In Feb 2020, 17 SGX primary-listed stocks bought back shares for a total consideration of S$68 million. This was up from S$30 million in consideration for Jan 2020 and S$32 million in Feb 2019, and above the average monthly buyback consideration of S$49 million in 2019.
DBS, Keppel Corp and Silverlake Axis led the share buyback consideration tally, with the average buyback prices at S$24.623, S$6.720 and S$0.338 respectively. Buybacks for DBS made up S$43 million of the S$68 million total consideration.
Three stocks commenced new mandates in Feb - Singtel, The Hour Glass and Goodland Group. Singtel bought back S$1.6 million in shares at an average price of S$3.296, which compared to its preceding buyback of S$1.4 million in shares at an average price of S$3.117 on 16 May 2019.
Total share buyback consideration for month of February 2020 totaled S$67.9 million, more than double the S$29.9 million in consideration reported for January 2020 (see market update: 16 Companies Stocks Bought Back S$30 Million in Shares in January) in addition to more than double the S$32 million in February 2019.
During the month of February 2020, the Straits Times Index (“STI”) declined 4.5%, as the concerns of the potential economic impact of COVID-19 in the US Economy and other more US-centric factors, saw the Dow Jones Industrial Average decline 14% from its 12 February all-time through to the end of February. Both the United States and China represent two-fifths of global GDP, hence volatility of most equity benchmarks across the world notched higher in February.
A total of 17 primary-listed stocks conducted buybacks in Singapore in February, up from 16 in January. Share buyback transactions involve share issuers repurchasing some of their outstanding shares from shareholders through the open market.
Once the shares are bought back, they can be converted into treasury shares, which means they are no longer categorised as shares outstanding. Motivations for share buybacks can include employee compensation plans (such as share option schemes or employee share purchase plans) or long term capital management.
February 2020 Buybacks at S$68 Million
The table below summarises the buyback considerations in February 2020. The table is sorted by the value of the total consideration amount for the month, which combines the amount of shares or units purchased and the purchasing price of the transactions. SingTel, The Hour Glass and Goodland Group commenced new mandates.
| Stocks that Conducted buybacks in February 2020 |
Number of Shares/units Authorised for Purchase in Current Mandate |
Total Number of Shares/units Purchased |
Total Buyback Consideration (including stamp duties, clearing changes etc.) paid or payable for the shares |
Average Price Paid Per Share/Unit |
Cumulative Number of Shares/units purchased in Mandate to date* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DBS GROUP HOLDINGS | 51,165,438 | 1,750,000 | $43,089,446 | $24.623 | 5,900,000 |
| KEPPEL CORPORATION | 36,340,188 | 740,100 | $4,973,189 | $6.720 | 1,510,100 |
| SILVERLAKE AXIS | 264,505,273 | 13,716,400 | $4,632,822 | $0.338 | 34,829,300 |
| OVERSEA-CHINESE BANKING CORPORATION | 212,257,935 | 300,000 | $3,279,395 | $10.931 | 11,380,000 |
| STARHUB | 173,022,009 | 1,900,000 | $2,905,847 | $1.529 | 1,936,553 |
| MDR | 6,496,063,939 | 1,653,488,200 | $1,655,965 | $0.001 | 1,665,517,500 |
| SINGTEL | 816,457,915 | 481,169 | $1,586,062 | $3.296 | 481,169 |
| SINGAPORE EXCHANGE | 107,164,240 | 175,100 | $1,532,315 | $8.751 | 385,500 |
| SINGAPORE PRESS HOLDINGS | 159,456,338 | 750,000 | $1,493,119 | $1.991 | 1,050,000 |
| STAMFORD LAND CORPORATION | 81,973,408 | 2,450,700 | $1,221,132 | $0.498 | 35,267,800 |
| GLOBAL INVESTMENTS | 168,741,864 | 4,721,700 | $664,497 | $0.141 | 76,079,200 |
| SINGAPORE SHIPPING CORPORATION | 42,417,689 | 1,648,500 | $477,497 | $0.290 | 17,494,200 |
| TUAN SING HOLDINGS | 118,620,496 | 649,000 | $200,735 | $0.309 | 4,454,000 |
| ST GROUP FOOD INDUSTRIES HOLDINGS | 24,600,000 | 410,800 | $100,742 | $0.245 | 1,445,800 |
| BOUSTEAD SINGAPORE | 48,968,653 | 56,500 | $41,005 | $0.726 | 3,623,900 |
| THE HOUR GLASS | 70,501,188 | 30,000 | $23,260 | $0.775 | 30,000 |
| GOODLAND GROUP | 36,020,991 | 100,000 | $16,837 | $0.168 | 100,000 |
| Total | 1,683,368,169 | $67,893,867 |
Source: Bloomberg, SGX (Data as of 28 February 2020)
* note as of the end of February.
The date of the relevant share buyback mandate is also provided in the table above, in addition to the amount of shares authorised to be bought back under the mandate. The total number of shares purchased under the mandate and the percentage of the companies that issued shares that have been repurchased under the mandate are also provided.
Share buyback information can be found on the company disclosure page on the SGX website, using the Announcement category and sub-category of Share Buy Back-On Market. As best practice, companies should refrain from buying back their shares during the two weeks immediately before its quarterly financial statements and one month immediately before the full-year financial statements.
