Institutional investors buy $856M in Singapore stocks in H2 2024

Singtel saw the highest net institutional buying in 2024.

Institutional investors net bought $856m in Singapore stocks in the second half of 2024, reversing the $1.175b in net selling from the first half, according to data from SGX, Bloomberg, and Refinitiv.

This led to a total of $319m in net selling for the year.

For every stock with net institutional selling, another saw net buying.

The financial services and telecommunications sectors saw the highest net institutional buying, whilst S-REITs and Real Estate (excluding REITs) experienced the most net selling.

Retail investors favoured the real estate sectors, with the highest net buying, whilst the financial Services and telecommunications sectors saw the most retail selling.

Singapore Telecommunications (Singtel) saw the highest net institutional buying in 2024, attracting $826m. Its average daily trading turnover surged by 80% from 2023 to $90m, and analysts raised its target price from $3.08 to $3.72.

The communications sector performed well globally and regionally, and Singtel’s ST28 growth plan, launched in May 2024, added to its momentum.

The plan followed a strategic reset initiated in 2021, focusing on connectivity, digital services, and digital infrastructure. Singtel streamlined its portfolio, sold off non-core assets, and freed up over $7b in capital, reducing its net debt-to-equity ratio from 49% in 2020 to 29% by March 2024.

The company also increased its dividend payout ratio and announced additional dividends in May 2024.

Other top stocks with strong institutional buying included UOB, OCBC, SGX, ST Engineering, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding, SATS, DBS, ComfortDelGro, and Suntec REIT.

Total returns for these stocks varied, with Yangzijiang Shipbuilding posting a 108% return and Suntec REIT just 1%.

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