Investing in overseas stocks has become more popular as Singaporean investors eschew the local stock market in favour of stocks with more exciting growth prospects.
This is unsurprising since the local stock market only has around 671 listed companies to choose from compared to the thousands abroad.
Singapore also does not have interesting global enterprises or technology giants such as Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: FB), Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) or Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL).
However, before you completely overlook Singapore stocks, you should note there are in fact a few good reasons to at least hold some of them in your investment portfolio.
No tax and hidden fees
Investors of Singapore-listed stocks are not taxed on their dividends or capital appreciation.
Tax can be a big dampener to your overall investment returns.
For instance, when you invest in US stocks, you will be charged a 30% withholding tax on all dividends paid out to you....