Shares of Ascendas Hospitality Trust (SGX:Q1P) last traded at 0.845, representing a move of 1.2%, or 0.01 per share, on volume of 180,700 shares. After opening the trading day at 0.84, shares of Ascendas Hospitality Trust traded in a close range. Ascendas Hospitality Trust currently has a total float of 1.14 billion shares and on average sees 624,904 shares exchange hands each day. The stock now has a 52-week low of 0.74 and high of 0.875.

SGX: Asia’s Rising Exchange Giant

Nearly 17 years ago, the Singapore Exchange (SGX) was formed from the union of Singapore’s two stock exchange platforms, the Stock Exchange of Singapore and the Singapore International Monetary Exchange, creating a broader stock exchange platform which would later on become one of Southeast (SE) Asia’s leading exchanges. Ascendas Hospitality Trust is the part of SE active trades.

Like any other stock exchange platforms, the SGX features all kinds of assets— stocks, bonds, derivatives, debentures, exchange traded funds (ETFs), among others. The SGX is owned and operated by Singapore Exchange Limited, which is publicly traded on the stock exchange platform as well. It is a component of two indices, the MSCI Singapore Free Index and the Strait Times Index (STI). The latter tracks the market performance of 30 companies listed on the SGX with the biggest market capitalizations quarterly. It lures new people to Ascendas Hospitality Trust.

Pre-market trading on the SGX begins at 8:30 a.m. and ends at 8:59 a.m., giving way to regular trading that begins at 9:00 a.m. and ends at 5:00 p.m. The regular session can be extended up to 5:05 p.m., officially closing at 5:06 p.m.

SGX Companies

As of January 2009, there are nearly 770 publicly traded companies listed on the SGX. Domestic companies make up nearly 60% of this figure while international companies make up about 40%. More than 90 out of these have a market capitalization of at least S$1 billion presently. As time goes by, more and more international companies show interest in being publicly traded on the SGX.

The top three companies on the SGX in terms of performance in the last five years include Thai Beverage Public Company Limited (SGX:Y92), Comfortdelgro Corporation Limited (SGX:C52), and SATS Ltd (SGX:S58). Another perspective company, according to the analysts is Ascendas Hospitality Trust.During the said period, Thai Beverage has made a return of 216%; Comfortdelgro has made a return of 123%; and SATS has made a return of 119%.

SGX: A Reflection of Excellent Corporate Governance

In the latest ranking of Asian markets in terms of corporate governance published by CG Watch, Singapore has taken the top spot with 67 points, up by three points from the previous ranking. It has beaten Hong Kong, which has only garnered 65 points this year, and 10 other nations.

An excellent corporate governance is essential in a nation’s economic growth. With it, investors are strongly encouraged to make long-term investments and companies are highly confident to enter the market.

Corporate governance, needless to say, is directly and indirectly linked to foreign direct investment (FDI), which can significantly make or break a country’s economy. According to experts, a high FDI inflow is the key to the growth of the SE Asian economy as it strives to stay at par with bigger markets such as the US, the UK, and Europe.

With SGX being one of the most compelling stock exchange platforms not just in SE Asia but in the whole world as well, it definitely plays a major role in how the region’s economy can continuously make it big globally. One of examples of this is Ascendas Hospitality Trust.

Ascendas Hospitality Trust was listed in July 2012 as a stapled group comprising Ascendas Hospitality Real Estate Investment Trust (??A-HREIT??) and Ascendas Hospitality Business Trust (??A-HBT??), established with the principal investment strategy of investing, directly or indirectly, in a diversified portfolio of income-producing real estate used predominantly for hospitality purposes, as well as real estate related assets in connection with the foregoing. The company has market cap of $959.08 million. The asset portfolio comprises 11 quality hotels with over 4,000 rooms geographically diversified across key cities in Australia, China, Japan and Singapore; and located close proximity to central business districts, business precincts, suburban centres, transportation nodes and iconic tourist landmarks. It has a 5.6 P/E ratio. A-HTRUST is managed by Ascendas Hospitality Fund Management Pte.