Shares of Acma Ltd. (SGX:AYV) closed at 0.2 yesterday. Acma Ltd. currently has a total float of 42.39M shares and on average sees 3,550 shares exchange hands each day. The stock now has a 52-week low of 0.162 and high of 0.3.

Getting to Know the SGX

The Singapore Exchange (SGX) is the primary stock exchange platform in Singapore for 17 years now. It is the resulting union of the two major stock exchange platforms in Singapore, the Singapore International Monetary Exchange and the Stock Exchange of Singapore, that had merged in December 1999. This unification gave opportunity to Acma Ltd. to win new investors. All trading instruments in Singapore are traded through the SGX, which is now one of the most reputable and biggest stock exchange platforms in Southeast (SE) Asia.

The SGX is fully owned and operated by Singapore Exchange Limited, which is listed as a publicly traded entity on the stock exchange platform as well. It has gone public only a year after it was formed. The stock is a component of the two leading indices in the country, the MSCI Singapore Free Index and the Straits Times Index (STI). The STI monitors the top 30 companies listed on the SGX in terms of market capitalization every quarter. Acma Ltd. is trying to stay in every list.

Prior to the regular session that starts at 9:00 a.m. and ends at 5:00 p.m., there is a pre-market session that starts at 8:30 a.m. and ends at 8:59 a.m. The regular session can be extended until 5:05 p.m. before the market officially closes at 5:06 p.m.

SGX Listing

A total of 768 companies are listed on the SGX as of January 2009, 10 years after its foundation. More than 450 of these are domestic companies and more than 300 are international companies. The SGX is committed to attracting more international companies, aiming to sustain the growth of the national economy. The more international entities entering the Singaporean market, the more the potential growth opportunities the country gets.

Presently, over 90 companies have a market capitalization of at least S$1 billion each, making the SGX an ideal place for investors to bet on hot stocks. Their bets for Acma Ltd. shares usually create new alliances.

In the past five years, three companies listed on the SGX have demonstrated an outstanding performance. These include Thai Beverage Public Company Limited (SGX:Y92), which has gained a return of 216%; Comfortdelgro Corporation Limited (SGX:C52), which has gained a return of 123%; and SATS Ltd (SGX:S58), which has gained a return of 119%.

Helping SE Asia Thrive

CG Watch, a biannual newsletter, named Singapore as the number one market in Asia in terms of excellence in corporate governance this year. It has scored 67 points, ousting Hong Kong from the top spot with two points ahead. Singapore has improved its previous rating of 64 points as well.

This milestone indicates that Singapore is an ideal market for investors and companies alike. Good corporate governance strongly encourages investments and significantly boosts the entire economy. Needless to mention, it can improve foreign direct investment (FDI) inflow, which, according to analysts, is the key to the long-term growth of the SE Asian economy. International partnership is one of the main interest for Acma Ltd..

Consequently, Singapore’s consistent efforts to maintain excellent corporate governance play a major role in shaping the region’s economy. It won’t be too long before SE Asia becomes as big as the US or Europe— thanks to the fast-paced and immense growth of the SGX, one of the region’s leading stock exchange platforms.

Acma Ltd., an investment holding company, makes and trades in tools, automotive molds, and plastic injection molding products for the automotive and electronics industries in Singapore, China, South Asia, Europe, North America, Vietnam, and internationally. The company has market cap of $8.48 million. It operates through Tooling and Plastic Injection Moulding; Communications, Electronics, and Equipment Distribution; and Metal Packaging and Metal Printing Services divisions. It currently has negative earnings. The firm is also involved in the sale, maintenance, and rental of communication equipment, computer equipment, peripherals, and other office and industrial equipment and supplies.