These views were shared by analysts at a media briefing held in Macquarie’s Singapore office on Wednesday (Jul 29). He attributed the preference to their stronger currencies, with both the Singapore dollar and Thai baht maintaining relative stability against the greenback, relative to regional peers this year. Strong dividend yields have drawn investors to both these countries’ markets – particularly among large-cap financial stocks, noted Vantarakis. El NinoBeyond market rotation, Macquarie expects a strong El Nino event to become another major investment theme for South-east Asia. It named the Bursa Malaysia-listed SD Gurthrie and Kuala Lumpur Kepong as their top picks among palm oil planters.