Many Singaporeans rely on their Central Provident Fund (CPF) to save for a rainy day and to build up a nest egg for their retirement.
However, did you know that the CPF Ordinary Account (OA) only pays you an interest rate of 2.5% per annum?
While this rate is nearly risk-free, it may not be sufficient to beat inflation over the long term, which averages around 2% to 3% per annum.
Luckily, you are allowed to invest a portion of your CPF OA by using the CPF Investment Account (IA).
Here are five stocks that you can include in your CPF IA buy watchlist that have higher yields than the CPF OA account.
Nordic Group (SGX: MR7)
Nordic Group is an engineering solutions provider serving the marine, offshore oil and gas, petrochemical, and infrastructure industries, to name a few.
The group provides a wide range of services, including vessel maintenance, repair, maintenance and overhaul (MRO), precision engineering, and scaffolding.
Nordic Group reported a mixed set of earnings for 2024, with revenue dipping 1% year on year to S$158.4 million.
Net profit, however, rose 10% year on year to S$17.5 million.
The group also generated S$16.3 million of free cash flow, a surge of 60.5% year on year.
Nordic Group declared a final dividend of S$0.008987 for 2024, taking its total dividend for 2024 to S$0.017513.
At S$0.385, shares of Nordic Group provide a trailing dividend yield of 4.5%.
The group reported an encouraging business update for the first quarter of 2025 (1Q 2025).
Revenue rose 19% year on year to S$41.6 million while net profit increased by 9% year on year to S$4.5 million.
China Sunsine (SGX: QES)
China Sunsine is a speciality chemical producer selling rubber accelerants, insoluble sulphur, and other vulcanising agents.
The group serves around 75% of the global top 75 tyre makers and distributes its products under the “Sunsine” brand.
China Sunsine reported a respectable set of earnings for 2024 as revenue rose 1% year on year to RMB 3.5 billion.
Net profit increased by 14% year on year to RMB 423.9 million, as sales volume inched up 3% year on year to 214,094 tonnes.
The group proposed a total dividend of S$0.03 for 2024, higher than the previous year’s S$0.025, in line with the good results.
Shares of China Sunsine delivered a trailing dividend yield of 4.7% at a share price of S$0.64.
For 1Q 2025, the group’s sales revenue dipped marginally by 1% year on year to RMB 839 million because of lower average selling prices.
Net profit, however, surged 27% year on year to RMB 108 million.
Valuetronics (SGX: BN2)
Valuetronics is an integrated electronics manufacturing services (EMS) provider supplying a full range of services from conceptualisation to engineering design and development.
For its fiscal 2025 (FY2025) ending 31 March 2025, total revenue rose 3.5% year on year to HK$1.73 billion.
Gross profit improved by 10.8% year on year to HK$293.7 million as gross margin increased from 15.9% to 17%.
Net profit inched up 4.3% year on year to HK$166.5 million.
Valuetronics declared and paid out a total dividend of HK$0.27 for FY2025, higher than the prior year’s HK$0.25.
Shares of the EMS provider provide a trailing dividend yield of 5.6% at the share price of S$0.79.
Management expects growth for its Consumer Electronics division as it has an entertainment-focused customer, which should benefit from growing global adoption of immersive entertainment technologies.
However, its Industrial and Commercial Electronics (ICE) division may experience delays because of the evolving tariff situation.
HRNetGroup (SGX: CHZ)
HRNetGroup is a leading recruitment and staffing firm with over 900 consultants across 18 Asian cities.
The group provides professional recruitment (PR) and flexible staffing (FS) services to its clients.
For 2024, revenue dipped 2% year on year to S$567 million while gross profit declined 12.1% year on year to S$122.2 million.
Net profit fell by 30% year on year to S$44.5 million.
The results were due to the challenging business environment in the cities where HRNetGroup has a presence.
Despite the profit drop, the human resource firm kept its 2024 dividend constant at S$0.04.
The group’s shares provide a trailing dividend yield of 5.7%.
For 2025, HRNetGroup should see contributions from new business units such as AlwaysHRNet, Leaps, and Crew.
Management delayering also resulted in annual cost savings of around S$1 million.
Its FS business is trying to secure and deliver more mega-projects, especially from the Singapore government.
Hotung Investment Holdings (SGX: BLS)
Hotung is Taiwan’s leading venture capital investment management group.
Over the last three decades, the group has invested in over 700 companies, and more than 200 have been either successfully listed on major stock exchanges or acquired.
For 2024, Hotung reported a sparkling set of earnings.
Revenue climbed 32.6% year on year to NT$431.8 million while operating profit surged 42.1% year on year to NT$281.9 million.
Net profit stood at NT$191.6 million, surging 68.4% year on year.
The investment firm declared a final dividend of NT$2.55 (around S$0.1122) per share.
At its recent share price of S$1.39, this dividend translates to a trailing dividend yield of around 8.1%.
Management warned that geopolitical tensions and protectionist measures may impede the growth of its investments and limit the prospects for venture capital and private equity investors.
Despite this, the group will continue to refresh its investment team to seek strategic investments for the mid-term.
Singapore’s stock market is on a historic run, but can it last? We’ll explore where interest rates are heading, whether blue-chip earnings can keep growing and more.
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Disclosure: Royston Yang does not own shares in any of the companies mentioned.
