In the month of Dec 2020, 24 primary-listed stocks in Singapore bought back 101 million shares for a total consideration of S$114million. This was down from S$174 million in consideration for Nov 2020, and higher than the S$70 million filed for Dec 2019.
This brought the total buyback consideration for 2020 to S$1.03 billion, with 100 primary-listed stocks conducting buybacks. While the number of companies conducting buybacks was up 20%, the consideration was up 75% from S$590 million in 2019.
The 2020 buyback consideration was led by STI stocks DBS Group Holdings, Wilmar International, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding (Holdings) and Singapore Technologies Engineering. This was similar to 2019, with Keppel REIT making the top five in 2019 rather than Wilmar International.
Total share buyback consideration for month of December 2020 totaled S$114.4 million, down from the S$174.2 million in consideration reported for November 2020 (click herefor more details). The December 2020buyback consideration was up from the S$70.1 million reported for December 2019.
During the month of December 2020, the Straits Times Index (“STI”) gained 1.3%. This took the decline in total return of the STI in 2020 to 8.1%, following on from a 9.4% gain in 2019, as highlighted in a recent Market Update (clickherefor more).
Wilmar International (“Wilmar”) bought back 11,276,300 of its shares for a consideration of S$48,105,674 between 1 December and 29 December at an average price of S$4.27 per share.This brought the total number of shares that Wilmar International bought back on the current mandate during the 2020 calendar year to 44,716,400 shares, representing 0.70% of Wilmar’s issued shares (excluding treasury shares). Prior to this, Wilmar had not bought back its shares since 12 August 2016. Yihai Kerry Arawana Holdings Co (“YKA”), the 89.99% subsidiary of Wilmar has been trading on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange ChiNext Board since 15 October. The current valuation gap sees YKA maintaining a Price-to-Earnings (“P/E”) ratio of 115x, compared to Wilmar’s Price-to-Earnings ratio of 17x. In China, Consumer Goods stocks with a market value of at least US$1 billion maintain a median P/E ratio near 45x, compared to their peers across the exchanges of APAC financial centres trading at a median P/E ratio of 20x.
| SGX Primary Listed Stocks that Conducted Buybacks in Dec 2020 |
Number of Shares/units Authorised for Purchase in Current Mandate |
Total Number of Shares/units Purchased in Dec 2020 |
Total Buyback Consideration (including stamp duties, clearing changes etc.) paid or payable for the shares |
Average Price Paid |
Cumulative Number of Shares/units purchased in Mandate to date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WILMAR INTERNATIONAL | 635,459,880 | 11,276,300 | $48,105,674 | $4.266 | 44,716,400 |
| JAPFA | 204,908,472 | 23,000,000 | $20,149,264 | $0.876 | 23,000,000 |
| YANGZIJIANG SHIPBUILDING (HOLDINGS) | 391,876,520 | 21,000,000 | $19,742,864 | $0.940 | 66,249,200 |
| OUE | 90,061,166 | 12,595,800 | $14,835,905 | $1.178 | 17,849,000 |
| SEMBCORP INDUSTRIES | 35,711,498 | 1,700,000 | $2,933,692 | $1.726 | 5,284,100 |
| STARHUB | 173,132,642 | 1,492,200 | $1,916,974 | $1.285 | 1,492,200 |
| GLOBAL INVESTMENTS | 161,476,125 | 10,884,800 | $1,522,094 | $0.140 | 52,328,800 |
| AVARGA | 94,704,634 | 5,700,000 | $1,488,072 | $0.261 | 6,239,800 |
| HONG FOK CORPORATION | 84,800,184 | 990,000 | $720,980 | $0.728 | 3,327,100 |
| FOOD EMPIRE HOLDINGS | 53,597,249 | 1,062,800 | $665,896 | $0.627 | 2,312,800 |
| EUROSPORTS GLOBAL | 26,086,770 | 2,575,000 | $443,157 | $0.172 | 4,622,900 |
| SILVERLAKE AXIS | 257,790,683 | 1,303,300 | $346,031 | $0.266 | 4,772,500 |
| HOTUNG INVESTMENT HLDGS | 9,628,608 | 174,000 | $290,663 | $1.670 | 174,000 |
| SINGAPORE REINSURANCE CORPORATION | 59,730,798 | 797,900 | $235,147 | $0.295 | 991,800 |
| SUTL ENTERPRISE | 8,646,060 | 423,100 | $207,319 | $0.490 | 900,400 |
| TREK 2000 INTERNATIONAL | 31,945,342 | 2,234,500 | $204,077 | $0.091 | 3,451,200 |
| TUAN SING HOLDINGS | 118,414,021 | 536,800 | $169,554 | $0.316 | 1,363,500 |
| BOUSTEAD SINGAPORE | 48,714,422 | 124,200 | $97,696 | $0.787 | 1,745,300 |
| CHEUNG WOH TECHNOLOGIES | 29,770,450 | 654,200 | $88,057 | $0.135 | 2,463,200 |
| KSH HOLDINGS | 56,382,624 | 200,000 | $66,435 | $0.332 | 200,000 |
| MDR | 89,039,757 | 800,900 | $64,103 | $0.080 | 3,009,300 |
| MIYOSHI | 60,760,359 | 1,553,200 | $54,611 | $0.035 | 7,642,700 |
| NORDIC GROUP | 39,019,100 | 93,600 | $22,031 | $0.235 | 1,291,000 |
| ADVANCER GLOBAL | 16,942,532 | 84,000 | $8,927 | $0.106 | 1,098,900 |
| Total | 101,256,600 | $114,379,221 |
Source: SGX (Data as of 31 December 2020)
2020 Buyback Consideration Tally at S$1.03 Billion
December buybacks took the total buyback consideration for SGX primary-listed stocks for the 2020 calendar year to S$1.03 billion, with 100 primary-listed stocks conducting buybacks. While the number of companies conducting buybacks was up 20%, the consideration was up 75% from S$590 million in 2019.
The 2020 buyback consideration was led by STI stocks DBS Group Holdings, Wilmar International, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding (Holdings) and Singapore Technologies Engineering. This was similar to 2019, with Keppel REIT making the top five in 2019 rather than Wilmar International.
Together the 20 stocks that filed the highest buyback considerations throughout the 2020 calendar year accounted for 94% of the entire consideration of S$1.03 billion.
| 20 SGX Primary-listed stocks with Highest Buyback Considerations in 2020 Calendar Year |
Total Number of Shares/units Purchased |
Total Buyback Consideration (including stamp duties, clearing changes etc.) paid or payable for the shares |
Average Price Paid |
|---|---|---|---|
| DBS GROUP HOLDINGS | 21,400,000 | $431,471,911 | $20.162 |
| WILMAR INTERNATIONAL | 44,716,400 | $190,238,801 | $4.254 |
| OVERSEA-CHINESE BANKING CORPORATION | 6,895,800 | $62,889,547 | $9.120 |
| YANGZIJIANG SHIPBUILDING (HOLDINGS) | 66,249,200 | $62,807,428 | $0.948 |
| SINGAPORE TECHNOLOGIES ENGINEERING | 8,550,000 | $29,191,674 | $3.414 |
| OUE | 18,753,200 | $22,013,451 | $1.174 |
| JAPFA | 23,587,400 | $20,415,312 | $0.866 |
| SILVERLAKE AXIS | 63,917,000 | $20,164,105 | $0.315 |
| UNITED OVERSEAS BANK | 993,300 | $19,954,908 | $20.090 |
| KEPPEL CORPORATION | 3,866,628 | $19,040,097 | $4.924 |
| GLOBAL INVESTMENTS | 131,096,600 | $17,624,442 | $0.134 |
| SINGAPORE EXCHANGE | 2,002,000 | $17,003,996 | $8.494 |
| SEMBCORP INDUSTRIES | 8,152,100 | $15,390,940 | $1.888 |
| HONG FOK CORPORATION | 14,441,200 | $9,194,227 | $0.637 |
| GOLDEN AGRI-RESOURCES | 42,683,100 | $8,063,785 | $0.189 |
| FIRST RESOURCES | 5,922,500 | $7,629,616 | $1.288 |
| SINGAPORE PRESS HOLDINGS | 4,698,100 | $7,520,405 | $1.601 |
| STARHUB | 3,592,200 | $5,109,188 | $1.422 |
| STAMFORD LAND CORPORATION | 8,183,200 | $3,950,496 | $0.483 |
| STRACO CORPORATION | 7,583,900 | $3,879,624 | $0.512 |
Source: SGX (Data as of 31 December 2020)
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. Buybacks can pick up amidst market declines that are driven by broader moves on international macroeconomic developments.
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 (click here). 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.
