Blue-chip stocks should figure prominently in every investor’s portfolio.
Their size and stability make them perfect candidates as the bedrock of an investment portfolio, as these businesses have gone through multiple economic cycles.
All the blue-chip stocks also pay out a dividend that provides you with a steady stream of passive income.
If you are looking for blue-chip stocks that you can comfortably own for a lifetime, here are four candidates that you can add to your buy watchlist.
Singapore Exchange Limited (SGX: S68)
Singapore Exchange Limited, or SGX, is Singapore’s sole stock exchange operator.
The group operates a platform that allows the buying and selling of securities such as exchange-traded funds, bonds, equities, and derivatives.
SGX enjoys a natural monopoly and is also steadily growing its earnings and dividends.
For its fiscal 2025 (FY2025) ending 30 June 2025, net revenue rose 11.7% year on year to S$1.3 billion, a record high.
Net profit excluding one-off items jumped 16% year on year to S$609.5 million.
In line with the good results, SGX upped its final dividend from S$0.09 to S$0.105.
The group will focus on capacity building and technological enhancements to drive organic growth.
Management will also adopt an opportunistic approach to value-accretive, bolt-on acquisitions.
The bourse operator expressed confidence in its growth trajectory and intends to increase its quarterly dividend by S$0.0025 every quarter from FY2026 to FY2028, subject to earnings growth.
July’s market statistics showed continued promise – securities market turnover rose 27% year on year to S$33.8 billion, the highest in three months.
Derivatives traded volume also increased by 25% year on year to 29.3 million contracts.
Sembcorp Industries (SGX: U96)
Sembcorp Industries, or SCI, is an energy and urban solutions provider with a balanced energy portfolio of 27 GW across 11 countries.
SCI’s urban development projects span 14,800 hectares across Asia.
For the first half of 2025 (1H 2025), revenue dipped by 8% year on year to S$2.9 billion because of lower contributions from Gas and Related Services as pool prices declined in Singapore.
There was also the absence of contribution from SembEnviro.
Core net profit (excluding exceptional items) inched up slightly from S$489 million to S$491 million.
An interim dividend of S$0.09 was declared, 50% higher than the S$0.06 paid out a year ago.
SCI recently increased its effective stake in Senoko Energy from 30% to 50%, which should result in S$25 million in cost savings from portfolio optimisation and cost efficiency.
Its gross renewables installed capacity has risen to 18.9 GW as of end-June 2025, higher than 2024’s 16.8 GW.
The group’s target is to achieve 25 GW of installed capacity by 2028.
Back in March, SCI announced a strategic reorganisation and appointed managers for its key business lines while identifying three growth engines that will take the group to the next level.
Singapore Technologies Engineering (SGX: S63)
Singapore Technologies Engineering, or STE, is an engineering and defence group serving clients in the aerospace, smart city, and defence sectors.
The group serves customers in more than 100 countries and harnesses technology and innovation to solve a host of real-world problems.
For its first quarter of 2025 (1Q 2025) business update, STE saw revenue rise 8% year on year to S$2.9 billion.
Revenue growth was registered across all three of STE’s business divisions.
The engineering group snagged a total of around S$4.4 billion in new contract wins in 1Q 2025, taking its order book to S$29.8 billion as of 31 March 2025.
S$7.3 billion of these orders are expected to be delivered for the remainder of this year.
For 2Q 2025, STE announced that it secured S$4.7 billion of new contracts.
The engineering group also announced a progressive dividend policy during its recent Investor Day session.
The group intends to pay a total dividend of S$0.18 for 2025, up from S$0.17 last year.
From 2026 onwards, STE will pay an incremental dividend equivalent to one-third of the year-on-year increase in net profit.
Singtel (SGX: Z74)
Singtel is Singapore’s largest telecommunication company (telco).
The group provides a comprehensive range of mobile, broadband, and Pay TV services while also developing data centres and supplying cybersecurity services for businesses.
The telco delivered a strong performance for its fiscal 2025 (FY2025) ending 31 March 2025.
Operating revenue remained stable year on year at S$14.1 billion.
Underlying net profit, however, rose 9% year on year to S$2.5 billion, aided by solid performances from Optus and NCS.
Singtel declared a core final dividend of S$0.067 and a value realisation dividend of S$0.033, taking its total dividend for FY2025 to S$0.17, two cents higher than FY2024.
The telco also established a S$2 billion value realisation share buyback programme, which will be funded by excess capital from the group’s asset recycling proceeds.
For FY2026, Singtel expects high-single-digit growth in its operating profit (excluding associates’ contributions)
Capital expenditure is projected to be around S$2.5 billion.
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Disclosure: Royston Yang owns shares of Singapore Exchange Limited.
