To The Moon

The current group of 230+ small- and mid-cap companies (SMIDs), defined as SGX-listed companies with market capitalisation of between S$100 million and S$10 billion, have a combined market capitalisation of S$290 billion, up approximately 20% from S$242 billion as of 30 June 2025.

Their combined average daily turnover (ADT) for the first 10 months of 2026 (10M26) has increased more than 80% from the first half of 2025 (1H25), from S$368 million to S$675 million. The comparison includes 20 new listings since 30 June 2025, which account for S$22 billion of current market capitalisation and S$50 million of 10M26 ADT. Excluding these companies, market capitalisation increased approximately 11% and 10M26 ADT approximately 70%. 

ROE Accretion and P/B Re-Rating

Price-to-book (P/B) can provide a more relevant valuation lens for return on equity (ROE) improvement than price-to-earnings (P/E), given that both P/B and ROE are directly linked to shareholders’ equity. Higher and more sustainable ROE may support a higher valuation relative to book value, although the relationship can vary across companies and over time.

The 30 largest SMID ROE improvers recorded median ROE accretion of 14.1 percentage points (ppt) between 30 June 2025 and 30 October 2026, with 23 of the 30 recording P/B expansion over the same period. However, the magnitude of P/B expansion was not consistently related to the magnitude of ROE accretion. The dispersion is evident at the stock level: $DFIRG USD(D01.SI)$ $IX Biopharma(42C.SI)$ $Addvalue Tech(A31.SI)$ recorded P/B expansion of 17.6x, 31.4x and 11.0x respectively, while $AvePoint(AVP.SI)$ recorded a 2.6x contraction despite 24.6 ppt of ROE accretion. 

Improving capital efficiency was accompanied by broader P/B re-rating across the group, but ROE improvement alone did not determine the extent of re-rating. ROE data is sourced from LSEG Workspace and represents the ROE reported by LSEG as of the respective observation dates, rather than ROE for the reporting periods ending on those dates. Figures can differ from company-reported ROE and those of other data providers due to differences in definitions, calculation methodologies, reporting periods and adjustments.

The Five Largest SMID ROE Improvers

The five largest SMID ROE improvements were recorded by DFI Retail Group, iX Biopharma, $CNMC Goldmine(5TP.SI)$ , $SingHoldings(5IC.SI)$ and AvePoint. ROE accretion was 125.0 ppt, 72.5 ppt, 38.2 ppt, 33.3 ppt and 24.6 ppt, respectively. DFI Retail Group's ROE increased from -31% to 94%, while iX Biopharma improved from -174% to -101% but remained negative. AvePoint also moved from negative to positive ROE, from -8% to 16%.

The table below details the 30 current SMIDs with the highest ROE accretion between 30 June 2025 and 30 October 2026. The ranking is not based on SMIDs with the highest ROEs, such as $Info-Tech(ITS.SI)$ , $Lum Chang(L19.SI)$ , $Azeus(BBW.SI)$ , $Ever Glory(ZKX.SI)$ and $NamCheong(1MZ.SI)$ , which maintain current ROEs of 77%, 64%, 64%, 59% and 45%, respectively.

Source: SGX, LSEG Workspace (Data as of 30 October 2026). 

DFI Retail Group: Earnings, Capital Returns and Portfolio Reset

For DFI Retail Group, the improvement was supported by a clearer operating and capital-allocation reset.

Its 2025 annual report showed underlying profit attributable to shareholders rising 35% to US$270 million, net cash of US$70 million at year-end, approximately US$740 million returned to shareholders, and portfolio simplification through the divestments of Yonghui, Robinsons Retail and the Singapore Food business.

In 2026, DFI reported further operating progress: 1Q26 underlying profit from continuing businesses grew 49%, 1HFY26 underlying profit from continuing businesses grew 44% to US$117 million, and 3Q26 underlying subsidiary profit from continuing businesses grew 17%.

The group also announced the reorganisation of its Maxim’s interest, under which it will assume the Starbucks licensed business across seven Asian markets and receive approximately US$340 million in cash consideration, subject to adjustments, while raising its 2027 dividend payout ratio to 80%. This gives DFI’s ROE recovery and P/B re-rating a company-specific context anchored in earnings recovery, balance sheet strength, capital recycling and a shift from portfolio company to focused operating company.

EPS Context

Earnings per share (EPS) trends can provide additional context on the earnings performance accompanying ROE improvement. Consensus EPS estimates are not available for all 30 stocks, while differences in reporting periods, earnings bases and the availability of forward estimates can also affect comparability. EPS growth can nonetheless provide an alternative measure of earnings performance where comparable estimates are available, alongside ROE accretion and P/B re-rating.