Most investors gravitate towards the Straits Times Index (SGX: ^STI) when hunting for dividends. But some of the more interesting stories right now are playing out further down the market-cap ladder. Three small-cap stocks caught my eye – not just because they’re paying dividends, but because each one is at a turning point that could reshape its investment case entirely.

First REIT (SGX: AW9U): Exiting Indonesia, But Then What?

First REIT’s 1Q2026 distribution per unit (DPU) dropped 13.8% year on year (YoY) to S$0.00500. That’s not a number dividend investors want to see. But dig into the details and the picture shifts. The decline was driven largely by currency depreciation – both the Japanese Yen and Indonesian Rupiah weakened against the Singapore Dollar. Strip out FX effects, and rental income actually grew 4.7% YoY in Indonesia and 2.0% in Singapore, while Japan held stable. Portfolio occupancy sat at 100%. The far bigger story is the REIT’s planned exit from Indonesia altogether....