5 Best-Performing Singapore Blue-Chip Stocks in the First Half of 2024

Yangzijiang Shipbuilding counts itself as one of the largest private shipbuilding companies in China.

The group owns four shipyards in Jiangsu province that are capable of producing a broad range of commercial vessels such as containerships, bulk carriers, and LNG carriers.

Yangzijiang Shipbuilding is the clear winner among the blue-chip companies with an more than 60% increase in its share price for 1H 2024.

The shipbuilder reported a stellar set of earnings for 2023 with revenue rising 16.5% year on year to RMB 24.1 billion.

Net profit leapt 57% year on year to a record high of RMB 4.1 billion, and the group paid out a final dividend of S$0.065, 30% higher than the S$0.05 paid out in 2022.

For the first quarter of 2024 (1Q 2024), Yangzijiang Shipbuilding announced that it had secured US$3.32 billion of orders year-to-date, fulfilling 74% of its target for the year.

The shipbuilder’s order book stood at a record US$16.08 billion and the group is also on track to hit its 2024 delivery target.

Industry demand for new vessels remains strong (see diagram below).

​Containerships should see demand growth of 9.5% this year while LNG and LPG carriers should see healthy compound annual growth rates (CAGR) of 3.6% and 5.5%, respectively, from now till 2029.

DBS is Singapore’s largest bank by market capitalisation and its 1H 2024 performance puts it in second place among the blue-chip names.

​Shares of DBS were up 19.4% in 1H 2024 to hit its all-time high of S$36.12, but the lender’s shares have since gone on to break a new record at S$37.