Insider buying broadens as share buybacks hit $36m

Buybacks are led by Keppel and UOB. 

Nineteen primary-listed companies carried out share buybacks worth a combined $36m over the five trading sessions through 10 September, led by Keppel and United Overseas Bank.

The buybacks came alongside broader insider activity, with directors and CEOs reporting 14 acquisitions and three disposals, whilst substantial shareholders recorded seven acquisitions and six disposals across more than 30 primary-listed stocks.

The buying included fresh stakes in Ho Bee Land, Jumbo Group, CapitaLand Ascott Trust, Skylink Holdings, Kin Global, and Aoxin Q & M Dental Group.

Ho Bee chairman buys $428,276 of shares
Ho Bee Holdings acquired 210,600 shares in Ho Bee Land on 8 September for $428,276, at an average price of about $2.03 per share.

The purchase lifted executive chairman Chua Thian Poh’s deemed interest from 76.07% to 76.10%.

The buying followed Ho Bee Land’s first-half (H1) results, with revenue rising 30% year-on-year (YoY) to $230.5m and net profit increasing 5% to $52.9m.

Development property sales rose 84% to $111.2m, whilst net gearing remained at 0.61x.

Jumbo Group CEO lifts stake to 2.62%
Jumbo Group executive chairman and group CEO Ang Kiam Meng acquired 1.2 million shares in an off-market transaction on 3 September for $296,400, or $0.247 per share.

He also reported a deemed interest in another 1.2 million shares acquired for the same consideration.

His combined direct and deemed interest rose from 13.36 million shares, or 2.22%, to 15.76 million shares, or 2.62%.

The deemed interest comes from shares held by his spouse, Tan Yong Chuan, Jacqueline.

The purchase came as Jumbo reported a 7.9% YoY increase in H1 revenue to $105.1m. Singapore revenue rose 9.9% to $92.7m, whilst China revenue increased 11.5% to $10.7m.

Net profit attributable to shareholders, however, fell to $6.2m from $7.9m.

CapitaLand Ascott Trust director buys 250,000 securities
CapitaLand Ascott Trust independent director Max Loh Khum Whai bought 250,000 stapled securities on 9 September for $212,500, at an average of $0.85 each.

His direct interest increased from 164,430 to 414,430 stapled securities, equivalent to 0.011% of the issued stapled securities.

For H1, the trust reported a total distribution of $97.5m, up 1% YoY, whilst distribution per stapled security remained at $0.02532.

Income available for distribution rose 11% to $107.1m. Gearing fell to 37.7% as of 30 June, from 38.9% at the end of March.

Skylink CEO raises stake after $3m logistics investment
Skylink Holdings CEO and executive director Shen Wende bought 140,000 shares on 9 September for $27,946, at an average price of about $0.20 per share.

His direct holdings rose from 400,000 to 540,000 shares, whilst his total interest increased from 62.84% to 62.89%.

The purchase followed Skylink’s investment of more than $3m in a temperature-controlled logistics fleet.

The company has also secured a three-year leasing contract worth more than $2.2m from a multinational food supply chain and logistics operator.

The contract is expected to commence progressively from October to December 2026.

Kin Global founders push collective stake above 71%
Kin Global’s four co-founders collectively acquired 726,000 shares between 25 August and 4 September for about $135,160.

The purchases were made at a volume-weighted average price of $0.186 per share, increasing their combined interest from 138.47 million shares, or 71.01%, to 139.19 million shares, or 71.38%.

The buyers were executive chairman Ko Chee Wah, CEO Vincent Chai, chief commercial officer Adrian Tan, and chief operating officer Clement Tan.

The acquisitions followed Kin Global’s delivery of the PPA Asia 500 Leapmotor Singapore Open in July and its award of a multi-year contract for sports-related activities through an open tender.

Q & M Dental increases Aoxin Q & M stake
Q & M Dental Group (Singapore) acquired 200,000 shares in Aoxin Q & M Dental Group on 8 September for $39,300, or $0.1965 per share.

Its direct interest increased from 618.42 million shares, or 53.36%, to 618.62 million shares, or 53.37%.

The transaction also lifted Dr. Ng Chin Siau’s combined direct and deemed interest from 660.90 million shares, or 57.02%, to 661.10 million shares, or 57.04%.

Aoxin Q & M reported a 12.1% decline in H1 revenue to $14.5m (RMB76.4m) as patient volumes fell amid increased competition in China’s dental healthcare market.

Adjusted net profit remained at $474k (RMB2.5m), whilst adjusted net profit margin improved to 3.3% from 2.9%.

Reported net profit attributable to shareholders was $76k (RMB400k) after $379k (RMB2m) in costs related to the closure of its Panjin hospital and the share of results of an associate.

($1 = RMB5.27)