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OVER the five trading sessions from Feb 28 to Mar 6, institutions were net sellers of Singapore stocks, leading to a net institutional outflow of S$117 million, down from the S$265 million in net outflow over the preceding five sessions.

This brings the net institutional outflow for the year to Feb 28 to S$1.23 billion.

Institutional flows

Across the five trading sessions leading up to Mar 6, the stocks that experienced the highest net institutional outflows included DBS, OCBC, UOB, Seatrium, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding, City Developments Ltd, Jardine Cycle & Carriage, Mapletree Industrial Trust, Venture Corporation and Jardine Matheson.

Meanwhile, Singapore Airlines again led the net institutional inflows over the five sessions, followed by ST Engineering, Singtel, ComfortDelGro, Wilmar International, Sembcorp Industries, CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust, Yangzijiang Financial, Keppel and Mapletree Logistics Trust.

Consequently, from a sector perspective, industrials experienced the highest net institutional outflows over the five sessions, while financial services had the most net institutional inflows across the same period.

Share buybacks

The five sessions saw 23 primary-listed companies conduct buybacks with a total consideration of about S$40 million, up from S$31.1 million in the preceding five sessions.

DBS again led the consideration tally, with 700,000 shares bought back at an average price of S$46.15 a share. Between Feb 26 and Mar 6, the bank conducted three buybacks, with 350,000 shares purchased in each instance.

Among the non-Straits Times Index constituents, GP Industries and SIA Engineering led the tally.

Director transactions

The five trading sessions saw more than 80 director interests and substantial shareholdings filed for close to 60 primary-listed stocks. Directors or CEOs filed 24 acquisitions and two disposals, while substantial shareholders filed six acquisitions and three disposals.

The director acquisitions included those in Anchun International, Centurion Corporation, Darco Water Technologies, ES Group, Far East Orchard, GuocoLand, Hong Leong Asia, Hotel Properties, IFS Capital, Jardine Cycle & Carriage, Marco Polo Marine, MegaChem, Olam Group, Singapore Shipping Corporation, Stamford Land Corporation, Uni-Asia Group, Union Steel, and UOB.

Hong Leong Asia

Between Mar 4 and 5, Hong Leong Asia executive chairman Kwek Leng Peck acquired 767,000 shares at an average price of S$0.989 per share. This increased his total interest from 1.19 per cent to 1.29 per cent.

Kwek has extensive experience in trading, manufacturing, property investment and development, hotel operations, corporate finance, as well as management.

He has played a significant role in Hong Leong Group’s real estate developments, investments and hotel operations, overseeing its growth from an integrated building materials company in the 1980s and 1990s to a major player in China’s consumer products and diesel engines industries since the 2000s.

On Feb 26, Hong Leong Asia reported that its FY2024 attributable net profit rose 35.3 per cent year on year, due to strong performances from both the powertrain solutions and building materials businesses.

Centurion Corporation

On Feb 27, Centurion Corporation non-executive director and joint chairman Han Seng Juan increased his total interest in the company from 55.61 per cent to 55.68 per cent. He bought 600,000 shares for a consideration of S$586,338, translating to an average price of S$0.977 per share.

His preceding acquisitions were in August 2020, with 1,525,000 shares purchased at S$0.352 apiece.

Responsible for the formulation of corporate and business strategies, he has also been a principal and director of Centurion Global, a controlling shareholder of the company, since April 2008.

The group owns and manages a portfolio of 37 operational accommodation assets totalling 69,929 beds as at Dec 31.

Its FY2024 attributable net profit surged by 125 per cent to S$344.8 million, with core business net profit rising 45 per cent to S$110.8 million.

Significant fair value gains on investment properties contributed to the robust financial performance. Additionally, Centurion Corporation maintained a healthy balance sheet with S$89 million in cash and bank balances, and a net gearing ratio of 29 per cent.

Olam Group

On Feb 28, Olam Group executive director, co-founder and CEO Sunny Verghese bought 500,000 shares at an average price of S$0.99 per share. With a consideration of S$495,580, this increased his direct interest from 4.43 per cent to 4.45 per cent.

His preceding acquisition on the open market was in July 2022, with 500,000 shares acquired at S$1.54 apiece.

On Feb 28, Olam Group reported that its FY2024 core operating profit, or earnings before interest and tax, increased by 9.2 per cent year on year to S$1.9 billion.

Full-year sales volume grew 12.5 per cent to 49.6 million tonnes, driven by Olam Agri. However, significantly higher net finance costs of S$445.7 million led to a 69 per cent decline in profit after tax and minority interests to S$86.4 million.

It was reported that the higher net finance costs were due to elevated net debt levels from price-led working capital increases.

Prior to the release of the results, on Feb 24, Olam Group announced that it had entered into a conditional sale and purchase agreement with Saudi Agriculture and Livestock Investment Company (Salic) to dispose of its remaining shareholding in Olam Agri in two tranches.

Meanwhile, it was focusing on unlocking value for its remaining businesses and Olam Food Ingredients (ofi), including an ofi initial public offering.

Verghese said that with Salic, the group expected to further deliver on its shared vision and focus on sustainable sourcing.

UOB

Between Feb 28 and Mar 3, UOB chairman Wong Kan Seng purchased 10,050 shares at an average price of S$38.157 per share. With a consideration of S$383,480, this increased his total interest in the lender to 75,120 shares.

His preceding acquisition on the open market was on Mar 1, 2023, with 3,700 shares acquired at S$29.74 apiece. Wong was appointed to the board of UOB in July 2017 and assumed the role of chairman in February 2018.

He is also the chairman of CapitaLand Group as well as CLA Real Estate, and a director of Bo’ao Forum for Asia.

In its March 2025 investor presentation, UOB said it planned to reward shareholders with a S$3 billion capital distribution package to return surplus capital over the next three years. This includes a special dividend of S$0.50 per share in 2025, and a S$2 billion share buyback programme to be completed by 2027.

For the year ahead, the bank intends to continue capitalising on the region’s long-term fundamentals, including growing intra-regional flows and rising consumer affluence, by intensifying cross-selling efforts and expanding its range of products and services.

Additionally, UOB intends to keep investing in talent and technology to build capabilities in delivering its integrated regional platform.

GuocoLand

Between Feb 27 and 28, GuocoLand chairman and non-independent non-executive director Quek Leng Chan increased his deemed interest via acquisitions by GuoLine Group Management Company. He purchased 40,500 shares at an average price of S$1.45 apiece.

Quek maintains a 71.86 per cent deemed interest in the leading real estate group that offers comprehensive capabilities across the entire real estate value chain.

On Feb 10, GuocoLand reported a 13 per cent year-on-year growth in attributable net profit for the first half of FY2025 to S$74.6 million. This was due to the construction progress of substantially sold development properties in Singapore, and higher contributions from investment properties.

Marco Polo Marine

On Mar 4, Marco Polo Marine non-executive director Darren Teo bought one million shares at S$0.049 apiece. This increased his direct interest in the integrated marine logistics group from 0.23 per cent to 0.26 per cent.

Additionally, he has deemed interest through Apricot Capital, which holds 607,142,857 shares in Marco Polo Marine. He indirectly owns 20 per cent of the company’s issued and paid-up share capital, bringing his total interest in Marco Polo Marine to 16.43 per cent.

Anchun International

On Mar 3, Ace Sense acquired 124,200 shares of Anchun International at an average price of S$0.318 apiece. This increased the deemed interest of Xie Ming, Anchun’s non-independent non-executive chairman, from 23.14 per cent to 23.41 per cent.

Anchun specialises in integrated chemical and environmental systems engineering, and provides environmentally friendly and energy-efficient technology solutions to the petrochemical and chemical industries in China.

On Feb 27, it reported that its FY2024 revenue increased 33 per cent year on year to 177.4 million yuan (S$32.6 million). The growth was driven primarily by higher revenue from its chemical systems and components business, which rose 45 per cent to 151.3 million yuan due to a higher percentage of contract completions and an increase in the number of contracts during the fiscal year.

However, the gain was partially offset by declines in the remaining two segments, the catalyst business and the chemical engineering and technology engineering services. Nonetheless, Anchun’s FY2024 attributable net profit surged 358 per cent to 10.9 million yuan.

The writer is the market strategist at Singapore Exchange (SGX). To read SGX’s market research reports, visit sgx.com/research.