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Singapore Market Outlook: Insights from Jun Yuan Lim

SmallCap Asia | 亚洲小盘股 Aug 11, 2026

Summary

Singapore retail investors should anchor H2 2026 on REIT reporting and bank dividends, with rate moves driving the split, Lim argues.

The S$6.5 billion EQDP program has rapidly revived small and mid-cap trading volume after years of liquidity drift.

Rising rates would weigh on REITs but lift local banks like DBS, UOB, and OCBC — Lim flags the divergent path.

Lim's four-pillar REIT framework — financial performance, distribution trend, occupancy, and debt profile — replaces price-action thinking.

Buying after a steep rally is the classic retail trap; fair-value discipline and independent due diligence come first.

Lim Jun Yuan's takeaways

  • Top takeaway The guest warns that the steep recent run-up in local bank and tech share prices through August 2026 is the worst time to buy, urging retail investors to treat stocks like sale items — only buy at fair value after doing their own due diligence, and to avoid the buy-high, sell-low pattern he sees many retail investors fall into.
  • On the next six months from August 2026, he argues Singapore stocks must deliver double-digit percentage earnings growth, not just 1-10%, to justify the premium valuations investors have assigned across Singapore, US and Hong Kong markets.
  • He lays out a four-pillar REIT screen: rising gross revenue and net property income in at least four of five years, an upward distribution trend, occupancy at or above 90% with positive rental reversion and top-10 tenant concentration under 50%, and a debt profile with aggregate leverage at 40% or lower, interest coverage of 3.5x or higher, fixed-rate hedging of at least 70%, and a stable or declining average cost of debt.
  • He credits the MAS S$6.5 billion EQDP programme with shooting trading volume and liquidity back up in Singapore small and mid-caps, while flagging that the key question once the funds are utilised is whether these names can sustain performance without the liquidity tailwind.
  • He flags renewed Middle East tension and an oil spike as risks that could re-escalate inflation and rate-hike expectations after the recent CPI and PPI declines, which he reads as a negative for REITs but a positive for the local banks.