Market Statistics > Market Indices > About SEMTRI

The Stock Exchange of Mauritius Total Return Index (SEMTRI)

1. Background

The Stock Exchange of Mauritius (SEM) has launched a Total Return Index, the SEMTRI, whose main purpose is to provide domestic and foreign market participants an important tool for performance measurement of the local market.

Besides capturing the price movements of listed stocks, common to the already published all-share index SEMDEX, the Total Return Index, SEMTRI, incorporates the added feature of providing investors, in general, and long-term investors like pensions funds, in particular, a good measurement of total return which combines both capital gains/losses on listed stocks and gross dividends obtained on these stocks since the inception of the local stock market on July 5, 1989. Gross dividends are assumed to be re-invested in the stocks underlying the capital index, SEMDEX.

2. Methodology of calculation of SEMTRI

The methodology used for the calculation of the Total Return Index is based on the following approach.

The calculation is undertaken in two steps:

(i)The first step is to transpose the total daily announced dividend payments into index points on the ex-dividend date. This is called XD adjustment to the underlying capital index, i.e the SEMDEX.

Where
gi = announced dividend per share of the ith company

wi = the number of ordinary shares issued by the ith company

d = Divisor (base market capitalisation) of the underlying capital index, SEMDEX

In the case of Treasury shares, total dividend paid is input in the formula.

(ii) The second step of the calculation uses the figures calculated in step one (XD adjustment).These figures are included in the formula below to calculate the SEMTRI, assuming re-investment of grossdividends.

Where
SEMTRI t = Total return index value today

SEMTRI t - 1 = Total return index value yesterday

SEMDEX t – 1 = underlying capital index yesterday

SEMDEX t = underlying capital index today

XDt = XD adjustment to underlying capital index today

3. Rules for the maintenance of the SEMTRI.

The maintenance of and operational adjustments to the SEMTRI in respect of corporate events, such as new listings or delistings, rights issues, bonus issues etc will be done in accordance with the rules governing the maintenance of the underlying capital index, SEMDEX.

4. Advantages provided by  SEMTRI.

SEMTRI will provide investors with the following benefits:

It constitutes a very good indicator of the performance of the overall stock market and provides a dynamic yardstick of the local stock market’s evolution overtime.
It captures the two forms of return that a stock market investment generates, namely, capital appreciation and dividend payments.
It will provide investors, in general, and long-term institutional investors, in particular, a useful benchmark to undertake cross-market and cross-instrument performance measurements.
It will enable the SEM to regularly publish the list of top performing companies in terms of capital growth and dividend payments