Singapore stock market is good hunting ground for dividends, with payouts accounting for nearly 52% of total shareholder returns (including capital appreciation) over last 5 years, says CLSA, according to Dow Jones.

CLSA notes of 43 stocks in Singapore it covers, 22 have dividend yield of over 3.5% for 2010, 2011. Cites Starhub (CC3.SG), Ascendas REIT (A17U.SG), Singapore Press Holdings (T39.SG), Keppel Corp. (BN4.SG), SingTel (Z74.SG), ST Engineering (S63.SG), ComfortDelgro (C52.SG), UOB (U11.SG) as top eight dividend plays based on size, liquidity, defensiveness, dividend sustainability, valuation attractiveness.

“This uncertain market environment makes dividend stocks attractive for downside protection, attractive income, and upside potential from their valuations,” says CLSA.