This edition of Get Smart was first sent sent out on 12 August 2020. Around three-quarters of Singapore’s Straits Times Index (SGX: ^STI) companies have recently reported their results. The results aren’t pretty, as you can see in the table below. Source: Company announcements, earnings presentations, and website; Note: Dividends for Hongkong Land, Jardine C&C, Jardine Matheson, Jardine Strategic and Dairy Farm are in US dollars; Dividends for Thai Beverage are in Thai Baht. Three out of every four that reported have lowered their dividends. Four of them, Genting Singapore (SGX: G13), SATS Ltd (SGX: S58), Singapore Airlines Ltd (SGX: C6L) and Sembcorp Industries Limited (SGX: U96), have stopped paying interim dividends altogether. It’s not surprising. After all, the quartet resides in some of the hardest hit industries amid the pandemic.

An ominous wind

Singapore’s economy has been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. The nation’s second-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) shrank by a record 13.2% year on year as the economy grappled with the circuit breaker measures and weak external demand....