S$68m in unclaimed shares: SGX seeks owners

SINGAPORE — The Singapore Exchange (SGX) is setting out to track down roughly 89,000 investors who own S$68.3 million in unclaimed shares and dividends, the exchange said today (Nov 26).

The unclaimed assets comprise S$14.6 million of SingTel shares and dividends belonging to investors without Central Depository (CDP) accounts and S$53.7 million of dividends belonging to investors who cannot be contacted.

Each year, thousands of shareholders do not cash their dividend cheques. Unclaimed dividends are returned to the relevant listed companies after six years. There are 74,000 investors currently who have yet to claim S$53.7 million in dividends which SGX is safe-keeping.

The 15,000 owners of SingTel shares bought them at S$2.00 each in the company’s 1993 IPO. The shares have since returned more than twice that amount.

To encourage investors to come forward during this initiative, the SGX is waiving the administrative fee for the re-issuance of dividend cheques and dividend crediting until Jan 26.

“This initiative highlights the benefits Singaporeans enjoy when they invest in shares over the long term,” said Mr Chew Sutat, Executive Vice President at SGX.

“We hope to locate the rightful owners of these assets through this exercise while making Singaporeans more aware of the role share investing can play in their financial planning for their retirement and other needs.

Added Ms Lynn Gaspar, Head of Retail Investors at SGX: “Many listed companies pay sizeable dividends. In the past 12 months, the 30 companies making up the Straits Times Index paid S$15.5 billion in dividends, equivalent to a 3 per cent yield. We encourage investors to take advantage of SGX’s direct crediting service which automatically deposits their dividends into their bank accounts.”

To check if you own any unclaimed assets, go to www.sgx.com/mygateway or call 6589 8039 from 8.30am tomorrow, or between 8.30am to 5pm on weekdays or from 9am to 12.30pm on Saturdays.