In April 2021, 16 SGX primary-listed stocks bought back 23 million shares for a total consideration of S$48.5 million. This was down from 26 stocks conducting buybacks for a total consideration of S$71.8 million in March, and higher than the 38 stocks filing S$36.3 million in consideration in April 2020.
For the month of April, the STI gained 1.7%, with dividends boosting the total return for the month to 2.0%. The STI has generated a 14.0% total return over the first four months of 2021, with the S$183 million in buyback consideration for the four months representing 0.02 per cent of the S$911.0 billion in market capitalisation of all stocks listed on SGX as of April.
Of the stocks that conducted buybacks in April, Global Investments has bought back the largest percentage of its issued shares on the current mandate. Global Investments’ current buyback mandate has seen it purchase 5.19% of its issued shares (excluding treasury shares) as of 30 April.
Total share buyback consideration for month of April 2021 totalled S$48.5 million, down from S$71.8 million in March 2021 (click here), and similar to the $49.7 million consideration reported back in February 2021 (click here for more details). The April 2021 buyback consideration was also higher year-on-year, with S$36.3 million in consideration reported for April 2020 (click here for more details).
During April 2021, the Straits Times Index (“STI”) gained 1.7%, moving to 3,218.27, from 3,165.34 at the end of March. This brought the STI’s 2021 price gain to 13.2%, with dividends boosting the total return to 14.0%. In terms of price gains, this has been the STI's strongest start to a calendar year since 1999, with the Singapore benchmark maintaining its ranking as Asia Pacific’s second best performer in the 2021 year to date after Taiwan’s TAIEX index as discussed here.
The combined AUM of the SPDR® Straits Times Index ETF and the Nikko AM Singapore STI ETF ended April 2021 at S$2.30 billion compared to S$2.28 billion at the end of March 2021, and compared to S$1.10 billion at the end of December 2019, with the unit creations and redemptions generating S$930 million of net inflows into the two ETFs over the last 16 months.
There were 16 primary-listed stocks that bought back shares in April.
Of the stocks that conducted buybacks in April, Global Investments has bought back the largest percentage of its issued shares on the current mandate. Global Investments’ current buyback mandate has seen it purchase 5.19% of its issued shares (excluding treasury shares) as of 30 April which is up from 4.71% as of 31 March. The preceding share buyback mandate seeing Global Investments buy back 8.52% of its issued shares (excluding treasury shares).
EuroSports Global’s current buyback mandate has seen it purchase 1.89% of its issued shares (excluding treasury shares) as of 30 April. EuroSports Global is a leading luxury lifestyle company in specialising distribution of ultra-luxury automobiles and luxury automobiles and the provision of after-sales services. In a recent 10-in-10 Market Dialogue (click here), the Group noted its sales and operations were affected during lockdown period, however had noticed an increasing demand in the past couple months as consumers diverge their spending to luxury automobiles. Moving ahead, EuroSports Global plans to actively seek new dealerships and expand not just in Singapore but also into the region.
Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp (“OCBC”) led the April consideration tally with 3.66 million shares acquired at an average price of S$11.83 per share. In its FY20 (ended 31 Dec) Annual Report, OCBC noted shares purchased under the share buyback programme are held as treasury shares, and recorded as a deduction against share capital, and may be subsequently cancelled, sold or used to meet delivery obligations under employee share schemes. During FY20, OCBC purchased 6.9 million shares for $63 million as part of its share buyback programme, while 12.0 million treasury shares were delivered to meet obligations under its employee share schemes.
The table below summarises the buyback considerations in April 2021. The table is sorted by the value of the total consideration amount for the month, which combines the amount of shares or units purchased and the purchasing price of the transactions.
| SGX Primary Listed Stocks that Conducted Buybacks in April 2021 |
Number of Shares/units Authorised for Purchase in Current Mandate |
Total Number of Shares/units Purchased in April 2021 |
Total Buyback Consideration (including stamp duties, clearing changes etc.) paid or payable for the shares |
Average Price Paid S$ |
Cumulative Number of Shares/units purchased in Mandate to date |
Percent of Outstanding Shares (Excl. Treasury) purchased in Mandate to date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OVERSEA-CHINESE BANKING CORPORATION | 220,250,626 | 3,660,000 | $43,289,346 | $11.828 | 6,660,000 | 0.15 |
| SINGAPORE TECHNOLOGIES ENGINEERING | 62,409,095 | 500,000 | $1,930,976 | $3.862 | 500,000 | 0.02 |
| GLOBAL INVESTMENTS | 161,476,125 | 10,500,000 | $1,573,507 | $0.150 | 83,814,600 | 5.19 |
| SIIC ENVIRONMENT HOLDINGS | 260,281,772 | 3,849,000 | $819,824 | $0.213 | 27,152,000 | 1.04 |
| KOUFU GROUP | 55,461,640 | 300,000 | $202,022 | $0.673 | 846,600 | 0.15 |
| TREK 2000 INTERNATIONAL | 31,945,342 | 1,341,600 | $173,515 | $0.129 | 5,952,000 | 1.86 |
| MDR | 89,039,757 | 1,568,800 | $126,359 | $0.081 | 7,515,900 | 0.84 |
| GP INDUSTRIES | 48,404,668 | 203,200 | $113,034 | $0.556 | 203,200 | 0.04 |
| FOOD EMPIRE HOLDINGS | 53,774,969 | 100,000 | $94,292 | $0.943 | 100,000 | 0.02 |
| EUROSPORTS GLOBAL | 26,086,770 | 300,000 | $88,870 | $0.296 | 4,922,900 | 1.89 |
| GLOBAL PALM RESOURCES HOLDINGS | 19,589,830 | 256,100 | $43,400 | $0.169 | 520,100 | 0.27 |
| ENGRO CORPORATION | 11,863,830 | 28,200 | $35,170 | $1.247 | 92,400 | 0.08 |
| NORDIC GROUP | 39,019,100 | 90,000 | $23,213 | $0.258 | 1,995,100 | 0.51 |
| MUN SIONG ENGINEERING | 57,952,440 | 312,000 | $15,739 | $0.050 | 512,000 | 0.09 |
| HC SURGICAL SPECIALISTS | 15,104,573 | 14,800 | $6,476 | $0.438 | 2,025,500 | 1.34 |
| GRP | 18,045,801 | 20,000 | $3,145 | $0.157 | 261,000 | 0.15 |
| Total | 23,043,700 | $48,538,888 |
Source: SGX (Data as of 30 April 2021)
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. As best practice, companies should refrain from buying back their shares during the two weeks immediately before semi-annual financial statements and one month immediately before the full-year financial statements.
