDRs were SMIC HK SDR ( S$3.0 million ), Alibaba HK SDR ( S$2.0 million ) and JD.com HK SDR ( S$1.8 million ).

The top price performers were Delta TH SDR ( +41% ), PetroChina HK SDR ( +15% ), and KasikornBank TH SDR ( +12% ).