Shares of First Resources Limited (SGX:EB5) last traded at 1.81, representing a move of -1.09%, or -0.02 per share, on volume of 444,400 shares. After opening the trading day at 1.82, shares of First Resources Limited traded in a close range. First Resources Limited currently has a total float of 1.58 billion shares and on average sees 631,812 shares exchange hands each day. The stock now has a 52-week low of 1.5 and high of 1.86.

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 First Resources Limited 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. First Resources Limited 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 First Resources Limited 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 First Resources Limited.

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.

First Resources Limited, an investment holding company, engages in the cultivation and maintenance of oil palm plantations primarily in Singapore and Indonesia. The company has market cap of $2.87 billion. The firm operates through two divisions, Plantations and Palm Oil Mills, and Refinery and Processing. It has a 23.82 P/E ratio. It is also involved in harvesting and milling the fresh fruit bunches into crude palm oil and palm kernel products; and processes CPO and palm kernel into value palm products, such as biodiesel, palm kernel oil, and palm kernel expeller, as well as refined, bleached and deodorised (RBD) olein, and RBD stearin.