TheStreet.com Ratings: Finding Growth in Singapore

Vital Quartet

The fund's top four holdings -- three in the financial sector and one in telecommunications services -- account for 47% of the portfolio.

Let's take a closer look at these companies to get a feel for the style of the portfolio and perhaps gauge its prospects. (1 Singapore Dollar (SGD) = 0.63135 USD).

DBS Group Holdings, which operates the largest bank in Singapore, provides mortgage financing, nominee- and trustee-funds management and corporate advisory and brokerage services. It is also the primary dealer of the country's government securities.

Fourteen of the 21 investment firms that cover this stock rate it a buy, while seven have a hold rating on it.

DBS currently trades at about 20.4 SGD. The company had a lackluster 2005, with its share price falling to a low of around 14 SGD in July of that year. Since then, however, the stock has rebounded, rising to its current level, which is its 52-week high.

DBS trades at a P/E -- a valuation ratio of a company's current share price compared to its per-share earnings -- of 28.41, which is high and reflects anticipated growth for the coming year, considering that a P/E between 15 to 20 is the upper threshold for a mature company. The firm's market capitalization is 30.7 billion SGD ($19.4 billion). The stock's one-year total return, through Oct. 3 (which includes both capital gains and dividend income), of 34.11% will be hard to match given the run-up in share price over the last year. However, this stock is viewed to outperform the market going forward.