Hi guys, sorry if this is a dumb question. I was reading on the SPDR STI ETF, it says the dividend yield is 3.61%, compounded semi annually. So is it right to say it's interest rate is 7.22% annually?

Hi there! No question is dumb, taking the effort and initiative to ask this question is already a good decision you've made for yourself, kudos to that!

To answer your question, dividend yield is usually indicated based on an annual yield basis. Therefore, 3.61% is what you will get should you purchase the ETF at the current price based on the dividends it has paid out for the previous year. Compounded semi-annually equates to dividend payouts being twice a year and then added together

I've gotten the below screen cap from SPDR website (https://www.spdrs.com.sg/etf/fund/spdr-straits-...) on the ETF you mentoned. Hope it clarifies :)

To provide an example based on the above screen cap

The dividend yield above is based on the market price of $3.36 (as of 23 April) this means that based on the previous 2 dividends paid out as seen below

At the current price, the ETF's dividend yield is ($0.056+$0.06) / $3.36 = 3.46%

No it just pays out half of that twice a year. And that was last year's yield. It changes every year.